On this tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a reminder, according to the UN charter, the invasion was illegal
by chycho
The war in Iraq is not over, not by a long shot. For decades to come we will have to deal with what the United States and its allies have unleashed.
It’s anyone’s guess if those responsible for this war of aggression (crime against peace) will ever be held accountable for their crimes, what we do know however, is that the decision to invade Iraq has transformed the global political landscape (emphasis added):
“Kofi Annan, declared explicitly… that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal. Mr Annan said that the invasion was not sanctioned by the UN security council or in accordance with the UN's founding charter. In an interview with the BBC World Service… he was asked outright if the war was illegal. He replied: ‘Yes, if you wish.’
“He then added unequivocally: ‘I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of view and from the charter point of view it was illegal.’…
PermalinkLest we forget, an attack on Syria is an attack on Iran and a threat to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
by chycho
United States involvement in Syria has nothing to do with a repressive regime. After all, in 2002 the United States willingly used Assad’s regime to torture Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, when they renditioned him to Syria from New York. The world was also quite grateful to Syria for accepting 1.5 million refugees created by the US invasion of Iraq, especially considering that for approximately the same period the United States had only accepted 7,000 Iraqi refugees. What’s happening in Syria is part of a bigger picture, a grand chessboard if you’d like, and what’s happening there is definitely not the end game.
Ominous Forewarning from Prof. Norman Finkelstein: “I do think there is a plot, a conspiracy afoot… all the western powers are now acting in concert for a decisive moment.”
by chycho
In November 2010, Professor Norman Finkelstein and Hamza Andreas Tzortzis spoke at a likeMEDIA.tv hosted event to address the question: “What Will Bring Peace to the Middle East?”
This was an excellent discussion where Prof. Finkelstein provided a secular perspective focusing on international law, while Mr. Tzortzis shared his perspective as an international public speaker on Islam.
What I found especially of interest, however, were the following opening remarks by Prof. Finkelstein:
“I was asked to speak on a very specific topic this evening namely ‘How to resolve the conflict’, if I had my choice in the matter I would’ve preferred to speak about what’s happening now in Gaza and more importantly, what seems to be unfolding in Lebanon, which is quite serious and quite ominous. I think we’re headed towards a crossroads in the Israeli-Palestine conflict in Lebanon in the near future, probably in the next several months…
More spin on Syria…
by Philip Greaves
Having followed the Guardians Middle East Live blog for a while there has been a distinct narrative forming in the support of the opposition in the Syrian civil war, one could say the support in western media has from the outset been on the side of the uprising which started with peaceful protest, brutally cracked down by the Assad regime and it’s forces it has fomented into civil war, but it is far more complicated than that. What was once perceived as the street and the people rising up against a dictator and demanding self-determination and human rights has turned into civil war with outside states and internal factions now vying for the inevitable power vacuum once Assad has gone.
Hillary Clinton, Queen of Hearts
By Michael Collins
(Washington, DC 7/11/12) Hillary Clinton has a very serious problem. She thinks that she runs the world and that those who disobey her must be punished, China and Russia in particular. Our chief diplomat behaves like a drunken bully, makes rash demands, and spoils for a fight with countries that can do some serious damage. (Image: Sascha W)
Over what? Regime change in Syria. Clinton is the tip of the spear for the project to control the Arab Spring movement. Her efforts have little to do with democracy. It is about controlling the agenda in the oil rich Middle East and the effort to prop up the decadent Saudis royals and other oil rich leaders hiding behind a nebulous organization called the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Netanyahu's pretext for war - Islamic Jihad missiles
By Michael Collins
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has his pretext for an attack on Iran. He left Washington disappointed by President Obama's reluctance to saddle up for Armageddon. Now he's got the formula.
Haaretz (daily news), one of Israel's few liberal media voices, linked Gaza based missile attacks on Israel to the presence of Iranian military experts. This fits nicely into the Netanyahu strategy. Here's how Haaretz reported events:
"Iran pressured Islamic Jihad and popular resistance groups in Gaza to continue firing rockets into Israel despite cease-fire, says high-ranking Jerusalem official.
"Iranian military experts are active in the Gaza Strip and in Sinai, according to a high-ranking official in Jerusalem. The official said the Iranians entered the areas via Sudan and Egypt, and added that some of the rocket-launching systems in Gaza were manufactured under Iranian supervision." Haaretz.com, March 19
The paper went on to say how shocked members of the Israeli left were with the overall theme of the article announcing a unified Israel in support of an attack on Iran.
Of course, any attack is so crazy on so many levels, it is exhausting to comprehend. Aside from the potential collapse of the world economy and the pervasive suffering, let's focus on a sure fired reason that the United States won't green light such a move.
With Mubarak Gone - Conflict and Opportunity in the Middle East
By Brian M. Downing posted by Michael Collins
Hosni Mubarak's thirty-year rule in Egypt is nearing an end and though the denouement of events there is still unclear, the new polity is almost certainly to be shaped by the military institutions and popular sentiments. This is causing considerable dismay in Jerusalem and Washington. National security institutions tend to think in worst-case scenarios, but recent events in Egypt present opportunities for the long sought after solution to the Palestinian problem.Image
Anti-Israel Sentiment
Public sentiments that erupted in Egypt, like those in Tunisia and Jordan and Yemen, are based on a large youth segment that sees only dismal opportunity in a country whose economy is sluggish, corrupt, and dominated by the regime and its coterie of supporters. This demographic bulge will not be easily mollified and its concerns and demands will shape the politics of the region for decades.
Not too far below the surface is anger over Mubarak's acquiescence to Israel's actions toward fellow Muslims. Israel, in the eyes of the Egyptian public, has brutalized the Palestinian people, expanded settlements ever deeper into the West Bank, and inflicted great casualties on the people of Gaza and Lebanon.
”Israel” and despotic Arab regimes shake as revolution sweeps through the Middle East
Salim Nazzal
Either we live in dignity or die in dignity - A young Arab blogger
Palestinian scholar Azmi Bshara recently wrote that the whole Arab region is heading quickly towards “Tunisization;” a new term used by Arabs these days to refer to the folk revolution in Tunis.
From Mauretania in the west to Yemen in the east, demonstrations and sit INS are being seen throughout the Middle East. The kings, princes, presidents, the one-man ruler, the one-party, the one- family, the one-tribe ruling system, and naturally the Zionist state are trembling with fear.
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