Middle East
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Arabic teacher Essam Shihada's casual dress – sneakers and a Mickey Mouse T-shirt – contrasts with the seriousness of what he is trying to do: endear Israeli Jewish pupils to the study of the ''enemy's language.''
In Israel, a push to learn the language of the enemy - CSMonitor.com
US bids to contain Afghan shooting damage - Central & South Asia
Sixteen Afghan civilians, including three women and nine children, have been shot dead in their homes by a US soldier in a pre-dawn attack. President Hamid Karzai condemned the slaughter on Sunday as "unforgivable" and furiously demanded an explanation from the US government. "When Afghan people are killed deliberately by US forces this action is murder and terror and an unforgivable action," Karzai said in statement.Tom Friedman Is Waiting For Afghans to Shape Up
I think most sensible people understand that the current uproar in Afghanistan over the desecration of the Quran isn't really just about the defiling of a holy book. But if there's sense in the world, there's also nonsense. Enter Tom Friedman's New York Times column today ( 2/29/12 ):
Why Can’t Americans Have Democracy?
Syria has a secular government as did Iraq prior to the American invasion.
Once again, the best discussions on Sunday morning happen on Up with Chris Hayes . This is a 17 minute clip, and impossible to clip, because all of it is so much more intelligent than anything the other bobbleheads try to do. It also exemplifies a very real schism within the left on how to approach the unrest in Syria.
Chris Hayes: We Need to Talk About Syria
Recent assessments by American spy agencies are broadly consistent with a 2007 intelligence finding that concluded that Iran had abandoned its program years earlier, according to current and former American officials. The officials said that assessment was largely reaffirmed in a 2010 , and that it remains the consensus view of America’s 16 intelligence agencies. At the center of the debate is the murky question of the ultimate ambitions of the leaders in Tehran.
U.S. Agencies See No Move by Iran to Build a Bomb
Glenn Greenwald
Last day at Salon Glenn Greenwald Wednesday, Aug 15, 2012 9:30 PM UTC PoliticsWhen I was captured by Gadhafi’s forces
There is a single main highway along which lies every major city between the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in the east and the capital Tripoli in the west.TEHRAN, Iran — As Iran’s isolation grows more pronounced week after week, so does, it seems, a sense of nationalism among its citizens. Long famous for such tendencies, Iranians are once again asserting their love of what they call “Vatan,” or Homeland, as both real and perceived threats from abroad continue to mount.