Israel (Almost) Has a Woman Prime Minister

Staff / Truthdig Sep 18, 2008 Though it wasn't immediately official, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won control of the country's ruling Kadima party and, if she is successful in forming a governing coalition, will be the first woman prime minister in more than three decades. Livni is currently Israel's lead negotiator with the Palestinians and, according to the newspaper Haaretz, was seen as likelier to reach a deal than her party rivals. Update Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Al-Qaida’s No. 2 Blasts Iran

Staff / Truthdig Sep 9, 2008 Just before the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, al-Qaida has released a lengthy videotape featuring the group's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, providing updates about how the holy war is faring around the globe and laying into Iran for "cooperating with the Americans" and with the American-approved governments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Mosaic: The DNC as Seen From the Arab World

Staff / Truthdig Aug 31, 2008 Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden as his running mate sent a clear and unpleasant message to the Arab world, as did the absence of former President Jimmy Carter from the lineup of speakers at the Denver convention last week. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cleaning Up After Bush

William Pfaff / Truthdig Aug 29, 2008 The Bush administration has lived by a strategy of tension, and will go out of office bequeathing the wars it has started and the ill will it has created to its successors, to compromise those who come after. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The Cost of Saakashvili’s Folly

William Pfaff / Truthdig Aug 27, 2008 The West's response to the situation in Georgia evades acknowledgement of the damage Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili has done to the United States and NATO, and to Georgia itself, which for the foreseeable future will now be a nation of limited sovereignty, and an awkward embarrassment to its Western allies. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Israel Frees Nearly 200 Palestinians

Staff / Truthdig Aug 25, 2008 With Condoleezza Rice fast approaching on a peace mission, Israel offered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a show of support on Monday by freeing 198 Palestinian prisoners. The group included Israel's longest serving prisoner. Israel holds roughly 9,000 Palestinians. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pravda Online Perfects Art of Messianic Headline Composition

Staff / Truthdig Aug 12, 2008 Right, so Vladimir Putin's criticism about the Western media's coverage of the ongoing clash between Russia and Georgia is certainly not completely unfounded, but media bias isn't confined to the West. Consider this recent story from Russian news source Pravda.ru, headlined "Russia: Again Savior of Peace and Life." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Zachary Karabell on the Middle East

BLANK Aug 8, 2008 What is it about the region that provokes intense sectarian passions, prompting seemingly endless vendettas? "Kingmakers," by Karl Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac, tells the story of British and American entanglement and how the modern Middle East was invented. It also offers an exemplary history of hubris. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Syria Succeeds by Doing Nothing

Robert Fisk / Truthdig Aug 4, 2008 Without a shot being fired, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ensured that anyone who wants anything in the Middle East has got to talk to Syria. He's done nothing -- and he's won. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Israeli Right Sees Opening in Political Chaos

Staff / Truthdig Aug 1, 2008 As if the situation in the Middle East couldn't get any worse, this week's news that scandal-plagued Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will resign has been seized upon by right-wing Israeli politicians, who believe the parliamentary chaos caused by Olmert's departure will open the door for a return to hard-line, ultranationalist government. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Peacemaker

Bill Boyarsky / Truthdig Jul 31, 2008 Sen. Barack Obama's visit to Israel last week no doubt displeased the outspoken hawkish minority in the American Jewish community who want the Palestinians to be crushed. But it may have helped him with the more moderate majority of that community, where he must pick up support. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Israel’s Olmert to Hang It Up

Staff / Truthdig Jul 30, 2008 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, beset by accusations of corruption and bribery, announced Wednesday that he will resign after an internal Kadima Party election to choose a new leader on Sept. 17. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )