Libya/Tripoli/Gaddafi. Syria. Egypt. The real definition of Terrorism. The FBI yesterday announced it has secured an indictment against Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa, a 38-year-old citizen of Iraq currently in Canada, from which the U.S. is seeking his extradition. The headline on the FBI’s Press Release tells the basic story: “Alleged Terrorist Indicted in New York for the Murder of Five American Soldiers.”
The criminal complaint previously filed under seal provides the details: ‘Isa is charged with “providing material support to a terrorist conspiracy” because he allegedly supported a 2008 attack on a U.S. military base in Mosul that killed 5 American soldiers. In other words, if the U.S. invades and occupies your country, and you respond by fighting back against the invading army — the ultimate definition of a “military, not civilian target” — then you are a . . .
Terrorist. Here is how the complaint, in the first paragraph, summarizes the Terrorism charge against ‘Isa: By “outside of the United States,” the Government means: inside Iraq, ‘Isa’s country. Yemen: 'Chaos by design' - People & Power. Abdulghani al-Iryani is a Yemeni political researcher and analyst. Here he breaks down the challenges facing his country, describes the nature of the uprising taking place there and shares his views on the prospects for change. Yemen is probably the hardest [state in the region] in terms of economic challenges and development challenges. The people of Yemen are the poorest in the region. The state in Yemen is by far the weakest, compared to Libya in the sense of [the] absence of a real state, real institutions. I think that in a way, the grievances are similar, whether it is Egypt or Yemen or Libya or Tunisia, in that people are disempowered; people are marginalised. In terms of the social indicators, the Yemeni society is very backward.
The middle class is very small in Yemen. These are self-inflicted wounds. These are self-inflicted wounds. I am not worried about the ramifications of regime failure in Yemen because I think Yemen is used to it. And corruption is just part of it. Yehuda Bauer: Israel's genocidal nationalists - Talk to Al Jazeera.
When ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters recently clashed with Israeli government officials over gender segregation in public places, many of the demonstrators played on a link between Israel and Nazism by dressing up as Nazi concentration camp inmates. Such clashes have become more frequent in recent years, as ultra-Orthodox Jews, who make up 10 per cent of the country's population, are said to be growing increasingly aggressive in their attempts to impose their conservative ways on others. So is the religious divide in Israel growing?
And is there a link between the Holocaust and the existence of the state of Israel? Earlier last year, before the recent demonstrations, Talk to Al Jazeera met Yehuda Bauer, a prominent Holocaust scholar at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who says that the foundation of the state of Israel and its link to the Holocaust is weak. The road map to the Afghan endgame. New York, New York - Once upon a time they favoured Dubai - their smuggling Mecca. Now the Taliban go-to destination of choice will be Doha. So the Taliban will open a political office in Qatar to be engaged in negotiations "with the international community", according to Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. Afghan president Hamid Karzai wanted the office to be either in Turkey or Saudi Arabia. The Obama administration applied some screws - Karzai had to accept Qatar. So much for the "sovereignty" of the man informally known as the mayor of Kabul.
The Doha operation was strictly a US, German, Qatari and Taliban "representatives" affair. Doha was specifically picked by the Obama administration. In a crucial electoral year, the White House now expects to accumulate some extra foreign policy dividends by enticing the Taliban to the table (a lavish Kabuli rice banquet at the Ritz-Carlton, perhaps?) Stuff those drones, buddy As in all things AfPak, wishful thinking remains the law of the land. Scores of 'al-Qaeda fighters' killed in Yemen - Middle East. Yemen's armed forces are claiming to have killed 43 suspected members of al-Qaeda in two days of air raids and shelling on their hideouts in the country's south.
The military had stepped up attacks against al-Qaeda in the mountainous area of al-Rahha in the province of Lahij, a strategically important region that links the south with Yemen's northern cities. Military officials told the AP news agency that the government forces were trying to reclaim key cities in Aden and Abyan provinces in the south that have been overrun by al-Qaeda. Sanaa-based journalist Mohammed al-Qadhi told Al Jazeera that al-Qaeda was exploiting the instability in the country following months of political unrest. "Al-Qaeda (is) using the stalemate in the political process and the continued division of army and security forces ... to expand their activities in different southern provinces," al-Qadhi said.
Pipeline attacked.