Archive for September, 2007|Monthly archive page
Outsourcing war is good business
By CLAUDE SALHANI
UPI Contributing Editor
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) — The private armies employed by the United States as auxiliary forces in the war in Iraq have come under criticism following an incident that drew the ire of Iraq’s prime minister, who demanded their immediate withdrawal.
Ahmadinejad – the US’ favorite villain
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Claude Salhani, Middle East Times
September 25, 2007
– Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the man everyone loves to hate. That is, at least, in the United States, where the Iranian president is spending a few days this week, on the margins of a United Nations summit.
Privatizing war
Filed under: Iraq, Mercenaries, War, military intervention, politics |
Leave a Comment BY CLAUDE SALHANI (View from Washington)
24 September 2007
SAY what you want about the Bush administration, but there is no denying that it has demonstrated ingenuity insofar as the art of war is concerned. In its efforts to keep the number of US troops on the ground in Iraq to a minimum, the US government has turned to the private sector for additional manpower.
Al Qaeda’s third defeat
Filed under: Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, politics, terrorism |
Leave a Comment Claude Salhani
September 19, 2007
The defeat of al Qaeda by Sunni tribesmen in Iraq’s Anbar Province and of an al Qaeda-backed militia called Fatah al-Islam in North Lebanon’s Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp represents two of the most serious blows to the Islamist movement since the declaration of war on terrorism.
“If it’s clear how a war with Iran would start, it’s far-less clear how it would end.”
Filed under: Iran, Nuclear, War, military intervention, politics |
Leave a Comment Commentary: France cautions Iran
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Claude Salhani, Middle East Times
September 18, 2007
Sounding even more hawkish than Dick Cheney on Iran’s nuclear program France’s foreign minister Bernard Kouchner joined the fray of those sending serious warnings to the Islamic republic. Kouchner said that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable to the international community, warning that the West should “prepare for the worst” if Iran proceeded with its nuclear program. The worst of course, means war.
But as Gen. Wesley Clark, the former commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces in Kosovo, pointed out in Sunday’s Washington Post, “If it’s clear how a war with Iran would start, it’s far-less clear how it would end.”
Rejection Front revisited
16 September 2007
THEY say that history repeats itself. If that is truly the case the Islamic Resistance Movement, otherwise known as Hamas, would find it beneficial to read up on recent Palestinian history. Say from the 1970s to the present day; and they should do so before the Middle East peace conference planned for next November.
Recently an old newspaper story written back in the heydays of the Rejection Front found its way across my desk. The Rejection Front? Remember the infamous “Three No’s:” No to peace with Israel, no to recognition of Israel and no to negotiations with Israel. Allow me to refresh your memory.
Analysis: Bin Laden is back. Or is he?
Filed under: Iran, Iraq, Nuclear, War, military intervention, politics, terrorism |
Leave a Comment By CLAUDE SALHANI
UPI Contributing Editor
WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) — A videotape emerged late last week on an Islamist Web site showing someone who appeared to be the leader of al-Qaida delivering a message intended for the American people, asking them to lend him their ears. On the tape, the most-wanted man in the world with a bounty of $50 million on his head looked relaxed, healthier than in his last appearance three years ago. But was it really Osama bin Laden?
The bin Laden in the new video looked a few years older and a few pounds heavier than when last seen. Nothing suspicious about that. However, there are a number of anomalies in the video that require additional analysis.
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Commentary: Iraq on the US agenda
Filed under: Iran, Iraq, Nuclear, War, military intervention, politics |
Leave a Comment LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Claude Salhani, Middle East Times
September 11, 2007
– The two top US representatives in Iraq, General David Petraeus and ambassador Ryan Crocker, appeared before the US Congress Monday, to testify on the latest state of affairs in the war-torn country; a country where much of its political and military future rests in the hands of these two Americans to whom President George W. Bush has practically given a carte blanche.
Adding centrifuges to the fire
Claude Salhani
New reports from Iran say the Islamic Republic is running more than 3,000 centrifuges, which is certain to augment fears in Washington and Western Europe that Iran’s nuclear program is for military, rather than civilian, use, as Iran’s leadership insists.
The announcement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Sunday also will likely augment the likelihood of an attack by the United States on Iran’s nuclear production plants and installations. Iran’s main nuclear facilities, according to Alireza Jafarzadeh, an exile with close links to the Iranian opposition, are those at Natanz and Arak.
Iraq: Beginning of the end?
BY CLAUDE SALHANI
TWO separate events unfolded in Iraq last week that could signal the beginning of the end of the Anglo-US engagement in that country. The first event was the unexpected visit to the war-torn country by US President George W Bush, the American president’s third visit to Iraq. The second event was the pullback of British forces from Basra.
