– Robert Fisk rightly argues that only justice, not bombs, can make the world a safer place.
– Craig Murray, former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, has become a whistle-blower on the Blair government’s sanction and use of torture. Read these fascinating documents that the UK government is trying to bury. This is how Western nations are fighting the “war on terror.”
– The Pentagon, desperate for positive news on the Iraq war, are ordering troops home on leave to promote the invasion and occupation to a sceptical public. “I’ve been promised an early release if I do a good job promoting the war”, says one reservist who asked not to be identified.
– In a sign of the changing times, Iraqi-Israeli Jews plan to visit their “roots.”
– Do the Kurds intend to invade the south of Iraq to form an independent Kurdistan? Meanwhile, “dozens of former Israeli commandos have been training Kurdish security forces in northern Iraq, supplying them with equipment worth millions of dollars.”
– Sri Lanka appears to be moving towards another crisis. In a post-tsunami country and a collapsing tourism industry – issues I experienced during my travels through the country in early 2005 – a resurgent civil war is the last thing the country needs.
– The New York Times is “unAmerican“, according to US conservative writer Michelle Malkin. It’s encouraging to see that faux patriots believe the mainstream media should be taking sides in the current “war.” Perhaps they would feel more comfortable in countries where state-run media have no choice but to praise unelected leaders.
– 400 members of Israel’s Likud party want to bomb Iran while settlers evicted from Gaza claim they will soon return.