Antony Loewenstein

Check out this fascinating read by one of Israel’s top journalists, Gideon Levy. It’s an interview with the Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs, Mohammed Dahlan.

And yes, political shenanigans are bound to happen in the nation’s capital. I expect to be offered the leadership of one political party, just not sure which one yet.

The only book likely to compete with Finkelstein’s explosive tome is Robert Fisk’s upcoming, “The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East“, out November 8.

William Van Wagenen, July 28, Electronic Iraq

In response to those arguing that blogging is simply for the wealthy and well-connected, Jordanian bloggers have an idea: “A number of Jordanian bloggers are interested in organising outreach efforts through community internet access centres in rural areas, encouraging people to blog about community events, possibly using audio and photo blogging to make the process more accessible to less literate participants.”

Israel’s descent continues.

I met Carr a few years ago while researching Not Happy, John! about the Hanan Ashrawi affair. He had bravely resisted pressure from Zionists to withdraw his support from the Sydney Peace Prize. I found him engaging, interesting and knowledgeable. Our interview lasted around one hour in his stunning office overlooking the city. He struck me as more of a talker than listener.

My view of him has changed greatly in the years since. Since learning of his affection for “my good friend” Henry Kissinger, I’ve become even more aware of his love of being close to power. Kissinger represents the worst of the American establishment, a war criminal still feted by politicians the world over. What did Carr see in him? Hard to say, but I suspect it had something to do with the former Premier feeling close to the heart of his beloved America.

International relations expert Scott Burchill put it best in June 2004:

“I am sure what it is with the Right of the NSW ALP and their infatuation with US history. Perhaps they like to dress up as Minutemen and recreate battle scenes from the revolutionary war on their days off? They certainly don’t like talking about the extirpation of the native population or the overthrow of democratic governments in Iran and Guatemala by people they admire in Washington. Whatever the true nature of their infantile disorder, let’s not forget that Bob Carr regards unindicted war criminal Henry Kissinger as a mate - and invited him as a VIP to the Sydney Olympics. Carr still wants to be chief brown-noser inside the beltway next time his party gets to sit on the Treasury benches in Canberra. Until then, the pompous and insufferable bore is apparently going to lecture all and sundry about how America truly feels after 9/11 and how to manage the alliance accordingly. What a guy!”

Watch the Australian media completely ignore any of these facts. Too messy, too difficult, too unkind to his “legacy”.

According to the UK Evening Standard, intelligence sources hoped that he “would not bite the hand that fed him” and “keep terrorism off the streets of the U.K.”

Let’s lay out the facts. The recent London bombings, both real and attempted, was a failure of the intelligence services. When citizens are killed and intelligence fails to pick up the signals, they’ve failed. But then, as we’ve learnt in Australia, governments are often only listening to information they want to receive, rather than alternate theories and ideas.

Of course, if you’re New York Times commentator and McCarthyist, Tom Friedman, the US government should draw up a list of individuals who believe that US actions may encourage violent reprisals.

Friedman is a man the Fairfax press publishes regularly, an acceptable “liberal” face of the American establishment. He is nothing of the sort, however, but rather the mouthpiece of well-connected Washingtonians. Who can forget his April 23, 1999 column during the war with Milosevic when he insisted “every power grid, water pipe, bridge, road and war-related factory has to be targeted.” Friedman supported the US military committing war crimes, but what did he care?

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, July 2005

Back on planet Earth, and with increasing reports of civil war on the cards, calls for US withdrawal is growing louder. New York Times veteran John F. Burns reported last weekend that Shiite militias and Shiite and Kurdish-led army and police units, often backed by US and British forces, were themselves launching aggressive measures to tackle the insurgency, including kidnapping, torture and extra-judicial killing. And this would be different from the days of Saddam?

A Western-friendly government in Baghdad is unlikely in the long run. Ask Howard, Bush and Blair how they’d feel about an administration with close ties to “axis of evil” Iran? Howard visited Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari “in his capital, in his office as the democratic prime minister of Iraq”. More than a week since Seymour Hersh published his revelations surrounding American attempts to subvert the January elections, the Australian media continues to ignore the scoop.

I read the story again last night. If anybody, including Howard and his media cheerleaders, truly believe that the current Iraqi leadership was democratically elected, they’re as deluded as believing the existence of WMD.