Archive for December, 2007|Monthly archive page
A grim year 2007 for Pakistan
By CLAUDE SALHANI (Editor, Middle East Times)
It has been a grim year for Pakistan. Since the start of 2007 the country has experienced 54 suicide terrorist attacks, including two Thursday, one of which killed Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister and leader of the Pakistan People’s Party. Bhutto was a leading contender in January elections.
Allies recommit to Afghanistan
Filed under: Democracy, Islam, Middle East, military intervention |
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UPI Contributing Editor
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Australia’s new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made unannounced visits to Afghanistan this weekend. They came to pledge their support in the war on terror and to reiterate their commitment to the NATO military initiative spearheaded by U.S. forces battling the Taliban.
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Kurdish self-determination ‘by all means’
Filed under: Democracy, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, Turkey, military intervention |
Leave a Comment By CLAUDE SALHANI (Editor, Middle East Times)
Geography, history — and geopolitics — has not been very kind to the Kurdish people. Geography has spread Kurdistan across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Armenia. History has only allowed Kurdistan to exist as an independent nation intermittently throughout the ages.
To Russia with love!
Khaleej Times
BY CLAUDE SALHANI (View from Washington)
21 December 2007
THE nomination of the Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” is an event awaited with similar anticipation as the recipient for the Oscar awarded to the best picture of the year. Hollywood’s choice is typically accompanied by criticism, so too is Time’s selection for its famous year-end edition.
The British are coming, the British are coming, I mean going
By Claude Salhani
December 22, 2007
The British are coming, the British are coming, I mean going. . . . The war in Iraq is finally winding down — at least for the Brits. British forces have officially handed over control of the southern Iraqi city of Basra to the Iraqi government after unofficially declaring victory and deciding it was time to leave.
Iran is still a threat for U.S.
Filed under: Iran, Middle East, Nuclear, Syria, WMD, military intervention, terrorism |
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Analysis: Iran is still a threat for U.S.
By CLAUDE SALHANI
UPI Contributing Editor
MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 10 (UPI) — The Iranian government’s rejoicing over the recent report by U.S. intelligence services that the Islamic republic had ceased being a nuclear threat was short-lived.
Addressing a conference on Gulf security in Bahrain over the weekend, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke of “deep concerns of the U.S. and its allies” over Iran’s continued quest for nuclear power.
Politics & Policies: Counter intelligence?
Filed under: Iran, Middle East, WMD, military intervention |
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by CLAUDE SALHANI (Editor, Middle East Times)
Who does one turn to for intelligent intelligence in the absence of comprehensive intelligence from the intelligence community?
For years the George W. Bush administration was shouting to the world the perils of a nuclear-armed Iran. As recently as last summer there were persistent rumors – in fact some sources believe it was more than rumors – that the United States was gearing up for a military strike on the Islamic republic’s nuclear building sites. The “proof” was there, we were told. Suddenly, as of Monday, the latest release of a collective study by all 16 U.S. intelligence services – known as the National Intelligence Estimate, or NIE, reveals that Iran had turned its back on its nuclear ambitions as far back as 2003.
Analysis: Unexpected fruit from Annapolis
Filed under: Democracy, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Palestine, Peace Talks, Syria, conflict resolution, military intervention, politics, refugees, terrorism |
Leave a Comment By CLAUDE SALHANI
UPI Contributing Editor
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) — President Bush most likely never imagined that the Annapolis Middle East peace conference he convened last week on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay would yield the results it did. He hoped to jump-start the comatose peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis with the expectation of reaching an agreement for a two-state solution before the end of his mandate, now just over a year away. Palestinian and Israeli leaders walked away from the peace conference promising the American president they would “push for peace.”
In political parlance that is the equivalent of saying “the check is in the mail.”
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