Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Midwest, the Mideast, and a New Book on Afghanistan


By Phyllis Bennis

"The dangers of another, even greater, U.S. escalation in Afghanistan are rising; the continuing war in Iraq is exploding anew; the possibilities-but-still-dangers in U.S. engagement with Iran remain hopeful but tense; and U.S. diplomatic engagement in the Middle East is still designed to fail.........

The Discourse on Israel-Palestine

Speaking of the discourse on Israel-Palestine, tomorrow a majority in Congress is scheduled to do something they do all too frequently, in this case voting (with a likely overwhelming majority) to call for a U.S. veto against and condemnation of the Goldstone Report in the United Nations. The report, produced by an extraordinary team led by the internationally respected South African Justice Richard Goldstone, is by far the most comprehensive, even-handed and internationally credible report so far into the wide-ranging violations of international law committed in Gaza at the beginning of the year......

Palestine-Israel Developments at the UN

In the meantime, Palestine-Israel developments at the UN don't look so good either. The proposals circulating would pretty much abandon any real effort at serious implementation and enforcement of the accountability that is at the heart of the Goldstone report. But there's an effort underway to do so in a way that would try to make it appear that the General Assembly is responding seriously to the report, when it clearly would NOT be......"

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