The Jewish way

Never miss an opportunity to embrace individuals who eradicate Arabs (if you’re Israel’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi): During a short verbal exchange Wednesday at the Ben-Gurion Airport Terminal, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger thanked President George W. Bush for the US’s military intervention in Iraq. “I want to thank you for your support of Israel and…

Not the greatest threat to world peace

After telling the world that Iran was provocatively pursuing American warships in international waters, the Pentagon is forced to backtrack: Today, the Navy acknowledged that the verbal threat made in the tape may not have been Iranian: “We’re saying that we cannot make a direct connection to the boats there,” said the spokesperson. “It could…

Truth or lies?

BBC, January 8: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has described the actions of Iranian vessels which confronted the US Navy as provocative and dangerous. Iran played down the event, calling it an “ordinary occurrence”, but Ms Rice told the BBC there was “nothing normal” about the incident. The US says five Iranian speedboats challenged…

Be bloody afraid

Does the thought that elements at the highest echelons of the US administration have sold nuclear technology to Pakistan, Turkey and Israel, all under the noses of the powers that be, cause alarm? Read on.

Journalism class 101

How about this for a page one yarn in today’s Independent? Voters in the United States may have switched their attention to the contest to find his successor, but George Bush will embark on an ambitious nine-day tour of the Middle East tomorrow in a last desperate effort to salvage a legacy from two terms…

The Taliban on the march

A compelling essay in this week’s New York Times magazine about the jihadi threat inside Pakistan. Writer Nicholas Schmidle skillfully teases out the seemingly endless factions within the movement and the numerous reasons why Washington’s backing of President Pervez Musharraf has been a disaster for the region and the world.

“Life-saving compassionate torture”

“Life-saving torture is not cruel. It is motivated by a compassionate desire to avert moral catastrophes and it is morally justifiable because the right to life of innocent people trumps the physical integrity of wrongdoers.” This idea, written by pro-torture advocate Mirko Bagaric, argues that when the US tortures individuals it’s done with the greatest…

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

Site by Common