[posted 9/7/08]
Iran looks “to maintain and upgrade the combat readiness” in the face of speculation of American and/or Israeli attacks …
- Iran to Hold Three-day War Games: Report (Reuters / Washington Post)
… but, “[u]nder fire at home … over his government’s failure to rein in steadily climbing inflation,” Ahmadinijad may have a different sort of fight on his hands:
Hopes springs up with Gul’s unprecedentend visit to Armenia:
- Armenia and Turkey to Improve Ties (Al-Jazeera)
Sunni and Shi`a militia’s profess “total agreement” to “end all visible armed presence in Tripoli and to hand its security to the Lebanese army:”
“No-fly” days are over, but the re-establishment of the air force takes a back seat to fighting the resistance:
- Iraq’s Air Force Taking to the Skies Again (LA Times)
With Palestinians forced to rely on smugglers to provide them with necessities,
- Israel Nudges Egypt to Crack Down Harder on Gaza Smugglers (Christian Science Monitor)
“Zardari’s first test is that as president he facilitates the transfer of Musharraf’s powers to parliament”–Ahsan Iqbal, former minister and senior opposition figure:
Commentator Sheldon Richman exposes the fallacies in neocon efforts to justify American policy with bin Ladin-style reasoning:
- Why the Peaceful Majority of Muslims Are Not Irrelevant (Future of Freedom)
[posted 9/5/08]
Bob Woodward reveals that “‘groundbreaking’ new covert techniques” rather than the surge are responsible for the victories against al-Qaeda in Iraq …
- U.S. Spied on Iraqi Leaders, Book Says (Washington Post)
… but military concerns suggest that there may be no improvement in stability by any account:
Without confirming their involvement, the US military bombed Pakistani for the third time in as many days:
- US bomb ‘kills five in Pakistan’ (BBC News)
The US military risks a Srebrenica-style massacre with Iranian exiles
Afghans outraged at the civilian death toll, over 500 since the beginning of the year:
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