The predictable Israeli slap to America’s modest demands should surprise nobody. Besides, the real test of America’s love affair with Israel and contempt for Palestinians is clear: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be the keynote speaker at this month’s annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, The Cable has confirmed. Clinton will…
Showing all posts tagged United States
How Washington treats friends
A handy reminder of a noble American past: In 1951 a quiet village in southern France was suddenly and mysteriously struck down with mass insanity and hallucinations. At least five people died, dozens were committed to asylums and hundreds afflicted. For decades it was assumed that the local bread had been unwittingly poisoned with a…
New York Times prefers to view the Middle East as a balanced tiff between two old mates
The New York Times editorialises about the Middle East with its usual “he said/she said” mentality. Both the Israelis and Palestinians must work towards peace but why the hell should anybody in the Middle East see America and Barack Obama as anything other than a nearly unquestioning friend of Israel? Vice President Joseph Biden Jr.…
Look, says reporter, we’re winning the war in Afghanistan…the military says so
How many Western journalists either fell for the spin or were happy to propagate lies helpfully provided by Washington and her allies? The U.S. media told the public for weeks that a big, offensive battle was taking place in Marja, in Afghanistan, a “city of 80,000 people” in Helmand province which was also the logistical…
When Barack Obama goes Down Under
My following article appears in the Huffington Post: The arrival of the new American Ambassador to Australia was breathlessly welcomed by the Australia media pack in late 2009. Jeffrey Bleich, an American lawyer from California, assumed his position in Canberra and was introduced to the country through an interview on the public broadcaster ABC. After…
This is how the US deals with its wild child, Israel
Take news from the Middle East in the last 24 hours. Despairing, infuriating and tragic. This: The Palestinians pulled out of a new round of indirect peace talks last night, even before they had begun, as a protest at Israel‘s decision to announce approval for hundreds of new homes in a Jewish settlement in East…
When you’re feeling down and need a hand, turn to Beijing
If you’re a country that enjoys war crimes, rest assured either China or America will come to your aid: China is to lend Sri Lanka about $200m (…£133m) to build a second international airport in the south of the island. Another $100m from Beijing will help boost the island’s railway network, Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry…
Another handy reminder of who runs the Middle East conflict
US Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel has been, in the words of the Daily Beast, “disastrous“: Just as Biden arrived in Israel, the Interior Ministry announced the construction of 1,600 new housing units for Jewish residents in East Jerusalem, a move many, including many in the Obama administration, have interpreted as a deliberate…
Friedman welcomes Iraqi democracy…glosses over the deaths
Earth to the New York Times and Thomas Friedman. Backing an invasion of Iraq requires responsibility, not more platitudes. Of course, when you’re not doing the fighting, wars seem so noble: Former President George W. Bush’s gut instinct that this region craved and needed democracy was always right. It should have and could have been…
Dershowitz urges, “Middle East Apartheid Education Week”
The growing global effectiveness of Israel Apartheid Week is pleasing. Suffice to say, this doesn’t please Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz: Every year at about this time, radical Islamic students—aided by radical anti-Israel professors—hold an event they call “Israel Apartheid Week.” During this week, they try to persuade students on campuses around the world to…