Some news that’s surfacing slowly is Iran’s new bluster on refining higher grade uranium. Russia and Israel seem to be talking the same language, while China still isn’t willing to sign on to harsh sanctions, something SecDef Gates is promising will come sooner rather than later. Even as it will take some time to reconfigure [...] [...more]
updated And his body has reportedly disappeared, with assassination looking more and more likely. According to the report, it is possible that the government is behind the disappearance, as an attempt to stop the family from holding a mass funeral. – Tehran: Body of opposition leader’s nephew disappears from hospital. Ayatollah Ali Khameni is up against it, with [...] [...more]
–video update in comments– There are reports that Mousavi’s nephew, Seyyed Ali Mousavi was shot and killed today. There are even unconfirmed reports pouring in of people heading toward Sina Hospital, where it is assumed Ali Mousavi’s body is. – Iran News Now At the climax of Ashura, violence in Iran explodes. From the BBC: Opposition sources in Iran [...] [...more]
That was our president today and I couldn’t have been prouder. Unflinching, reversing the muddled message of last week, once again regaining the moral authority of why we fight. That there are “just wars,” of which I’ve always believed Afghanistan is one. Today’s speech unraveling last week’s tangled rhetorical mess that had Pres. Obama [...] [...more]
The pictures and scene out of Iran today continue to inspire, as Iranians fight for justice by commemorating an historic day, when the Shah of Iran killed three students amidst the beginning Islamist revolution that changed Iran and our relationship with that country since. This plays out in a backdrop that David Ignatius wrote about yesterday, [...] [...more]
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy “Actively countering a clear and present danger,” says Rice, that’s what we’re doing in Afghanistan, regardless of the reality that there are less than 100 al Qaeda in that country, with the Taliban embedded in the consciousness of that country. With Rice claiming there [...] [...more]
Seriously, I don’t think anyone knows. A glimmer of reality surfaces, via Thomas Friedman: To now make Afghanistan part of the “war on terrorism” — i.e., another nation-building project — is not crazy. It is just too expensive, when balanced against our needs for nation-building in America, so that we will have the strength to play [...] [...more]
updated below Ambassador Eikienberry doesn’t trust the Karzai government. The AP is reporting that it’s had its desired affect. Pres. Obama is now rejecting all the current plans on the table for the next step in Afghanistan. So, the rewrite has begun. I’ve been against more troops, because of the mountains of evidence obtained from months [...] [...more]
From the time I started writing this piece this morning to the time it was posted, Time magazine had changed the tone and title from “Hillary’s Moment” to “The State of Hillary: A Mixed Record on the Job.” Things shift quickly for team Obama, especially when you’re chief diplomat is Hillary Rodham Clinton. Somewhere between Obama’s [...] [...more]
As if we needed more instruments of division to get in Pres. Obama’s way (see video). Oh, and please ignore that CIA case over rendition too. House Res. opposing the Goldstone report passes overwhelmingly. Meanwhile, an Italian court convicts 23 Americans in rendition case. Oh, didn’t hear about that? An Italian court on Wednesday convicted 22 CIA [...] [...more]
“Needless to say, this is not where we wanted to be after nine months,” commented a senior aide to the president. – AfPak Channel (via New York Times) One year since Barack Obama won the election, come November 4th, the above statement seems apt, though not just for Afghanistan or Karzai’s “win.” Anthony Cordesman defines the [...] [...more]
Palestinian officials on Sunday criticized the United States for what one called “back-pedaling” on demands that Israel stop settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, saying that the Obama administration’s change of approach on the issue damaged the likelihood of a peace agreement. … The settlement freeze has become central to those perceptions: both Egypt [...] [...more]
“The only way to clean up Chicago is to get rid of Capone,” General Flynn said. – Brother of Afghan Leader Is Said to Be on C.I.A. Payroll I wonder if this was Dick Cheney’s idea? Andrew Exum writes today that it’s the most important article on Afghanistan that you’re going to read this week: Again, [...] [...more]
updated version cross-posted at Huffington Post His name is Matthew Hoh and this could turn into a story that will haunt Pres. Obama’s decision on Afghanistan every day until the strategy is announced. I’m sure it is already. Hoh simply doesn’t believe in where the U.S. mission has been and where Obama is about to take [...] [...more]
In the preface of “The Shriver Report,” Maria Shriver’s report on women, John D. Podesta, President and CEO of Center for American Progress, makes important points, starting with basics: Women becoming primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners changed everything.But, even though we were all witness to this phenomenon’s slow emergence over many years, these changes seem somehow to [...] [...more]
