US missile defense plans may signal strike on Iran, Russia warns
Russian TV: A unified missile defense system comprising the United States and six Arab states is a signal that a military strike on Iran could be on the horizon, says […]
Letter to the editor of Jordan Times: Where is Syria heading?
It is wrong to relate the current developments in Syria to the Arab Awakening in Egypt, Libya or Tunisia. Many tend to simplify the situation in Syria, making it merely a matter of the ruling system suppressing unarmed, united and peaceful opposition. I wish it were the case, as it […]
Swiss aid group withdraws from northern Mali
The Swiss charity Helvetas says it is moving its aid workers from the embattled region of northern Mali to the south of the country. Pierre-Yves Suter, who is stationed in the capital Bamako, said a military offensive by Tuareg rebels in the north was reason for serious concern. “It might […]
Leader of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community warns Israel against attack on Iran, starting WW-III
Ahmadiyya Times: By Imran Jattala: This time the war will not remain just between Israel and Iran; but it will force all countries of the world to fight each other,” Hadhrat Ahmad wrote […]
Did the US just break the secret Israeli-Azerbaijani alliance against Iran?
Russian TV: According to an alleged leak, Israel is secretly staging an airstrike on Iran in neighboring Azerbaijan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been salivating over the thought of […]
Symmetry of slaughter
By GWYNNE DYER ARABNEWS After Mohamed Merah died in a hail of French police bullets last week, people who had known him talked about “a polite and courteous boy” who liked “cars, bikes, sports and girls.” His friends had trouble believing that he had murdered seven people, including three children, […]
U.S. Plans No Charges Over Deadly Strike in Pakistan: From Allies to Foes
The New York Times: Erik Schmidt: An American investigation in December found fault with both American and Pakistani troops for the deadly exchange of fire, but noted that the Pakistanis fired […]
U.S. War Game Sees Perils of Israeli Strike on Iran
NY Times: The officials said the so-called war game was not designed as a rehearsal for American military action — and they emphasized that the exercise’s results were not the […]
Drones at Issue as U.S. Rebuilds Ties to Pakistan
NewYork Times; By DECLAN WALSH: Making up is never easy. But as Pakistan and the United States try to restart their troubled relationship after a year of spectacular crises, the difference […]
We are fighting Islamism from ignorance, as we did the cold war
By Simon Jenkins Source: Guardian UK Were we wrong? I have lived through two global conflicts: the west against Russian communism and now the west against political Islam. The latter was caused by western leaders exaggerating a threat from a tiny group of terrorists to win popularity in war. But […]
5 Signs That A War With Iran Is Close
The clock is ticking closer to the midnight hour regarding a strike in Iran. Israel might do it alone, but will likely have the backing of the U.S. Is a war imminent, or are these moves just meant to scare Iran? Here are 5 signs that have piled up very […]
Israel uses Gaza to test its Iron Dome
By LINDA HEARD, ARABNEWS People who believe Israel has the right to send its bombs and emissaries anywhere on the planet to carry out extrajudicial assassinations have a warped moral compass. However it’s dressed, murder is murder. It’s bad enough when an individual premeditates to take the life of another […]
OIC to dispatch humanitarian aid to Syria
By JEDDAH: GALAL FAKKAR, ARAB NEWS STAFF The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will send humanitarian assistance to Syria after Damascus gave its consent to the move, the Jeddah-based organization announced yesterday. “The OIC secretariat received a written letter from the Syrian government allowing it to send humanitarian aid […]
A Personal Quest to Clarify Bin Laden’s Last Days Yields Vexing Accounts
NY Times: RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — In his quest for the truth about his country’s most notorious guest, Shaukat Qadir started where it all ended: the room whereOsama bin Laden was killed. Last […]
Top military leader talks of risk for US in Syria
By DONNA CASSATA | AP ARABNEWS WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pushed back on Wednesday against fresh demands for US military involvement in Syria to end President Bashar Assad’s deadly crackdown on his people. “What doesn’t make sense is to take unilateral action right now,” Panetta told the Senate Armed […]
Seriously, Washington’s Afghan policy will not work
By Fareed Zakaria, The Daily Star, Lebanon The controversy over the desecration of copies of the Quran in Afghanistan and the murder of Americans that followed is, on one level, one moment in a long war. But it also highlights the difficult and ultimately unsustainable aspect of America’s Afghan policy. […]
AIPAC beats the drums of war: A question of when, not if?
Washington Post: Dana Milbank: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told the AIPAC gathering on Monday night that Obama needs more of a “clear, declaratory policy” toward Iran. “If Iran […]
The Vast Majority Of Israelis Are Against A Unilateral Strike Against Iran
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits this week with U.S. President Barack Obama and others in the U.S., only one in five Israelis, or 19 percent, favor unilateral military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities without Washington’s approval, according to a poll taken by Israel’s Dahaf Institute and released by […]
The 10 Companies That Profit Most From War
This post originally appeared at 24/7 Wall St. Global sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest defense contractors increased in 2010 to $411.1 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The increase reflects a decade-long trend of growing military spending. Since 2002, total arms sales among the 100 […]
Iraq militia hands over last missing US soldier’s remains
By PETER GRAFF AND SUADAD AL-SALHY | REUTERS ARABNEWS BAGHDAD: A Shiite militia has handed over the body of the last US soldier missing in Iraq, closing a final chapter of the war two months after US troops left and more than five years after the soldier vanished while secretly […]