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By Nat Hentoff
$18.15
By E.J. Dionne
$18.95
$19
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A senior State Department official has confirmed that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with her Syrian counterpart at an ongoing conference in Egypt. The two were expected to discuss Iraq’s security. Iran, too, has expressed interest in such a meeting, but when asked about that possibility earlier this week President Bush said simply that his top diplomat would not be rude to Iran’s foreign minister.
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By Joe Conason — By appointing corrupt and incompetent cronies to represent the United States, the Bush administration has damaged more than America’s reputation, weakening the international organizations the world depends on now more than ever.
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Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has told the Sudanese government it must either cooperate with a U.N. peacekeeping plan or face sanctions. However, the U.S. has agreed to give U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon time to work with Khartoum before pressing the issue.
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates was dispatched to Russia on Monday to smooth over relations with Vladimir Putin, who is upset over U.S. plans to locate missile defense sites in Europe. Russia has repeatedly voiced its opposition to such plans, and Monday’s meeting between Gates and his counterpart was no exception.
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A human rights organization is suing Yahoo for assisting the Chinese government in arresting dissidents by providing information on its users. Like Google and Microsoft, Yahoo has defended the practice of handing over data to China as a necessary evil mitigated by the benefits of the Internet, crippled and corrupt though it may be.
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A number of Arab foreign ministers have appointed Egypt and Jordan to meet with Israel over a peace proposal that would normalize relations between the Jewish state and the Arab world in exchange for a long list of concessions, some very unlikely to be met.
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militaryphotos.net
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The Bush administration finds itself in a difficult position as tensions between two regional allies threaten to escalate to war. The Turkish military is fed up with Kurdish rebels it says have safe harbor in northern Iraq, and now wants to mount an assault across the border. One of Iraq’s Kurdish leaders has said such an attack would trigger retaliation.
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For a guy who says he’s a Democrat, Joe Lieberman doesn’t show much party loyalty. The senator took a break from defending Bush and his war on Sunday to pile on the criticism of Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Syria. Luckily Arlen Specter, a Republican no less, was on hand to defend the logic of diplomacy.
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news.bbc.co.uk
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The White House has continued to criticize House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for visiting Syria, while ignoring an earlier trip by a Republican congressional delegation. The speaker’s office maintains that it is worth meeting with “every country that has an interest in avoiding a chaotic Iraq.”
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latimes.com
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Responding to a Saudi peace proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has invited all Arab heads of state to meet in Jerusalem for talks. Israel had rejected similar proposals, but Olmert now takes a different view, saying a multilateral meeting would be “worth the effort.”
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news.bbc.co.uk
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One of Bush’s biggest buddies in the Mideast, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, described the Iraq war as an “illegitimate foreign occupation” while pleading for Arab unity. His remarks came during a summit of the Arab League, which plans to approach Israel with a renewed diplomatic effort.
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A South Korean newspaper has quoted CIA Director Michael Hayden as saying “the United States does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. ... It’s because the nuclear test last year was a failure.” Hayden reportedly made the comment while speaking with a South Korean defense official. The administration has said in the past it was uncertain of the test’s success.
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Israeli officials say they will not work with a newly formed Palestinian coalition, calling the power-sharing regime “a leap backward.” Despite a tentative pledge from Hamas to “respect” past agreements, Israel feels the new government does not meet the requirements set out by the so-called quartet of Western nations.
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The State Department recently released its regular report of human rights abuses around the world and, as expected, listed China as one of the worst offenders. But Beijing fired back with its own report and a long list U.S. violations, including everything from disregard for civilian casualties to treating racial minorities as an underclass.
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While preparing for his Latin American tour, the president suggested that Cuban communism should die with Fidel Castro. Bush also took a shot at his nemesis in the region, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, for his recent decision to nationalize some private industry: “I strongly believe that government-run industry is inefficient and will lead to more poverty.” Before passing judgment, remember that our president is, in fact, an expert on government inefficiency.
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news.bbc.co.uk
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Most people believe Israel and Iran have a substantially negative impact on the world, according to a BBC poll of 28,000 people in 27 countries. Canada and Japan rated highest among nations that were seen to have a largely positive influence.
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A State Department official said the U.S. will not extradite 26 suspected CIA agents to Italy, where they are accused of carrying out “extraordinary rendition.” Legal adviser John Bellinger added a veiled threat, saying further legal action in Europe would hamper “intelligence cooperation.”
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AP Photo / Greg Baker
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By Robert Scheer — There is nothing wrong with negotiating with our enemies rather than weakly blustering at cartoon images of them—I wish we would do the same in our dealings with Iran—but it would be nice if we would stop shooting ourselves in the foot first.
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news.bbc.co.uk
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Fidel Castro has finally made a public appearance—the first since surgery prompted speculation about his health and rule. Appearing on his buddy Hugo Chavez’s radio show, Castro said, “I feel good and I’m happy.”
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Despite ramping up its verbal attacks on Iran and Syria, the U.S. will participate in a conference in Iraq next month that will include the two regional powers. A State Department spokesman said he would not “exclude any particular interaction” with the diplomatic foes.
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wikipedia.org
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India and Pakistan have agreed to a deal meant to limit the possibility of inadvertent nuclear war. The two nuclear states have gone to war several times and frequently rattle sabers at each other.
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The Project on Defense Alternatives has collected more than 120 articles on Iran that offer “critical perspectives on the current crisis, its origins, and implications.” For information about U.S. foreign policy, oil geopolitics, war plans for Iran and much more, check it out.
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that his nation is willing to shut down its nuclear enrichment program in order to hold talks, but first the West must do likewise: “We say how is it that your [nuclear fuel] production facilities work 24 hours a day, but you feel threatened by our newly established complex and we need to shut it down for talks?”
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The U.S. and Israel have agreed not to recognize or support a new Palestinian unity government unless it first recognizes Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will have to do some political tightrope-walking in the days ahead as he attempts to make peace with Hamas at home and improve relations with Israel and its allies abroad.
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Flynt Leverett, a former aide to Condoleezza Rice, has essentially accused the secretary of state of lying to Congress and the American people when she denied seeing a 2003 proposal from Iran. Tehran had offered a deal similar to what the U.S. wants now, but the Bush administration had no interest at the time. Leverett said former Secretary of State Colin Powell told him he “couldn’t sell it at the White House.”
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The Bush administration hopes its deal with North Korea will serve as a “template” for Iran, but convincing Tehran to abandon its nuclear program won’t be a walk in the park. Unlike North Korea, Iran has no use for energy aid and has managed to outmaneuver the U.S. in several regional conflicts.
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North Korea has agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor within 60 days in exchange for either energy or economic aid. The U.S. has also promised to drop North Korea from a list of terrorist states and normalize relations.
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The U.S. envoy to the six-party North Korea talks says all parties have reached tentative agreement on a deal, which would, according to previous reports, provide North Korea with energy assistance in exchange for an end to its nuclear program. A final text of the proposal has been distributed for review, and the delegates will meet again Tuesday to consider approving the agreement.
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from news.bbc.co.uk
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The Russian president, normally a close ally of President Bush, used a security summit this week to lash out at American foreign policy, calling the U.S. “very dangerous.” Vladimir Putin added that the United States has “overstepped its borders” and is “nourishing” a nuclear arms race.
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chinadaily.com
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Thursday that Iran would respond to an attack by striking against U.S. interests around the world. Iran’s supreme leader noted that President Bush is seen as reckless, but suggested “it is possible to bring this kind of person to wisdom.” That’s easy for him to say; we’ve been trying for a long time without any luck.
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AP Photo / Greg Baker
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North Korea’s nuclear envoy announced on Thursday that his government is prepared to discuss nuclear disarmament, provided the United States softens its approach: “We are going to make a judgment based on whether the United States will give up its hostile policy and come out toward peaceful coexistence.”
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news.bbc.co.uk
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Iran says it is holding the United States responsible for the life and safety of an Iranian diplomat who was kidnapped Sunday. Iraqi officials say Jalal Sharafi was abducted by men wearing the uniform of a special unit under American command, but the U.S. has denied any involvement.
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Three former high-ranking U.S. military men have called on the Bush administration to pursue diplomacy with Iran, saying “an attack on Iran would have disastrous consequences,” a concern shared by a group of 22 physicists, including 12 Nobel laureates, which has asked Congress to restrict the president’s ability to use nuclear weapons against Tehran.
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news.bbc.co.uk
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Saudi Arabia and Iran have joined forces to mediate tensions in Lebanon in an odd turn of events that is sure to addle the Bush administration. While the U.S. strongly opposes Iran’s regional influence, Saudi Arabia is but the latest American ally to cozy up to Tehran in the interest of stability.
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from spacewar.com
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The president has authorized U.S. troops to “kill or capture” Iranian soldiers and intelligence operatives found in Iraq, and the administration has even pressured military commanders to take advantage of the policy, according to multiple sources who spoke with The Washington Post.
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A defiant Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that U.N. sanctions would have no effect on his nation’s nuclear policy or economy: “The [U.N.] resolution was born dead and even if they issue 10 more of such resolutions it will not affect Iran’s economy and policies.”
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news.bbc.co.uk
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Hugo Chavez has won preliminary approval to rule by decree for 18 months. The Venezuelan president has said he intends to enact sweeping reforms, including the elimination of term limits for the president and the nationalization of some key industries.
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hhill.org
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China has successfully completed a test of an anti-satellite weapon, alarming the United States and other nations, the White House said. Although the Bush administration is weary of a possible militarized space race, it has steadfastly opposed a ban on such tests in order to preserve U.S. “freedom of action in space.”
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jabtv.com
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Four years ago, Iran offered to end its support of Hezbollah and Hamas, help to stabilize Iraq and make its nuclear program more transparent, according to a top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell. But Vice President Dick Cheney nixed the deal, because of his “We don’t talk to evil” mentality, the aide said.
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hq.nato.int
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The United Nations has begun a renewed effort to address the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has promised to give the crisis his full attention, though many world leaders have made similar commitments to no avail.
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nytimes.com
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Bush’s former Iraq and U.N. ambassador, John Negroponte, currently the director of national intelligence, is expected to accept a tacit demotion in order to become Condoleezza Rice’s deputy at the State Department. As if shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, the president continues to shift a cast of familiar characters he’s come to rely on to implement his failed policies.
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nytimes.com
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Iran has flooded Afghanistan with both good works and propaganda, writes The New York Times’ David Rohde, in an effort to spread its influence. While the U.S. has resisted Tehran’s ascendancy in Iraq, it seems the Bush administration’s growing disinterest in Afghanistan extends to Iran’s presence there.
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news.bbc.co.uk
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Iran responded defiantly Sunday to U.N. Security Council sanctions by announcing it would press ahead with nuclear enrichment. “Previously we said repeatedly that if the Westerners wanted to exploit the UN Security Council it will not only have no influence but make us more determined to pursue our nuclear goals even faster,” said Iran’s top nuclear negotiator.
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice indicated on Thursday that she still believed Iraq would emerge “as a country that is a stabilizing factor” for the Mideast, and that President Bush would not ask for continued investment if he—and she—did not believe the venture was worthwhile. Well, that’s good to know. For a few years there, it seemed like they didn’t know what they were doing.
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slate.com
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The National Security Council has blocked publication of an article critical of the Bush administration’s Iran policy, claiming that it contains classified information. The piece was written by two former government Mideast experts, who have accused the NSC of playing politics: “They don’t want us to say how many opportunities this administration has missed to put relations with Iran on a better track.”
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