National Catholic Reporter November 20, 2015 [Also in the Free Library]
The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize December 10 to a group of four Tunisian civil society groups that played a key role in their country’s transition to democracy is a reminder of how Arab peoples are quite capable of the difficult work of navigating their nation from dictatorship to democracy…
Category: Middle East
Middle East Overview
Obama’s Escalation in Syria
The Progressive November 5, 2015 [and the Huffington Post]
Obama’s plan to send up to 50 U.S. Special Forces to “train, advise and assist” armed militia fighting forces of the so-called “Islamic State” in Syria marks an escalation in U.S. military involvement and raises serious legal, political, strategic, ethical, and constitutional questions and may open the way to a far larger and dangerous military entanglements.
Why Netanyahu Needs Holocaust Revisionism and Israeli-Palestinian Violence
The Progressive October 27, 2015 [Also by the Huffington Post]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s October 20 speech claiming Hitler had not planned to exterminate Jews until a prominent Palestinian cleric pressured him to do so, while outrageous, is consistent with the longstanding narrative of the right-wing government and its U.S. supporters.
Bipartisan Attacks Against Anti-occupation Divestment Campaigns
National Catholic Reporter September 8, 2015
[Republished by the Huffington Post & PeaceandJustice.org]
In April, the student senate at Earlham College, a Quaker liberal arts institution in Indiana, approved a resolution by consensus recommending the college endowment divest from three U.S. companies (Motorola, Hewlett Packard and Caterpillar) which directly support the Israeli occupation in violation of international law. The resolution (thus far ignored by the college’s board of trustees) follows decisions by a number of Quaker-affiliated organizations — as well as the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Church of Christ, and other nonprofit groups — to divest from these companies. The response was swift…
The Troubling Implications of Hillary’s Anti-BDS Letter
Foreign Policy In Focus July 10, 2015
[Republished by Arab America, Common Dreams, Counterpunch, Groupe Gaulliste Sceaux, the Huffington Post, Tablet Magazine, Truthout, and ZNetwork.org] On July 2, Hillary Clinton wrote a letter to Israeli-American billionaire Haim Saban, a strong supporter of the right-wing Netanyahu government, denouncing human rights activists who support boycott/divestment/sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli occupation.
How U.S. Contributed to Yemen Crisis
Santa Cruz Sentinel April 17, 2015 [Also Antiwar.com, Common Dreams, Lobe Lob, Reddit, Transcend.org and Transnational.org]
As civilian casualties mount, with U.S. logistical support the Saudis are attempting to re-instate Yemen’s exiled government — backed by the West and the Sunni Gulf monarchies — in the face of a military offensive by Houthi rebels. None of this had to be…
Powerful nonviolent resistance to armed conflict in Yemen
Open Democracy April 11, 2015
[Also Common Dreams, Rotarian Action Group for Peace, Rulac, Satyagraha Foundation, Transnational.org, ZNetwork.org]
While media coverage of the tragic situation unfolding in Yemen in recent months has focused on armed clashes and other violence, there has also been widespread and ongoing unarmed nonviolent civil resistance employed by a number of different actors.
Hardliners on All Sides Undermining Iran’s Nuclear Talks
Interview: KPFA’s “Up Front” on Netanyahu’s speech before Congress and U.S.-Israeli relations (Audio)
KPFA March 4, 2015: Dr. Stephen Zunes’ segment begins at 36 minutes.
Netanyahu Still Swaying U.S. Congress
The Progressive, March 4, 2015: Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s speech before a joint session of Congress on March 3 was rare and unprecedented in many ways.
• It constituted a major breach of protocol
• It took place just two weeks prior to national elections in the foreign leader’s home country
• Most strikingly, Netanyahu is the only foreign leader to have been invited to address a joint session of Congress with the express purpose of undermining U.S. foreign policy…
China Radio International – Iran Nuclear Negotiations Resume (Audio)
[The source link and recording for this item are
no longer available. Find best related links.]
US support for Saudis belies claims of supporting democracy
Santa Cruz Sentinel February 20, 2015
One of the greatest myths is that the U.S. government supports democracy. In reality, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the U.S. remains the world’s No. 1 military, financial, and diplomatic supporter of authoritarian regimes and occupying armies.
Opposition to Israeli occupation consistent with other human rights struggles
Santa Cruz Sentinel, February 6, 2015
In my late teens, I was active in the movement opposing South Africa’s illegal occupation of Namibia, calling for boycotts and divestment of companies supporting the occupation and sanctions against the occupying power. I was involved in similar efforts during the 1990s against the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. These movements played a role in winning these countries their freedom. More recently, I have supported boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. Many of us who have been involved in such campaigns over the years including UC Santa Cruz Professor Emerita Angela Davis, the speaker at this year’s Martin Luther King convocation, now support boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against the Israeli occupation…
The Latest Blow to Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Foreign Policy In Focus and Antiwar.com January 13, 2015
The Obama administration is responsible for the defeat of a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for a “just, lasting and comprehensive peaceful solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Gaza and the Bipartisan War on Human Rights
Foreign Policy In Focus, October 17, 2014
[Republished by Counterpunch, Lobe Log, Militarist-Monitor, and URUKNET.info]
During and after Israel’s war on Gaza, bipartisan congressional majorities have worked to undermine war crimes investigations by the UN and human rights groups. Yet Americans found Israel’s seven weeks of attacks to be disproportionate and unnecessary, killing up to 1,500 Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The U.S. and ISIS
The Progressive August 26, 2014: Already U.S. planes and missiles have been attacking ISIS forces in northern Iraq. Given the real threat of a heightened genocidal campaign against Yazidis and other minorities and the risks of ISIS control expanding into the Kurdish region, even some of those normally averse to unilateral U.S. military intervention abroad were willing to acknowledge it may have been the least bad option. Within days, however, there were already indications of “mission creep”…
Netanyahu’s Ugly Game in Gaza
The Progressive and Transnational.org July 9, 2014
The right-wing Israeli government took advantage of the murder of three Israeli teen members of an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Back to whip up ultra-nationalist sentiments, engage in a new wave of repression in the occupied West Bank.
The United States’ Tragic Role in Iraq
The Progressive, June 20, 2014 [Republished by Common Dreams]
The dramatic rise of the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—which even al-Qaeda deemed too extreme to remain part of its network—is a tragedy by any measure. It would also be tragic if we allowed the very forces that created this mess to explain it away.
Understanding Elections, Democracy, and Prospects for Peace in the Arab World
The source link for this item is no longer available [best related links]
U.S. Culpability in the Failure of Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks
Foreign Policy In Focus June 5, 2014, also by Huffington Post and Uruknet, then a revised version July 6 by the Santa Cruz Sentinel, republished by Antiwar.com, Common Dreams, FreedomsPhoenix, and Znetwork.org