Will God speak on the Middle East?

Posted on January 21, 2012 by admin

When God saw man dividing the earth into countries he had laughed at another human folly. And now both Israelis and Palestinians want to claim God for their own. Both the Jews and the Palestinians want to occupy land in the name of Yahweh and Allah. Unfortunately, God has yet not been known to interrupt conference-sessions for putting forward His opinions. We have only the facts to go on. There is a country called Israel and there are people whose nation is not acknowledged by the Jews. They are not called Palestinians but simply, ‘terrorists’ by Israel. Moreover, as the ContraCosta Times reports, orthodox Israelis like Aaron Blumenfeld know for a certainty that every bit of Palestinian land belongs to the Jews because the Old Testament says so. Problem is, the Arabs feel that Allah has given them all the land they occupy. The UN demarcation in 1947 of the Palestinian territory is rejected by the Arabs. The Middle East conflict cannot be anymore resolved on earthly plains for both the parties now routinely quote the divine. The Bush regime is avowedly Christian and anti-Islamic. This has prompted both acolytes of President Bush and his critics to talk of a war of civilizations between the Christian and the Muslim countries. Israel’s conservative right wing gets full support from the US which sees the Jewish religion as integral to its own heritage. So when the UN partition was effected in Palestine, the Muslims had a short shrift of things. This provided the immediate excuse for the terrorism unleashed on Israel by the Palestinians. So instead of peace, the UN under the control of the US just propagated violence in the Middle East. While the ancient people fight, a relatively new upstart nation tries to secure its oil rights in the Gulf. The Rabbis are goaded to protect their orthodoxy while newer Fulbright scholarships for Islamic studies in the US invite Arab scholars to become more established in their own religions. Nothing really wrong with these efforts except for the fact that the US is herself a secular nation. She teaches her own citizens to be liberal and tolerant while encouraging others to obsess with God. Via: ContraCosta Times Image: Synergise

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Iranian war against drug trafficking discounted?

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

The dwindling patches of common ground between Tehran and the West – a 560 mile long stretch of dikes and trenches along Afghan border – may soon look desolate. This would be the dream-turn-true situation for the international drug lords of Afghanistan. Since Iran has repeatedly refused to back off from its uranium enrichment program, it is time to break the deadlock. Under the twist-or-break-arm tactics, European Union is now considering to link the fight against drug menace to making Iran uranium-free. Prez Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s love of rhetoric supported by an unflinching support of the Islamic clerics only now can be seen as a grave threat to the ambition of a drugs-free world. Without western assistance Iran would not be able to fund its fight against drug lords. A ‘heroin tsunami’ in Europe is predicted by none other than United Nations Organization. Going by official revelations, 900 tons of narcotics were seized in the Iran-Afghanistan border area last year – a whopping 80 percent of total opium seized worldwide. However, it is still not sure whether it can really be implemented as Washington has praised Iran’s anti-drug steps. The Iranian fight against drug cartels has cost it the lives of more than 3,500 officers in clashes with heavily armed drug traffickers. It has definitely earned Iran many credit points. Roberto Arbitrio, head of the U.N. drugs and crime office in Iran, said the war on drugs should be viewed as ‘a non-political area of mutual interest.’ This credit can not be discounted by any European country as they are the most vulnerable ones to drug abuse. Source : Fox News

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IAEA chief does not want a repeat of Iraq in Iran

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

Mohammed El-Baradei, the IAEA chief, has made his opinion regarding the Iranian issue known to the world, particularly the United States. He is against any sort of military attack against Tehran at the current moment. He has labelled the current hard US stance against Iran similar to the one followed in 2003 prior to the invasion of Iraq. It seems Mr.El-Baradei is frustrated by the fact that the diplomatic work of the UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA, is getting undermined by the increasing American war rhetoric on the Iranian nuclear standoff. The Egyptian nuclear diplomat fears that if any attack is carried out against the Iranians, the IAEA would be considered as a puppet organisation under the direct jurisdiction of the super powers rather than a neutral world body. After the invasion of Iraq, both the UN and the IAEA came under heavy criticism for not showing enough leadership and responsibility to prevent the war. The tough words used by the IAEA chief against some of the White House policymakers would definitely be welcomed by the Iranian leadership, which is busy putting up its case in front of the world. The latest country that Iran is trying to woo is Turkey. With Ankara determined to defy American calls not to enter the Iraqi territory to pursue PKK rebels, Tehran has put its money behind any future Turkish invasion. The Iranians know that this blunt support towards the Turks may lead to an anti-US rhetoric among the Turkish people and politicians regarding any future attack on Tehran. Some reports have even suggested of a collaboration between the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Turkish special forces in dealing with the Kurdish problem. It will be interesting to see what effect does the comment of Mohammed El-Baradei have on both the Iranian and American attitudes. It is clear that being an Egyptian and a leader of a world body, the IAEA chief does not want any more bloodshed in the middle-east. But at the same time he knows that the current US government would try everything to launch attacks on Iran before the American elections in 2009. Therefore, the time has come for the IAEA to prove its worth as a neutral world body. Link:USATODAY Image Link:Trinity College Dublin

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Infighting in Gaza: Who is the real enemy?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admin

Fighting and infighting continues in Gaza, Palestine. Intriguing part is, enemy keeps changing. Now the issue is no longer Palestine-Israel fight. It is a clash within two groups in Gaza, Hamas and Fatah. Further, there are rifts within clans supporting Fatah. Hamas wants to control and rule over 1.5 million Palestinians in the coastal Gaza strip. On Saturday, in retaliation to earlier bombing, Hamas attacked the Hilles clan, whose chief had been associated with Fatah. Interestingly, the clan members sought refuge at Israeli border. More intriguing part unfolded when Fatah too tried to distance itself from this clan. So, members of Hilles, who fled during the attack by Hamas, had no option but to be at mercy of Israel! This twisted drama unfolded after clash between the Hilles clan and Hamas on Saturday which left 11 people dead. Scores of clan members ran towards Israeli border to escape death. Israel, which is negotiating peace with Fatah in West Bank in order to isolate Hamas, allowed some 181 people to cross into Israel. Twenty two of them had to be hospitalized and rest had to be put up in military base. The basic understanding was that they’ll be transferred safely to West Bank, but Fatah leaders in West Bank did’t want these 181 people, making it clear that the relation between the Hilles clan and Fatah is not good. Officially, though Fatah leaders in West Bank are not making any such statement. Israel tried sending clan members back to Gaza in groups. But the moment first group entered Gaza it was arrested by Hamas. After uproar from human rights groups, the rest were not sent back. Later right wing groups within Israel urged to detain these people. Hence some of them are being questioned at military base in Israel itself. They now face charges of being terrorists, of having engaged in anti-Israel activities and for having shot Israeli soldiers and launched rockets at Israeli town. In short Hilles,clan got saved and arrested by Israel while trying to escape death from Hamas. In a way, Israel did gain a moral advantage for respecting the negotiations with Fatah and letting in 181 fleeing people from Palestine. Infighting in Gaza is making Israel-Palestine conflicts more complex to resolve through peace negotiations mediated by Egypt. source: IHT

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Iraqi militia recruiting child bombers

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admin

That the situation in Iraq is changing from bad to worse after the US invasion has been proved once again in a recent United Nations report that said that the militia in Iraq are recruiting children for suicidal attacks. The Al-Qaeda is training children to use guns and carry out kidnapping and other terrorist activities. This trend is growing since 2004. The prevalence of large-scale poverty has increased the number of school dropouts in Iraq. Currently only 50 percent of Iraqi children are attending primary schools down from 80 percent in 2005. They do not have access to clean drinking water and adequate healthcare facilities. The impoverished country where resentment against the US and its allies are high has become the fertile spot for creating young jihadis. The recruitment of children as suicide bombers and terrorists is meant to send the children to heaven according to the Al-Qaeda philosophy. The young militants are taught that children receive special consideration in death. They are not held accountable for any sins committed by them until puberty and if they are killed in a jihad, they will go to heaven. In heaven they would instantly grow up, become young adults, and enjoy access to virgins and other heavenly benefits meant for martyrs. However, the Islamic law says that it is unlawful to kill children, women, the old and the infirm. For the Islamic militia the laws of the prophet do not matter and they have no inhibition in falsifying the Islamic laws to serve their deadly purpose. Source:BBC Image

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Building walls in Baghdad is no solution

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admin

 Americans are now builing a wall around southern parts of Sadr city, the Shia dominated area of Baghdad. The idea is to prevent more Shia fighters of the Mahdi army from entering the area. After the Iraqi governemnt’s recent offensive against militants in Basra, a stung Shia strongman Moqtada Al Sadr, has moved his men into Sadr city, his stronghold in Baghdad. The US and Iraqi government forces are fighting a continuous war against the militants since the last few days. The decision to wall in the area came as a result of that. The aim is to secure it. The US army put it across with a sugary coating. Lieutenant Colonel Dan Barnett, commander of the First Squadron, Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment, currently attached to the Second Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division said, You can’t really repair anything that is broken until you establish security. A wall that isolates those who would continue to attack the Iraqi Army and coalition forces can create security conditions that they can go in and rebuildBut that fools no one. The main aim is security. Building these kind of walls is not going to solve the basic issues in Iraq. These are security measures. What are needed are political and economic measures. What is needed is a real Iraqi governemnt of national reconciliation, which looks after the interests of not only Shias, but also Sunnis, Kurds and Christians. If Iraq is to stay one country, this is indispensable. Otherwise Balkanisation of the nation on community lines is inevtable. Building walls will lead to nothing. The Iraqis hate the walls anyway. US should realiize that they may build walls in certain areas of Baghdad, but it is not possible to build a wall around the whole country. Source: NYT

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US’s Iran rhetoric: A next Sarajevo in Making

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admin

US hypocrisy is nothing new for all of us. However, it has degraded to the abhorsome extent, as Bush is now planning to change his horizon form Iraq to Iran. Can you believe it? Is he sane? Well, I doubt. Did he not remember Iraq and Afghanistan romances in ‘War on terror’? And how about Bush threatening of World war III on Russian support to Iran? You need more proofs, do you? US’s war mongering rhetoric on Iran is heating up, for presidential election is approaching. Perhaps, Bush wants to shift the attention of US people from Iraq. As US is bent upon making Iran next Iraq, can you expect anything else than failure? Even if it’s an election dodge to US people, then there is another catastrophe due for the world to witness. And when I talk about the ‘catastrophe’, every one knows what I mean by that. Of course, economic sanctions are not new for Iran and its energy resources are capable enough to parry financial crises. With this, there are rare chances that Iran will eschew its uranium enrichment. Again, the question is why Iran should do that? Will this fierce argument solve the problem? While France and UK are taking tough stance on Iranian nuclear programme and Russia and China opposing it, the groups for the conflict, as one sees clearly, are already made. Since IAEA has given clean chit to Iran, and on the other side, Iran has shown its sincerity by calling in the IAEA experts, now west owes to sincerity. On the other hand, Egypt has unveiled a plan for a nuclear plant. But, US is dumb. As US is making hue and cry for the same in Iran, it remains to be seen what stance will be taken on Egypt. Nicolas Sarkozy’s option to the west to choose between bombing Iran or let it go nuclear shows the gravity of the situation and has forced the world powers to seriously contemplate upon the issue. However, divisions in Teheran are also rhymed in US, as Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates differ with Bush on striking Iran. Even Iran is not silent and threatened to undertake decisive strike in case US attacks and again, indication towards Israel is pretty clear. With this the mess that will follow will lead to complete annihilation. For that matter, is Iran going to serve next Sarajevo while paving the way for the vital conflict that will spill over and over and over. The very thought shudders the spine, but morally bankrupt Bush feels nothing, for he is in cold blood. Well, for fools rush in where angels fear to tread and one hardly doubts Bush who has done the same twice (in Iraq and Afghanistan). Image

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Iraqi peace: How US fudges facts

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admin

Everyone is afraid of peace returning to Iraq. Violence has apparently lessened. Still the Washington Post is unsure whether it is the calm before a fresh storm of violence or the return of peace to the beleaguered nation. The number of attacks against U.S. soldiers has fallen to levels not seen since before the February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samara. The death toll for American troops in October fell to 39, the lowest level since March 2006. The U.S. military has found that civilian deaths fell from a high this year of about 2,800 in January to about 800 in October. But statistics are invariably deceptive. They hide more than what they reveal. For example, these figures are mute about the pervasive fear which has gripped the ordinary Iraqi citizen. A Sunni businessman had boasted of his status protecting him from violence. The next day he was abducted and threatened by unnamed gunmen. Though they released him, he no longer dares to leave home. And the Shiites detest the Sunnis. They blame the Sunni Iraqi al-Qaeda for their woes. These insurgents did our country in, they say. But wonder of wonders, many Iraqis are all praise for the Bush administration. They fear that with the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, violence will re-start. Iraqis feel that US presence in small numbers around Baghdad has helped. Nobody seems to notice that it was President Bush who first started the fight. It was Bush’s policy of divisive-rule which widened the rift between the two Muslim sects. It is Bush who is constantly pressuring the Iraqi Kurds. The subtle supremacy of white colonialism lies in its ability to make the victims love their colonial masters. The Americans are not going anywhere right now or in the near future. Only recently Condoleezza Rice has invited US citizens of standing to come and go to Iraq to restore peace there. Iraqis are not good enough for their own country. Lord Ashdown, the new super-envoy of US and UK to Afghanistan has given up hope for that country, even after prolonged US presence there. That is what happens when the US rules any country. We should be scared for Iraq. The US military provides one kind of statistics but Health Ministry figures are showing heightened deaths this time of the year. The US will ensure that such discrepancies do not occur in the future. Without disquiet in Iraq, the US cannot remain there. Without being there, The US cannot have oil. And oil is the whole point for the US presence there. This idea of lull and less-deaths is the result of fudging. Violence will break out any day. It is age old colonial policy that colonizers never reveal their sordid deeds to their own countrymen. That way the ordinary US citizen really thinks what a good job their soldiers are doing in Iraq. It is Bush who wants to lull America in dreams of Iraqi peace. Via: Washington Post Image: Geocities

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How al-Qaeda forces women to become suicide-bombers

Posted on January 18, 2012 by admin

Wild passion can be dangerous, especially when it comes from extremist groups like the al-Qaeda. Their latest weapon, according to The US Army is to deploy women for terrorist attacks, as women have the advantage of becoming almost sure shot live weapons, both emotionally and physically! Captain Matthew Shown, the intelligence officer for Sabre Squadron, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, which is based in southeast Diyala, Baghdad, says, Some Women are easy prey because their husband or children have been killed or detained by US forces. They will try to use whatever works best for them to attempt to exploit whatever political or cultural restrictions we have. Now they’ve adapted to try to use female suicide bombers. It is to be noted here that it is almost impossible to frisk females for carrying weapons or bombs due the cultural and religious bindings by the male security staff and there are very few women in the army to be always present wherever needed! Moreover, these women attackers are generally so emotionally charged in the name of Jihad, blackmail, lust or love that they are able to camouflage their evil plan so well, that no one can make out what lies beneath their innocent faces. To exploit their services, the al-Qaeda members even go to the extent of marrying women and then letting other men rape them. The dishonoured women have no options but to end their lives and they easily fall prey to becoming suicide bombers! The terrorists even kidnap their children and threaten them to kill the children if they refuse to help them. In such a situation, these women have no option left but to be an active aid in their terror plan. However, the US Military is trying hard to combat this problem. It is hiring women guards to stand at every check post so that they can do a full body search of these women and thus avert attacks. The women guards will join about 80,000 men. They protect their neighbourhood under a programme that has lured many former Sunni insurgents to turn against al-Qaeda. Source: TimesOnline Image

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Uneasy calm in Iraq as US troops withdraw

Posted on January 18, 2012 by admin

With the completion of the withdrawal of 28,500 US troops posted in the recent military build up in Iraq, the country for now is taking in a gasp of fresh but temporary calm. According to Pentagon only 490 deaths have been reported in the month of June, a far cry from 3,700 Iraqi deaths in the fall of 2006. This has given some breathing space even to U.S. officials and politicians. In Baghdad, people now can be found roaming on the streets, going to bars and generally conducting the normal peace time activities, though restricted to aware confines of their own districts. Tension, though, is prevalent across the land. The usual kidnapping, suicide attacks, and assassinations still occur but added to that is the question of what after the US withdrawal? The internal and difficult question over the distribution of power in the future is as yet unsettled and unanswered and thus, a cause of uneasiness among the competing groups. The US invasion has brought out the communal divides of the region into an open and seemingly unending chaos. The Shias and the Sunnis are still hammer and tongs at each other. Their fear and resultant hatred is deep and historic, though hopefully not permanent. The issue of Kurdish nationality has not yet been resolved and then there are these various armed militia including the Al Qaeda which are now omnipresent in Iraq. Even the state armed forces are no less than local mobs. Also, this temporary thaw cannot be a permanent one unless the international power play that is operational in the region is resolved. America is debating its claim on Iraqi oil in lieu of the price it paid to bring ‘freedom’ to the Iraqis. Its recent proposal to control Iraq’s skies and establish its troops forever in Iraq was rejected by the Maliki government. Iran also has its interest involved in Iraq being vacuumed of American presence and Turkey is actively involved in the Kurdish question. Source: Los Angeles Times

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