My Views on News

Nawaf Obaid is "an adviser to the Saudi government," but his opinions "are his own and do not reflect official Saudi policy." Roger that. With that boilerplate warning out of the way, Obaid takes to the pages of the Washington Post to warn us in no uncertain terms that if we try to withdraw from Iraq, the Saudi monarchy will make us very, very sorry: (More)

The Jerusalem Post reports that Report: Iran planning nuclear ’surprise’.

Now, while one does not want to ignore the real threat posed by Iran, I will note that this reminds we of previous posturing by Iran on this subject (and indeed, is generically reminiscent of the claims of communist regimes of yore when they wanted to either get the international community’s attention or, more likely, boost the morale of their citizens).

 (More)

Via WaPo we find: U.S. Spy Agencies Criticized On Iran

A key House committee issued a stinging critique of U.S. intelligence on Iran yesterday, charging that the CIA and other agencies lack “the ability to acquire essential information necessary to make judgments” on Tehran’s nuclear program, its intentions or even its ties to terrorism. (More)

Before getting into this discussion, let me note that there are two clear ways in which to discussion this issue of civil war. There is a clear political aspect where what the violence is called has policy implications. The Bush administration and its defenders are clearly prone to want to avoid using the term “civil war” while there is no doubt that opponents want to label it a “civil war” because that of the obvious negative connotations. (More)

Via the NYT we find that National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, has doubts about Maliki’s ability to quell the current violence in Iraq (Bush Adviser’s Memo Cites Doubts About Iraqi Leader): (More)

Via WaPo: Powerful Shiite Bloc Boycotts Iraqi Government

A bloc of Iraqi lawmakers and cabinet ministers allied with militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr launched a boycott of their government duties Wednesday to protest Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s decision to attend a summit in Jordan with President Bush. (More)

Via the NYT: Bush Proclaims Support for Iraqi Premier

President Bush today proclaimed Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki “the right guy for Iraq,” and said the two had agreed to speed the turnover of security responsibility from American to Iraqi forces. (More)

Via WaPo: Anbar Picture Grows Clearer, and Bleaker:

The U.S. military is no longer able to defeat a bloody insurgency in western Iraq or counter al-Qaeda’s rising popularity there, according to newly disclosed details from a classified Marine Corps intelligence report that set off debate in recent months about the military’s mission in Anbar province. The Marines recently filed an updated version of that assessment that stood by its conclusions and stated that, as of mid-November, the problems in troubled Anbar province have not improved, a senior U.S. intelligence official said yesterday. “The fundamental questions of lack of control, growth of the insurgency and criminality” remain the same, the official said.

 (More)

Via the NYT: Hezbollah Said to Help Shiite Army in Iraq:

A senior American intelligence official said Monday that the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah had been training members of the Mahdi Army, the Iraqi Shiite militia led by Moktada al-Sadr.

 (More)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lambasted President George W. Bush's Middle East strategy  in an open letter addressed to the American people on Wednesday . He called on Washington to pull out of Iraq and recognize a Palestinian state, and end its support for Israel. (More)

Justice while she winks at crimes,

Stumbles on innocence sometimes,

                                     Butler, Hudibras

                  

The vile Lebanese leaders, with murky pasts, made fiery speeches after the funeral procession of Pierre Gemayel. They lashed out at Hizbullah and Damascus. They blamed Syria for the assassination of Pierre Gemayel. What is the cause of their panic? Why have these archenemies united against the Hizbollah? The reason behind their panic is that Shiites are demanding their due share in the government. The traditional ruling elites are not willing to share the power with Shiites.

 (More)

Darfur - A victim of American avarice and Arab follies

 The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey, who directs the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, said during a USINFO Web chat on November 17:"The ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan -- a “gross violation” of human rights -- is among the top international issues of concern to the United States."

 Whenever US officials refer to situation in Darfur, they call it genocide. Is their assessment of the situation correct or do they have ulterior motive in painting a grim picture of the situation?

Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell used the term “genocide” for the first time while speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  He said: "We concluded -- I concluded -- that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility -- and genocide may still be occurring." 

However, When Powell visited Darfur in June 2004, he resisted questions about whether the abuses amounted to genocide, saying, "what we are seeing is a disaster, a catastrophe, and we can find the right label for it later."

There are no reliable estimates of civilian casualties from the fighting in Darfur due to the limited international access to the area.

UK-based Dr Jan Coebergh, who once worked in Darfur, has examined a range of aid agency health surveys. He puts the figures slightly lower at about 300,000 - but he admits it is little more than a stab in the dark.

 "The reality is that we just don't know the scale of the problem," Dr Coebergh told BBC News.

Bush Administration keep on insisting that genocide has been going on in Darfur since 2003 despite the fact that a five-man panel UN mission led by Italian Judge Antonio Cassese reported in 2004 that genocide had not been committed in Darfur. The commission concluded that grave human rights abuses were committed. They called for war crime trials.

Critics say that main motivation behind the heightened interest of US Administration in Sudan is oil not human rights.

They say that UN Nation troops were present in the region when the massacred occurred in Rawanda. The self-appointed champions of humanity remained silent spectator during the crisis. Rebel forces slaughtered  800,000 Tutsis  in 100 days. It is not the first time that International national community remained indifferent to genocide. In 1971, US ignored the genocide in Bangladesh despite frantic calls from diplomatic staff of American consulate in Dacca.

Darfur is a sparsely populated and parched area. It has an ancient history of separate existence as a kingdom lapping into Chad, separate from the area known today as Sudan. Darfur's population is proportionately more Muslim and less Christian than southern Sudan's, but is mostly black African, and identifies itself by tribe, such as the Fur. (Darfur, in fact, means "land of the Fur."). It is of great strategic importance it straddles Libya, Egypt, Chad, and the Central African Republic.

Darfur is home to some 80 tribes and ethnic groups divided between nomads and sedentary communities. The unrest appears to have been identified within two or three communities such as the Fur and the Zaghawa tribes. Darfur has faced many years of tension over land and grazing rights between the mostly nomadic Arabs, and farmers from the Fur, Massaleet and Zagawa communities.

Sudan discovered an oil field in 2005 in Darfur region. It was announced that this oil field will produce 500,000 bpd of crude. This new development transformed the traditional competition for water at the fringes into quite a different struggle.

The conflict began in the arid and impoverished region early in 2003 after a rebel group began attacking government targets. The rebels say that government is oppressing black Africans

It is well documented that the US through its closest African allies, helped train the SLA and JEM Darfuri rebels that initiated Khartoum's violent reaction.

 Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjawid militias - nomadic, Arab fighters - in a scorched earth policy directed at villages that supported the rebellion.

The real driving force behind the US intervention in Sudan is oil. In 1974, Chevron got large oil concessions from Ja’afar Nimeiri’s government. The man behind this deal was then U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. (later U.S. President) George H. Bush, who told the government of Sudan about the satellite imaging maps that indicated the presence of oil in Sudan.

Chevron discovered oil in South in 1978. However, It was forced to leave Sudan after the second civil war broke out in the south in 1983. A southern separatist rebel force, Anyanya II, attacked a Chevron facility and killed three expatriate workers in February 1984. This led Chevron to suspend operations in the South. It sold out its rights to the entire Sudanese concession in 1992. The rebels wanted a share in the country's new mineral wealth, much of which was on lands they had long occupied.

Sudan is believed to hold Africa's greatest unexploited oil resources, even greater than those of the Gulf of Guinea. US oil companies are barred from operating in Sudan and other Western companies are chased from the country by the Washington administration.

At present, Asian oil companies dominate the field in Sudan. China's state-owned oil company China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) owns a 40 percent share of the local Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC), which controls two of the most important oil fields in the Western Upper Nile Province.

Now it can be judged from the activities of the western countries namely the US, UK, Norway and Italy. They want access to the Sudanese oil. Theses Western powers are looking for an opportunity to intervene militarily and provoke a change of the unpopular Islamist regime in Khartoum.

In short, the Islamist Arab regime has manipulated ethnic, racial, and economic tensions, as part of a strategic drive to commandeer the country's oil wealth.

Racism figures heavily in all this. Arabs refer to darker Africans as "abeed," a word that means something close to "slave. It is shocking to know that Islam has not been able to change the tribal mentality of Arabs. Their behavior towards their fellow African Muslim is morally unpleasant and contrary to the teachings of Islam and Humanity.  Rebels have also chosen the wrong way to get their rights. Rebels must realize that their rash adventurism is bringing miseries.

Khartoom should accept the legitimate demands of the African Muslims and give them due share in the new wealth. Otherwise will conflict will keep the region in perpetual crisis.

America got a wonderful chance to lead the world after the fall of Soviet Union. However, the greed of her leaders has entangled the country in quagmire of problems. They have diverted all their energies to full the coffers of their campaign donors instead of working for the welfare and benefits of the American people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh's comment has sparked off a war of words between Tehran and Tel Aviv. He suggested the idea of launching a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities as a last resort from preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear capabilities. He made these comments while talking to Jerusalem post.

 His comments brought angry response from Tehran. Irani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini said:” If the Zionist regime commits such stupidity, the response by the Iranian military will be swift, strong and crushing."

 Israeli government is trying to underplay his comments. Government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Sneh's comments did not necessarily reflect the view of the government or Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

 Israel has been gripped with hysteria, since Iranian President made that obnoxious comment that Israel should be wiped off from the map and questioned the truth of the Holocaust. He repeatedly called for the destruction of Jewish State. These threats compelled Israel to consider Iran to be the greatest threat to its survival.

 Though some Israeli officials have hurled threats to destroy Iranian nuclear installation earlier. The question is whether Israel has the ability to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, which, unlike Iraq's in 1981, are scattered among installations, some of them hidden underground.

How can Israel officials contemplate and say such things, When the White House is balking at taking military action after warnings from Pentagon and intelligence analyst. They are of the opinion that they cannot stop Iran from acquiring components for a nuclear bomb.

 John Negroponte, director of national intelligence, has told President George W Bush that there is no rush to use force as Iran's nuclear programme is beset with technical errors. He has been saying, it's not an immediate problem

Do Israeli leaders realize the repercussions of attack on Iranian installations? This military action against Iran will prove to be a disaster.

Iran has the world's second biggest proven oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and the second biggest gas reserves after Russia. Iran is currently Opec's second largest producer. Iran’s geo-strategic position and its already-existing network of pipelines also make it a key actor in the energy world. The sky-rocketing price of oil has put a lot of money into its pocket.

 Iran has the power and means to stop world' oil supply. Oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq, which constitutes 40 percent of the world's crude oil pass through the Straits of Hormuz, which is a stretch of ocean at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Iranians have already made her intention that they would cut off tanker traffic, if UN imposes sanction them in connection with their nuclear programmatic they carries out what they are threatening , it will create an economic panic around the world.

 Iranian can destabilize the Middle East region, because they good working relationship with Hezbollah , Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements. The recent war in Lebanon has clearly proved how deadly these movements can prove.

 General John Abizaid, commander of US forces in the Middle East, has warned that striking Iran could cripple oil supplies, unleash a surrogate terrorist army and lead to missile attacks on America's regional allies. The army is particularly concerned about Iran's ability to destabilize an already chaotic Iraq.

Iranians don't make empty rhetoric. They carry out their threats. They raided on a Rumanian-owned oil platform and occupied in August, because of dispute over ownership rights. Analysts say the real aim of the action was to convey to western companies including Halliburton, who is in power there.

Sanctions cannot be imposed upon Iran, because of the economic interests of France, Russia, and China, who are three permanent members of the Security Council.

Russia is building Iran's first, $800 million (#640 million) atomic reactor and has impeded U.N. sanctions against Tehran. It has also agreed to resume shipment of fuel for the reactor, which experts say could be diverted and used to build bombs.

 French President Mr. Chirac said he believes fruitful dialogue with Iran is still possible He called Iran "a great nation", His comments may reflect a growing belief among European leaders that persuading Iran to drop its troublesome nuclear ambitions can realistically be done only by staying on good terms with Iran, not by hostile pressure or threats.

 What then can be done in the face of the mullahs’ implacable drive to acquire nuclear weapons? Here a variety of responses can be discerned.

 Senator Joseph Biden, insist that we have at least ten years before we have to worry about Iran's getting a working bomb. According to Ashton Carter, who served as an assistant secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, we at least have enough time to explore every possible diplomatic avenue before contemplating any direct military response.

 Israel should also take hint from these major players, and try to improve her relationship its neighbors. If it tries to do the dirty work for US, it will bring miseries for her people and hurt interests around.

Gazans are angry. They are calling for revenge and retribution for latest Israel outrages , which resulted in the death of 80 Palestinians, majority of them are civilians.

 Vile and Populist Palestinian leaders are vying each in empty rhetoric. Instead of consoling the nation in grieve.

 Hamas Chief Kaleed Mashaal appealed to the militants and said : "I call upon all of the resistance to activate its resistance programs, despite the difficulty of the situation on the ground."

 Hard-line members of Hamas's military wing warned that even Americans should be taught a "hard lesson" for their support of Israel.

 But opinions among the mourners were divided. Sensible and saner Gazans said that Palestinians should use their mind carefully and should go to the peace process. We should not stop negotiating with the Israelis because they are pressuring us to lose our control and do unjustified actions against them.

 Their anger is justified, but it should be directed against their offensive partisans, whose rash adventurism is bringing them miseries and destruction. They should be angry at unscrupulous politicians, and men in administration who failed to stop these miscreants from firing missiles at Israel.

 In my opinion moral responsibility for the death lies on the Palestinian militants who use Palestinian population as humane shields. Gazans should ask their leaders to reign in these militants, because their activities are pushing Gaza towards anarchy, and encouraging Israel to expand its presence.

 Instead of thinking about revenge and retribution , they should ponder over their lives, which is becoming miserable day by day because of the wrong policies and adamantine rigidity of their leaders.

 Hamas and Militant should realize that   tactics of Qassams has brought more suffering to Palestinians than to Israelis. So it would be better that Hamas and other militants should choose the path of negotiation. Otherwise confrontation with Israel will be deadly. Israel has so far restrained itself because of US and western pressure, though she has the capacity to wipe out the Palestinians.

 Do Gazans realize that their children have not been able to go to school because of disturbances?  Do Gazans realize that their import and export have come to standstill because of the closing of borders crashing with Egypt and Israel since June 25? Do Gazans realize that their fishing industry is suffering due Israeli blockade?

 There has been no teaching except in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools

Five weeks after the beginning of the school year.

 The heart of the latest crisis is closure of the crossings. Karni crossing has been closed for 86 of the 300 days it was scheduled to stay open, while the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border has been closed for 120 of 350 scheduled open days, according to the latest UN figures. Israel cites security concerns for the closures.

 The Israeli military imposed limits on the fishing grounds, accusing some fishermen of smuggling weapons. First they were confined within 12 miles of the coast. Gradually that was reduced.

 These are things, which require urgent attention. Otherwise there will be a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They must realize that their life and business depends upon Israel. So they should try to establish relationship with this neighbor, and leave the path of confrontation, because it has given Palestinian people miseries and deaths. It is time they should decide about their future themselves. They have always listened to the advice of others, and have suffered because of this. If they had accept the UN resolution in 1947, than would not have suffered all these suffering for decades.

 I believe that all justice comes from God, who is its sole source; but if we knew how to receive so high an inspiration, we should need neither government nor laws. Doubtless, there is a universal justice emanating from reason alone; but this justice, to be admitted among us, must be mutual.

Israel has a legitimate right to respond to terror attacks on its citizens. But care should be taken that the punishment does not exceed the guilt  The ferocity of Israeli military operation in Beit Hanoun gives the impression that they are using excessive and disproportionate force, that their military operation is indiscriminate. The military badly failed to differentiate between combatants and civilians.

When the military operation started, the spokesman and Israeli Defense Minister said that the object of the operation was to destroy the rocket-launching infra structure. However, ravaged town of Beit Hanoun tells a different story.  The Israeli military left behind wrecked houses, toppled utility poles, broken pipes lines, and fifty seven corpses.

According to the Mayor of the city of Beit Hanoun, 40 houses were destroyed and 400
damaged during the operation of the Israeli forces, they also destroyed the 700-year-old an-Nasr Mosque.  The Israeli Prime has himself claimed that their forces have killed 300 Hamas operatives in three months.

In response to the Qassam missile attacks, Israel has been firing about 300 shells a day at Gaza at an estimated cost of more than £125,000 a day, according to the Israeli media. They have been firing shells close to Palestinian communities to stop militants from firing rockets at Israel. And the pattern of their shelling is indiscriminate. These types of indiscriminate attacks, if they are not directed at a specified target is forbidden under international law.

In 2006, only two Israeli were killed by the Qassam rocket attacks. Though many Israeli were critically injured. This incident occurred in Kibbutz Nachal Oz.

Any person with a good heart can easily discern that the Israeli response is disproportionate.  I wonder how these crude missiles can be threat to Israel, which maintains a world class professional army. These rockets are home-made weapons, which were developed by Adnan al-Ghul in 2001. It is a very crude weapon and roughly carries two pounds of explosive.

Yoram Schweitzer of Tel Aviv's Jaffee centre for strategic studies says "Qassams are very primitive missiles and their main effect on Israelis in the area is psychological torment - a kind of 'Chinese water torture'."   Despite that, Israel must show restraint in dealing with Palestinian militants. The way its army is handling the affairs will increase problems for the State of Israel.

During the recent operations, the army unnecessarily targeted and subjected to humiliation those Palestinians who were ordinary civilians and had nothing to do with the militants. They rounded up thousands of young man, many of them innocent, and subjected them to torture. This type of high-handedness will increase the anti-Semitism in the Palestinian and Muslim world, and humiliated young men will be easily prey for militants.  Israel's leaders should know that the world does not grow better by force or policeman club. 

It is said that wisdom comes from suffering. It looks that Palestinians never learn from anything. Wisdom consists of rising above madness and embracing common sense. It is madness if Hamas and other militants think that they can wipe out Israel with this crude weapon. This rash adventurism will only bring more misery to the Palestinian people.

They should ask their leaders how they can defeat a professional army with these crude weapons. Jean-Jacques Rousseau has rightly said, "To yield to force is an act of necessity, not of will — at the most, an act of prudence."

Gazans got a golden opportunity to improve their condition in the fall of 2005, when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made the bold decision to pull out from Gaza. Instead trying to improve their condition, the Gazans fell prey to the evil ideologists and started to conspire against the State of Israel.

In the end I can say only “God help the fools who count on death for gain."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened that if Hamas does not form a national government with his Fatah group, he would dissolve the parliament and replace it with a technocrat government.

He expressed this intention to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was on Middle East tour to revive the peace process.

His avowed intention to dissolve the democratically elected parliament of Hamas is very shocking and unpleasant. If he does so , it would be insult to the Palestinian people , because they voted Hamas to power to manage their affairs. They did so because they were disgusted with the corruption and apathy of PLO leaders.

A good leader tries to achieve consensus on sensitive issues. But it looks President Mahmoud does not believe in consensus politics.

How can he propose such a things when  there are differences among his Fatah colleagues over the issue of technocrat government.

 His Fatah colleagues in recently held  central committee meeting in Amman opposed the idea of technocrat government. They told him that they would support the dissolution of parliament , if consensus develops among Palestinian factions for  national government.

There is no doubt that Palestinian people are in great tribulation. But the prevailing situation dictates that he must handle it with care. Otherwise it will bring more miseries to Palestinian people.

Now we are witnessing that his desire to bring back his old collegues to power is turning into a crisis. There had been reports of clashes between Fatah and Hamas men, which resulted in the loss of many lives.

It looks President Abbas is bent on snatching power from Hamas. According to reports , he has requested Israel to allow his PLO Bader Brigade to enter into the Gaza. This is a clear indication he wants to use power to fulfill his desire.

He must realize that he is pursuing a deadly course of action, which will only aggravate the situation.

It took PLO many decades to renounce violence and recognize Israel. How does he expect from Hamas to take such  hard decisions so easily ? Instead of compelling Hamas  to accept the donors demand. He should have used his good office and contacts to persuade donors to release aid to ease the sufferings of people.

Hamas must also accept the ground realities , and accept the demands of donors , because they are giving their hard earned money of their tax payers to Palestinian people.

According to Al Jazeera, the Palestinian Authority needs $140 million monthly in order to function .This is a huge amount. No one will give Palestinian authority this money for ever.

Hamas leaders must realize that State of Israel is a reality. They won’t be able to finish it with Kasam rockets.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau says in his The Social Compact:” As soon as it is possible to disobey with impunity, disobedience is legitimate; and, the strongest being always in the right, the only thing that matters is to act so as to become the strongest.”

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