Israel, America and the phony war on terror

“God gave the savior to the German people. We have faith, deep and unshakeable faith, that he was sent to us by God to save Germany”: Hermann Goering, speaking of Hitler
“Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. Why is he there? And I tell you [...]

J’accuse

The following “news” report by Mohammed Zaatari was published in the Daily Star 21 August:
MARJAYOUN: Mohammad Ali Qobeissi, a member of the National Council for Scientific Research, said on Sunday that a crater caused by an Israeli munition in Khiam contained “a high degree of unidentified radioactive materials.”
Qobeissi, along with Ibrahim Rashidi from the Faculty [...]

“The mother of all talk shows”

On Saturday, Respect politician and anti-war maverick George Galloway (to whom, as far as I know, I am not related) made broadcasting history by hosting a radio phone-in show from the ruins of southern Beirut.
Speaking about the ‘mother of all talk shows’ coming live from Beirut, Galloway said prior to the broadcast:
“I’m the first British [...]

Ceasefire breach was kidnap attempt

When reports of Israel’s blatant violation of the ceasefire on Saturday surfaced, the IDF tried to legitimise the action by claiming its purpose was to intercept weapons shipments from Syria.
No weapons were captured and no evidence was offered that any such shipments existed.
According to local eyewitness reports, Israeli special forces commandos disguised in Lebanese uniforms attempted to pass [...]

Lebanon: winners and losers

Hezbollah may have ignited the fuse that began the hostilities but it was Olmert who seized the opportunity, with support from Bush and Rumsfeld, to escalate towards his pre-planned destruction of Lebanon.
In the beginning the Arabian states of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain, along with the Lebanese government, condemned Hezbollah; now its reputation is lionised [...]

Hezbollah victory

It is the second day of the so-called ceasefire between Israeli troops and Hezbollah (Lebanese Resistance).
George Bush says the “terrorists” have been defeated; Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vows to “hunt down Hezbollah leaders”.
The truth is more complex.
The Israeli-American plan at the root of the foiled invasion was to humiliate Iran and Syria; but these [...]

Lebanon an American campaign by proxy

I have written about the Bush administration’s covert involvement in Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah.
Now Dan Glaister writes in the Guardian:
“The US government was closely involved in planning [the war] even before Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in cross-border raids in July. American and Israeli officials met in the spring, discussing plans on how to tackle [...]

This is just the beginning

So today Israeli vice premier and advocate of murder Shimon Peres is smug; the UN resolution, unanimously adopted Friday, “vindicates Israel all the way through and says that Hezbollah was the aggressor and that they need to return the abducted soldiers”.
I have the impression of a guy in a bar talking about the result of a [...]

Our children will be next

A few days ago, according to official government figures, the death toll exacted by Israeli (U.S.) bombing raids against the Lebanese people was estimated at 900.
That number has by now surely swollen to well over a thousand.
90% of victims have been civilians.
Historically, this is by no means a unique state of affairs.
Airwars have always been [...]

American terrorism?

“Let’s take a look at the Middle East, let’s take a look at the facts. The facts are, for 35 years, there has been a harsh, brutal, military operation. There has not been a political settlement. The reason there has not been a political settlement is because the United States, unilaterally, has blocked it for [...]