my occupied territory

This blog is...MOVING!

2007-04-11T22:16:00.000-05:00

Blogger has been generously hosting 'my occupied territory' for more than 19 months, but like many other bloggers, it's time for me to move up into the world of WordPress. That's not to say that I had ANY idea how to even begin doing that.

When I started this blog in September '05, I barely knew a thing about html. I was proud to be able to change some links on the sidebar after much Googling and much agony. When I stumbled upon the blogosphere, I knew that it would be something I would enjoy, being the kind of person who likes to talk a lot and rant a lot. I won't say that my life has been changed because of blogging, but it has definitely had an impact on me. I'm glad to have been able to maintain my blogging over the past year and a half and hope to continue learning more through blogging.

One of the most important things that blogging has introduced me to is the technical aspect of maintaining a blog. I'm no where near being an expert on anything beyond basic html (still trying to figure out what CSS is), but I know so much more than I would have if I hadn't started blogging.

So I knew I wanted to change the look of my blog, and get my own domain, but didn't really have much of a clue on how to start. I really could not have made this "big" move without the immense help I received from a fellow blogger, Sayed. It would have taken me years to find out how to get a domain, download WordPress, upload plugins, and all that junk. Some of the advantages of being a part of this great blogosphere are the connections you make with bloggers that allow you to become friends with people you've never met and may never even meet. They are always willing to help out and share their experience with others. I hope that I'll be able to help some budding bloggers as well with my limited knowledge and experience. Again, thank you Sayed for all your help and for being patient with all my annoying questions :)

I hope you all will like the new domain, even though it's a tad long, but I think it's easy to remember. I also hope you will enjoy the new look. I'll be personalizing it and tweaking it over the next few weeks, and your suggestions are always welcome.

Thank you for putting up with this blog despite the dreary colors and unattractive layout, and I apologize for the light blogging over the past month or so as I was getting ready to pack my posts and move out.

I guess it's just impossible for me to write a concise post. Enough blabbing.

http://myoccupiedterritory.net

Don't forget to adjust your bookmarks and your RSS feed:
http://myoccupiedterritory.net/?feed=rss

-moi

Four Years Later, Regret

2007-04-09T22:56:00.000-05:00

I don't want to write another post about the ill-advised invasion, or the miserable state of the occupation. I did a little of that a few weeks back, on the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Today, on the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, the day I literally felt my heart sink, I leave you with the reality of "liberation".

One way I have felt closer and more hurt by this war is because one of my closest friends is Iraqi. When her great aunt and uncle were brutally murdered in their home a few years back, I felt the reality of the numbers I heard everyday. When her recently wed cousin was also killed in Iraq, I did not know what to tell her. Today, she spoke to one of her cousins on the phone... a young girl who is too mature for her age, one of many that have become adults as a result of living through this war. Today, the 14-year old told my friend...

"I hated Saddam, I really did. He hurt Jido* a lot. But the day his statue came down in Baghdad 4 years ago, that's the day Iraq died. And thats the day we all died."

Another powerful account is that of a man who helped in the oft televised image of the Saddam statue being brought down by Iraqis and American soldiers. The Post profiles his story...

"We got rid of a tyrant and tyranny. But we were surprised that after one thief had left, another 40 replaced him," said Jubouri, who is a Shiite Muslim. "Now, we regret that Saddam Hussein is gone, no matter how much we hated him."

(*Jido: grandpa)

On the Egyptian Referendum and the DC Protest

2007-03-26T21:48:00.000-05:00

A protest was held today in front of the Egyptian embassy in Washington, D.C. where activists gathered to voice their opposition to the constitutional amendments that seek to cement Mubarak's power and silence any opposition to his rule. It was a diverse group of activists in terms of nationality, age, gender, and profession, but all were united in their belief that the Egyptian president and his NDP are taking Egypt towards a path that can only lead to more autocracy and oppression. A letter to Mubarak was signed by the protesters and handed to embassy officials. For more details about the protest, check Nora's post. I'm glad I had the opportunity to attend even though it was not a large presence, but we were at least able to send a message to the embassy that these backward "reforms" cannot and should not be tolerated. The protesters chanted mostly in Arabic, with slogans like "down with Mubarak, father and son", "Egypt is not your father's ranch", and my absolute favorite, "Give Mubarak a visa, and take him, Condoleezza". They all sound much better in Arabic though, and the organizers did a great job of leading the chants, and even singing patriotic and revolutionary songs.

As for the referendum that took place in Egypt today, most non-official sources have indicated that the turnout most probably did not exceed 4%. Of course the official government line is that the turnout reached 23-27%. All opposition parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, called on Egyptians to boycott the referendum because even if 99% of Egyptians voted NO, the amendments would pass.

Mike Hanna, Al Jazeera's correspondent, said the government "has made absolutely clear that it will regard a majority 'yes' vote as an endorsement of its constitutional amendments, regardless of how many people actually vote".

In fact, the NDP was in full force pushing Egyptians to go to the polls and "vote yes" for the amendments. Marc Lynch writes about the night before, linking to blogs that displayed memos sent to state employees urging them to vote YES in favor of the amendments. Lynch also gives an updated report about press coverage of the big day, which includes observations from people on the ground who reported a very weak turnout. Commentator Josh Statcher writes:

The Brothers basic argument today was that they were not protesting because if they did, the government would bring tanks on the street. Perhaps....but I suspect their calculation is that the regime is doing more harm to itself than if group comes out on the streets. Because If they did, it gives the government an excuse to distract attention away from how the whole amendment ordeal has been so blatently rigged. By doing nothing, the MB helps keep the pressure/focus on the state.

Perhaps, I am overanalyzing what was in many many respects a completely average day in Cairo during March. Not that I can prove this but well over 90% of Egyptians seemed to think the Amendment/Referendum process was a joke and it did not matter if they participated or not.

Flipping through some stations, I saw Egyptian state television displaying various reports "from the street" where they interviewed students and average citizens who of course expressed their support for the amendments and bashed those who didn't turn out to vote. Abdelmonem Mahmood, a young journalist and MB blogger, gives some reports about incidents at polling stations and how some people were brought by buses so they could vote YES.

I snapped a few pictures of the rally, and chose to focus more on the signs than the actual protesters. Check my Flickr page for more. There was a "relatively" large police presence considering there was only 20-25 protesters. There were 3 police cars stationed a few feet from the embassy entrance, and three police/security officers at the entrance as well. They didn't intimidate us or anything like that. Nothing, of course, compared to what Egyptian protesters have faced over the past few weeks in harassment, arrests, detentions, and torture.

The results of the referendum are to be announced tomorrow. I wonder if they will pass!

Protest Egypt's Constitutional Amendments in DC, Monday

2007-03-25T07:38:00.000-05:00

On Monday, March 26th, Egyptians will be voting in a referendum on the constitutional amendments approved by the parliament that seek to cement the hold of Mubarak's NDP as the one and only party running the country. The amendments limit the freedom of citizens and parties to join the political process, and introduce draconian measures against alleged suspects of terrorism who will have to be tried in military tribunals behind closed doors. To protest these recent developments, there will be a rally held outside the Egyptian embassy tomorrow, Monday the 26th in Washington, D.C.

For more information, check Nora Younis' blog.

Let your voice be heard.

More Than Just "Stirrings" in Egypt

2007-03-21T10:13:00.000-05:00

In case you've been living under a rock over the past few days (ie: watching/reading/listening to the American msm), I thought I would bring attention to the latest "birth pangs" of democracy on the Egyptian front.

In brief: the NDP (Mubarak's ruling party) introduced to the parliament amendments to the constitution that seek to cement their control and limit the ability of opposition parties to challenge the status quo. Parliamentarians from the opposition, mainly the Muslim Brotherhood along with some leftist parties, voiced their strong disagreement with the amendments and eventually decided to walk out and boycott the vote which ended up taking place, approving the amendments. Some protests followed, along with a security crackdown, and much speculation about the consequences and the next steps to be taken by the opposition. On March 26th, a national referendum will take place on the constitutional amendments.

The media in the US hasn't paid much attention to these important developments, but the blogosphere is rife with commentary, analysis, and up to the minute news on the situation. I highly recommend the following reads on the current situation in Egypt:

Egypt's Constitutional Showdown and Baathism on the Nile by Marc Lynch:

Amnesty International has described the changes as "the biggest threat to Egyptian democracy since emergency laws passed after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat by Islamist extremists in 1981." That's exactly right. I said this on Friday, but let me say it again, slowly. Mubarak is about to do exactly what he always accuses Islamists of secretly planning: won an election and then used his majority to abolish democracy.

Crackdown By a Clique by Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh:

Stability cannot be achieved by depriving social and political leaders of civil justice. Nor can it be achieved by resisting democracy and excluding the largest political force in the country from political life. By closing the doors to dialogue, the state is opening a door to chaos and extremism. The consequences will be severe, not only for Egypt but for the entire Middle East.

A Parliament to Watch by Baheyya:

Obviously we’re still a very long way from a real parliament capable of both checking and bargaining with the executive and forging durable extra-parliamentary coalitions. But I can’t shake off the feeling that what happened Sunday portends something new, perhaps even the spark that may ignite the parliamentarisation of Egyptian politics.

Police Crackdown on Kifaya Demonstration by Hossam el-Hamalawy:

The Tagammu was under siege by un-bloody-believable numbers of black-uniformed CSF troops and plainclothes thugs, as well as Gestapo agents and uniformed police generals. In front of the building gate there was a crowd of 200 (mainly left-wing) demonstrators, chanting “Down with Mubarak! Down with State Security!”

Burying Democracy Further in Egypt by Amr Hamzawy and Dina Bishara:

By resorting to outright repression of the Brotherhood, Mubarak is making a mockery of the American push for democracy in the Middle East. Turning a blind eye toward the ongoing crackdown undermines the credibility of an already shaky American commitment to democratization in the Middle East. It also cements the perception among Egyptians that Washington blesses autocratic regimes.

Also on the recent history of Egypt's Kifaya opposition movement is Anthony Shadid's two-part series that ran a few days ago in the Washington Post:
Imagining Otherwise in Egypt
Egypt Shuts Door on Dissent as U.S. Officials Back Away

Four Years Later

2007-03-19T22:42:00.000-05:00

Hundreds of thousands dead.
Millions displaced, internally and externally.
Homes burned, mosques destroyed, schools bombed, markets attacked, lives destroyed.
Corruption rules. The kidnappers rule. The murderers rule.
Welcome to Iraq, four years after liberation.

53% of Iraqis have a close friend or relative who has been hurt or killed in the war violence.
86% worry about a loved one being hurt.
51% say they try to avoid leaving their homes.
70% report multiple signs of traumatic stress.

In November 2005, 63 percent of Iraqis felt very safe in their neighborhoods. Today just 26% say the same.
33% don't feel safe at all.
In Baghdad, 84% feel entirely unsafe.
In 2005, 54 percent said their power supply was inadequate or nonexistent; now it's up to 88%. In 2005 just 30% rated their economic situation negatively. Today it's 64%.

75% say they lack the freedom to live where they wish without persecution, or even to move about safely.
48% cite security as the single biggest problem in their lives, up from 18 percent in 2005.

97% of Sunni Arabs and Shiites alike oppose the separation of Iraqis on sectarian lines.

42% think their country is in a civil war; 24% more think one is likely.

Three in 10 say they'd leave Iraq if they could.

[source 1, 2]

Letters to the editor, on the 4th anniversary

At the anti-war protest this weekend in Washington, D.C.:

My thoughts on the 3rd anniversary of the war (and pictures)

Turning Mecca into another mecca

2007-03-16T15:06:00.000-05:00

Definitely a sign of the times... turning the holy city of Mecc a into a mecca of shopping and indulgence. It's not enough that the luxury five-star hotels surrounding the site of the Kaaba make millions off the pilgrims who come to enjoy the ultimate religious experience in the most liberal ways. It's not enough that one has to enter the city with "tour operators" that charge outrageous amounts, in addition to the high costs of applying for a visa to preform the hajj and umrah trips. Now, Saudi officials have embarked on plans to open huge shopping centers housing the best the West has to offer, from coffee to couture. The sanctity of Mecca is no more. Say hello to the white and green cups of Starbucks and the little blue Tiffany boxes... Farewell Mecca, the Saudis have sold you to the ...

Five times a day across the globe devout Muslims face this city in prayer, focused on a site where they believe Abraham built a temple to God. The spot is also the place Muslims are expected to visit at least once in their lives.
Now as they make the pilgrimage clothed in simple white cotton wraps, they will see something other than the stark black cube known as the Kaaba, which is literally the center of the Muslim world. They will also see Starbucks. And Cartier and Tiffany. And H&M and Topshop.

Full article available to NYTimes Select subscribers* or click here to read the full text.

*(which is now free for anyone with a .edu email address!)

Educate, Empower, Enlighten

2007-03-08T23:48:00.000-05:00

International Women's Day is but a reminder. Everyday should be women's day, and child's day, and human being's day. Everyday we should recall the millions of women who cannot afford to feed their children. The millions of women who do not have access to education. The millions of women living in war torn countries. The millions of women living under oppressive dictatorships. The millions of women being abused by their governments, their employers, their husbands, their parents, their children, and even their fellow woman.

Injustice is not something preserved for women, but women are disproportionately affected by war, poverty, illiteracy, and various forms of abuse.

Women are forced into prostitution, women are raped as a tool of war, women are used to sell cars and chips.

Today I am reminded that no matter how much I complain, I am a lucky woman. I am a woman who did not live in poverty, did not live in fear, did not live in a war zone, or a refugee camp. I have had access to the best education my whole life, and my future is promising. I have not been forced to bind my feet. I have not been genitally mutilated. I have not been forced to marry someone I do not know or do not like. I have not been sold into marriage for political or financial gains. I have not been attacked for endangering my family's "honor".

Today I am grateful for being a Muslim American woman. I could have said that I am grateful for being a Jordanian or Arab woman, but I do not believe that either affiliation has granted me much. I am at times ashamed to be an Arab, ashamed to be Jordanian. I am at times also ashamed to be American. But I'm never ashamed to be a Muslim woman, although in this day and age, it is difficult to disassociate myself from the many who have misused and abused Islam.

I'm ashamed to be a Jordanian woman because my children cannot be Jordanian like me. Not even half Jordanian. I cannot pass my citizenship on to them because I am marrying a non-Jordanian man.

I'm not ashamed to be a Muslim woman because I have been able to practice my religion in the United States without provocation, and without achieving any less than if I had not been Muslim. I do not feel that I have been stripped of any rights or constrained by any religious requirement. I feel empowered by Islam's call for me to educate myself, to be an active member of society. Islam has not limited my freedom. Arab and Jordanian customs have sometimes limited my freedom. American capitalism has sometimes limited my freedom.

I am ashamed to be an Arab woman because my sisters in Iraq are being raped while the Middle East is silent. I am ashamed to be Arab because our mothers in Palestine are starving while women in Virginia and Riyadh are competing over the most expensive handbags. I am ashamed to see that Muslim women are not as educated as their counterparts around the world. I am ashamed to see that my Muslim brothers are not up in arms when one of their sisters is murdered by a raging relative claiming that his honor lies between her legs. I am ashamed that we don't stand up for our own God given rights.

This is what I think about today, and what we should think about everyday.

Let us...Educate, Empower, Enlighten.

In the Richest Country in the World, Boy Dies of Toothache

2007-03-01T13:55:00.001-05:00

An off and on homeless family, sick children, no medical insurance. Medicaid failed them. The dentists won't see the child because they don't accept Medicaid. Seeing the doctor in the beginning would've cost $80. Now, the boy is dead, and the bill is $250,000. Welcome to America.

Sick? Show me your insurance card. Don't have one? Go die.

For Want of a Dentist, by Mary Otto

Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.
A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.
If his mother had been insured.
If his family had not lost its Medicaid.
If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find.
If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.
By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died.
Deamonte's death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.

Read the full article.

Action Alert: Al-Arian Collapses on 23rd Day of Hunger Strike

2007-02-15T19:18:00.000-05:00

Dr. Sami Al-Arian, the political prisoner who is being unlawfully detained by the US government, has collapsed in prison in Virginia and was subsequently transferred to a medical facility in North Carolina. Just this week, I wrote about the hunger strike that Al-Arian began about 23 days ago in protest of his continued detention despite a plea agreement with prosecutors. Read my last post to find out more about the broadcast interview with Al-Arian and the details of his case.

More importantly, national Muslim organizations such as MAS and CAIR have called on all people of conscience to fax letters to the judge in charge of Sami's case. Please see the links to the action alerts below and consider taking a few minutes to type up a letter and fax it to the judge. The least we can do is speak out against this injustice.

From MAS Freedom Foundation:

WASHINGTON, DC - Feb. 15, 2007 (MASNET) Due to the severe health concerns of Dr. Sami Al-Arian, who collapsed on the twenty-third day of his Hunger Strike for Justice, the Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom Foundation has organized an emergency fax campaign to Judge Gerald Lee of the Virginia Eastern District Court.

Dr. Sami Al-Arian embarked upon a hunger strike to protest his legal treatment, incarceration, and current eighteen month jail sentence for his refusal to testify testifying before a grand jury. This verdict was rendered against him despite a plea agreement he had with the government, which included a no-cooperation clause.

Given the fact that sending letters to Judge Gerald Lee will take a long period of time, MAS Freedom Foundation is urging individuals to send faxes directly to Judge Lee's chambers today. Additionally, everyone is encouraged to contact at least 10 other individuals and request that they send faxes and contact others as well. Please be polite and respectful when writing to Judge Gerald Lee. Send your fax to the Honorable Judge Gerald Lee at: (703) 299-3339. Below is a sample fax highlighting key points to address.

SAMPLE FAX:

To the Honorable Judge Gerald Lee

Your Honor,

Dr. Sami Al-Arian is currently on a hunger strike in federal detention to protest his treatment by U.S. authorities. Family members have reported that Dr. Al-Arian collapsed on the twenty-third day of his fast and has been moved from Virginia to a medial facility in North Carolina. He began his hunger strike more than 3 weeks ago after refusing to testify before a grand jury in Virginia. His attorneys have indicated that an earlier plea agreement freed him from further cooperation and that the government's actions amount to a form of harassment. On humanitarian grounds I respectfully request that Dr. Al-Arian's sentence for civil contempt be removed.

NOTE: It is critically important to indicate that you are requesting the removal of the 18 month sentence for civil contempt. Judge Lee only has jurisdiction over the civil contempt portion of Dr. Al-Arian's sentence, thus he cannot release Dr. Al-Arian. However, Judge Lee can remove the 18 month civil contempt sentence making Dr. Al-Arian eligible for release in April.

Please don't forget to join MAS Freedom Foundation and thousands across the United States on Wednesday, February 21st as we unite in solidarity with Dr. Al-Arian's Hunger Strike for Justice and for a national press conference in front of the Department of Justice at 11:00am.

Please write to the following individuals to ask for an immediate end to Dr. Al-Arian's suffering:

1- Honorable Judge Gerald Lee

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314

2- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001

Fax Number: 202- 307-6777

BY E-MAIL:

E-mails to the Department of Justice, including the Attorney General,

may be sent to askdoj@usdoj.gov

3- The Honorable John Conyers, Jr

2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515

202-225-2072 Fax

John.conyers@mail.house.gov

4- Senator Patrick Leahy

433 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

(202) 224- 4242 Fax

senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov

Fact sheet on Sami Al-Arian's case
Action Alert from CAIR

Political Satire...The Arab Way

2007-02-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

At least her video has a... "message."

(Hat tip: Leila)
More about the video: Juan Cole, Abu Sinan

Al-Arian Speaks Out, Continues Hunger Strike

2007-02-13T17:09:00.000-05:00

The case of Dr. Sami Al-Arian has been covered more than once on this blog, and unfortunately I must continue to write about the case while this innocent man is still languishing in prison. This time, however, I will not write much about the case, but let Al-Arian speak for himself. Last Wednesday, Amy Goodman hosted him on Democracy Now, making it the first time Al-Arian appears in a broadcast interview in four years.

Goodman interviews Al-Arian, his attorney, and his daughter, all of whom shed light on the current conditions Sami is facing, the way the government has been denying him his rights, and the future of the case. You can read the transcript, or listen to the podcast on iTunes (Feb.7th episode). It's really worth it to hear the details of this case directly from Al-Arian, the hunger strike he has started, and the impact it has had on his family.

As for the hunger strike Al-Arian started on January 22, community members and his supporters are now also participating in a rolling hunger strike to bring attention to the injustice taking place in his case. The Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation is calling on everyone who supports human rights, freedom of expression, and due process, to support Sami by participating in the rolling hunger strike and to take action by writing to the judge presiding over the case, attorney general Gonzalez, Senator Leahy, and their own congress members asking them to end the suffering Al-Arian is facing. Fellow bloggers at KABOBfest had their own "KABOBfast" in support of Al-Arian last week.

More:

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" -MLK, Jr.

Obama in Town

2007-02-08T23:55:00.000-05:00

I guess he's always "in town" since he works right around the corner, in the Senate, but last Friday, he was at George Mason University for a rally sponsored by Students for Barack Obama. I was invited to this event through Facebook, and since GMU is my alma mater, the political junkie in me just had more reason to spend my Friday standing up for a couple of hours so I can see Mr. Obama for about 20 minutes. Thankfully, he did make an appearance, and gave a moving speech about the way he grew up and how that has influenced his plans to run for president in order to take the country off the disastrous path it is on now. I won't go into much detail, because the speech is of course available for your viewing pleasure on YouTube.

But I would like to note something interesting about this event that will surely have an influence on the whole 2008 election process. The event, as I mentioned, was organized by SFBO, and the event was advertised primarily through a Facebook event page. If you don't know what Facebook is, well, there's not much hope for you. No really, it's a social networking site that began on the college level and has now expanded so that anyone can sign up. It's the 7th most visited site in the US, with more than 7.5 million users and 20,000 new members joining everyday. The fact that such a political event was organized through this website shows just how important new media will be in the upcoming elections. In the 2006 midterm elections, many candidates (or their staffers) created Facebook accounts, listing their political platforms, and other information that might attract young voters. Each Facebook account holder also had the opportunity to add certain "agenda items" that they considered important, such as "I support abortion" or "I oppose the war on Iraq". Your personal profile becomes a place for you to share your political opinions with friends and acquaintances, and a medium through which politicians can reach out to you. Candidates are also starting their own blogs in an attempt to tap into all forms of media to communicate with voters and potential supporters.

And of course, we all know the important role bloggers can play in reporting happenings, recording videos of events, and revealing information about candidates before the mainstream media can get to it. All it took was a YouTube video to bring down Republican Senator George Allen after the infamous macaca incident. In addition to recognizing the organizers of the rally, Senator Obama also recognized the creator of a Facebook group called "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)". It's really amazing how important these tools will become in the next few months leading up to the primaries and the elections. We will just have to wait and see who takes advantage of them most, and who does so successfully.

Until then, here are some pics and clips from the event taken by yours truly. (No, I didn't jump on stage after he finished talking, or race to grab his hand and get his autograph, or follow him out to his motorcade. Others definitely did, I witnessed. He was definitely a celebrity, and he knew how to work that crowd.)

You can watch the full video of the event here, or check the short clips below taken by me.

Bone Chilling Cold

2007-02-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

It's too cold to blog.

Current temperature in Washington, D.C. : 24 F, with windchill feels like 11 F
(-4 C, with windchill feels like -12 C)

I hope it snows tonight; it's definitely warmer when it snows.

Justice: 2, War on the Innocent: 0

2007-02-01T21:42:00.000-05:00

Another win today for the American justice system: jurors found Dr. Abdelhaleem Ashqar and Muhammad Salah not guilty of charges the US government brought against them in 2004 claiming they were tied to terrorism. Accused of funneling money to the Palestinian group HAMAS, a designated terrorist organization by the US, the two men had maintained that they had only provided money to fund social and humanitarian services for their fellow Palestinians. After a 3 month hearing, and two weeks deliberating, the 12 jurors proved once again that there is hope for truth and justice to be upheld in the United States, no matter how elusive they may seem these days.

These men and women were smart enough to see through the misrepresentation of Ashqar and Salah's actions by the government prosecutors who went as far as claiming they were responsible for the death of an American teenager who was killed by a suicide bombing in Israel. The government tried to convince the jurors by calling Israeli agents to testify against the two men. These were the same agents that knew that Mr. Salah was severely tortured in Israeli prisons to the point where he confessed to anything they told him to. They heard that the FBI had wanted to ask Dr. Ashqar to become an informant for them, indicating that they did not deem him a terrorist threat. The inconsistencies and lack of concrete evidence against the men was detected by the jury which in the end returned a not guilty verdict on the major changes.

This verdict comes as a major blow to the "Justice" Department's efforts at trying so-called terrorists. More than a year ago, a jury similarly acquitted Dr. Sami Al-Arian of charges that he was funneling money to Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian group on the US terror list. I wrote several posts about Dr. Al-Arian's case, who is still in jail today despite being acquitted by the jury in his trial. Unfortunately, the US government is going after minor charges and attempting to find ways just to keep him jail. He has been on a hunger strike protesting his detainment for 11 days so far (more about his case).

My faith in the American judicial system has not been completely restored, because cases like these should not have been brought to surface in the first place. Dr. Ashqar and Dr. Al-Arian have been wronged, and not even an acquittal can alleviate the suffering their families have endured for years and the emotional pain of being wrongly charged and incarcerated. The Muslim and Arab communities from which these individuals come in Virginia and Florida, respectfully, have also endured a heavy toll, being portrayed as supporters of terrorists and consistently targeted for simply practicing their rights as citizens of this country.

I would love to see that smirk on your face once again, Mr. Ashcroft, as you were so proud when you announced their indictment more than two years ago. Please, don't be disappointed now that the American people have, unlike you, chosen truth and justice above all else.

Thank you to the jurors who took their responsibility seriously and did their job by scrutinizing the evidence and showing the public that such cases are indeed nothing but witch hunts against the innocent men and women who dare to speak out against the injustices inflicted upon their Palestinian brethren. I hope the judge will follow suit and not allow these men to suffer anymore than they already have. Two points for justice, none for the War on the Innocent.

It is also worth noting that most major media networks did not headline the verdict. In previous cases where similar charges were brought forth, and the jury returned convictions, the verdicts made headlines within minutes of the news. When their indictments were announced, every major news station dedicated the first reports to images of Ashcroft reading the charges. Had these men been found guilty, I assure you that CNN, Fox, CBS, and every other online, print, and tv media outlet would have emphasized the news beyond imagination. I waited to see if anything would make the CBS or ABC evening news reports, and my suspicions were confirmed. The verdict did not make it to the CNN homepage either, but was buried in the "law" section. If THIS is the type of media you rely on, you'd better think twice before tuning in again.

More:
Federal Jury Acquits Two Men of Terror Charges for Hamas Links
US Jury Acquits Two Men of Hamas Conspiracy
American Muslims Call Al-Arian Imprisonment 'Double Jeopardy'
Free Sami Al-Arian website
Free Dr. Ashqar website

Survey My Blog! (Please?)

2007-01-29T22:10:00.000-05:00

In my efforts to provide the best information, analysis, and entertainment for my readers, I'm always looking to hear what the visitors to this blog have to say about it. In the next month or so, I will be making some major changes to my beloved blog, most prominently in terms of the design. I would also like to improve on the content and would appreciate your feedback in that regard.

If you could please take a few minutes to complete this survey, I would be very grateful. If you are a first time visitor to my blog, it would make more sense to visit the blog for a week or so and then fill out the survey (but you can still do it right away if you want).

Thank you all for being such great readers and commentators on my posts. Your interaction is a vital part of this blog. Thanks for taking the time to stop by, and I hope to continue providing quality posts on the topics that interest you and I most.

Warmly,
moi

Click here to take my blog survey

You can also provide feedback via email, myoccupationblog@gmail.com

Senator Rips Gonzalez on Extraordinary Rendition

2007-01-26T23:46:00.000-05:00

What you will see in the video below is the best example for why we need to have a Democratic majority in Congress when we have a Republican in the White House. This is the way our system of checks and balances should ideally work. Knowledgeable representatives questioning those in power and defending the rights of the citizens they represent.

I've previously blogged about the case of Canadian citizen Maher Arar who was arrested while traveling through the US, unjustifiably suspected of terrorist involvement, and subsequently flown to Syria, his country of birth. There, Syrian officials tortured him for months on end without any proof that he had been even remotely involved in "terrorist activity." The US sent him to Syria knowing fully well that he would be tortured there. They did so under an American policy known as extraordinary rendition, where suspected terrorists are sent to countries to be questioned using illegal torture methods, some of which are Egypt, Syria, Morocco, and some Eastern European countries. You can read more about the this reprehensible policy in my previous posts. Maher was finally flown back to Canada, where the government opened an investigation into the rendition. The results of the investigation showed that Maher Arar was completely innocent of the claims the US had made, that he should not have been sent to Syria, and that the Canadian intelligence officials had wrongly indicated he may have been involved in terrorist activity. The Canadian government apologized to Arar, and today announced that he would receive $10.5 million for his ordeal. The Canadian government also asked the US to start its own investigation into why he was sent to Syria.

"I wish I could buy my life back," he [Arar] lamented Friday after Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the money and formally apologized for his hellish ordeal in a Syrian prison. "That's my biggest wish." Arar said no amount of cash can compensate for the 10 months he suffered in a tiny concrete cell, the agonizing torture sessions he endured, or the years he struggled under the damning label of suspected terrorist.

During a Senate Judiciary Hearing this week on Justice Department Oversight, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy grilled Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez on the reasons why the US sent Arar to Syria instead of Canada, indicating that the US knew that he would be tortured there. Gonzalez fumbled a lame answer telling the senator that he would provide him with more information on the case in a week, privately. Senator Leahy did the right thing to question the Attorney General on this policy which he said has put our relations with close allies at risk.

Thank you, Senator, for speaking truth to power, for being the voice of many Americans who are against this dispicable policy, who are against torture in all forms, who are against the Bush administration's policies that place our lives at risk, and that taint the America that we all would hope is a beacon of freedom and justice instead of a safe haven for repression. You have given us hope that such injustices cannot go on forever without someone speaking out against them.

Below is the full video of the exchange between the senator and the attorney general. There is a shorter CNN clip here. Also, the strong statement Senator Leahy made before the questioning can be found here.

You can write a note thanking the Senator for his strong words and defense of our civil rights by clicking here or sending an email to senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov.

[Technorati tags: Leahy, Gonzalez, Maher Arar, extraordinary rendition]

Rockin' Da State of Da Union

2007-01-24T10:23:00.000-05:00

Even though I don't expect to see anything spectacular in the State of the Union Address, the political junkie in me makes me watch it in full every year. I enjoy looking at the attendees facial expressions and claps in coordination with what the president is saying. It's also fun to see how many smirks Dick Cheney can manage to pull off before the end of the speech, how many times Ted Kennedy will roll his eyes, and how many times Bush will say "nukelar". That's what I call good entertainment.

As I found my self dozing off towards the second half of the speech, I thankfully woke up in time to see the live action scene from the gallery where the NY construction-worker-turned-hero received a much deserved recognition by the president for saving the life of a man who had fallen on the subway tracks. But apparently, Wesley Autrey thought he was receiving a Grammy Award or something. I couldn't stop laughing as the president pointed to the gallery where Autrey was seated a few seats from Mrs. Bush. The man was beaming, and when the president looked up at him, he jumped up and started blowing kisses to the crowd, mouthing to the president "you da man" and flashing peace signs on his chest and just relishing his five minutes of fame. Even Bush looked like he was desperately holding himself from cracking up on the podium. It was indeed a moment to remember, and I'm sure everyone's eyes were wide open after that expecting another entertaining scene at the speech. If you missed it, the YouTube clip is below.

More Kodak moments (courtesy of Yahoo News Photos)

"oh my God, you already know what I'm going to say?"

"he's shaking my hand!!! ahhhhhhh!"

Pelosi: look at Condi, she wishes she was in my place! HAHAHAHA!
Cheney: no, no, look at the idiot Kerry, he still thinks he's running for president!
Bush: shutup you two, I'm getting scaaaaared!

If that guy can be president, I'm sure I can too!

Wesley Autrey waving to the crowd. You da man! (more below)

The Lean Mean Smearing Machine

2007-01-22T22:15:00.000-05:00

What happens when a Latino, a woman, and an African American decide to run for president of the United States? Well first of all, the neo-conservatives start to crap in their pants. After they take some of the pink stuff, they power up their lean, mean, candidate smearing machine!

Officially or unofficially, the ~~election~~ smearing campaign has begun. Several Democrats have announced the formation of "presidential exploratory committees," which is basically just a bunch of people getting together trying to guess how many hundred million dollars the candidate will need to win the nomination. The most prominent of these are of course Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Governor Bill Richardson, and former vice-presidential candidate Senator John Edwards.

The smearing has already begun most prominently against Senator Barack Obama. Calling him "Barack Osama" was just a lame beginning. Then the "real stuff" appeared.

"He's really an undercover Muslim!" (Forget the fact that he's an openly Christian man who has been part of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ for decades)

"His middle name is Hussain! Like Saddam Hussain!!!" (grow up! He is named after his father who was a Kenyan Muslim. Barack lived most of his life with his non-Muslim mother and converted to Christianity as an adult)

"He even studied in a MADRASSA!" (at age SIX, Obama was living in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, and he attended Muslim and Catholic schools there. They were not religious schools. And I'm sure at age six they would begin making him memorize the whole Quran and apply the Sharia in his daily live, right? He was S-I-X for God's sake!)

Whether it is Clinton's peeps who are spreading these rumors or it's just the lean, mean, neo-conservative smearing machine, the msm is having a field day with it.

Sadly, this is the kind of publicity Barack Obama is getting today. Forget reality TV, these elections are going to be SO entertaining.

And just in case you're still worried that a "Muslim" (aaaaahhhhh!) will become president, rest assured, the polls already indicate that he's behind Clinton.

My premature guess? Edwards will win the nomination. And then we'll all start snoring again.

(Photo from Wikipedia, with my lame attempts at humor scribbled on in red)

Let It Snow!

2007-01-21T16:20:00.000-05:00

Finally it feels like winter here in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. It has been an unbelievably warm winter, if you can even call it that, with temperatures fluctuating in the 50's even up to the warm 70's! We haven't had a snow flake since the winter season "officially" started. Usually we would have had a couple of snow days by mid-January, but this is really been a different kind of winter. It was so warm that the cherry blossom tree in front of our house started blooming in December, which is not supposed to happen until March! I'm not an expert on global warming to say that that's the reason behind this warm up, but it definitely makes you wonder. According to the National Climatic Data Center, 2006 was the warmest year on record in the US and the 6th warmest year globally.

In any case, 2007 has arrived...let it snow let it snow let it snow! (but not too much dear God, I hate shoveling, and we Washingtonians are big babies when it comes to just an inch!)

just a few days ago, the sun was setting on a warm afternoon. you can see the cherry blossom tree blooming.

and today...

(click to enlarge)

and I just felt like topping it off with this video; too bad you can't feel the cold :)

Podcasting for Palestine

2007-01-19T18:37:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not that technologically experienced, but fellow blogger Chris Brown has launched a new podcast focused on news and analysis about the occupied Palestinian territories. "A weekly podcast giving a voice to the voiceless" is how he describes it.

I've been listening to the news, interviews, and analysis on my way to and from work almost everyday, and have enjoyed it immensely. It is absolutely necessary that we tap into these new alternative media outlets that have the potential to reach a large number of people. Blogging and podcasting are becoming widely popular and it's great to see such efforts from young activists and those who really want to make a difference.

Chris has done a great job interviewing a variety of individuals who are able to speak about the situation in Palestine, from academics such as Nadia Hijab & Rania Masri, to the poet Suheir Hammad to businessman Sam Bahour.

I encourage you all to subscribe to the podcast through iTunes or download it from the website. Pop into your iPod or other mp3 player and educate yourself about Life in Occupied Palestine.

Great job Chris, keep it up!

Weekend Reading: Gitmo, Iraq, Etc.

2007-01-14T20:22:00.000-05:00

For many of us this will be a long weekend, as Monday is a federal holiday commemorating the birthday of a great American, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plenty of time to sleep and be lazy, but for your reading "enjoyment", here are a couple of articles which I found to be timely and thought-provoking.

A Bahraini father imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay speaks to the world about his agony:

At Guantanamo, soldiers have assaulted me, placed me in solitary confinement, threatened to kill me, threatened to kill my daughter and told me I will stay in Cuba for the rest of my life. They have deprived me of sleep, forced me to listen to extremely loud music and shined intense lights in my face. They have placed me in cold rooms for hours without food, drink or the ability to go to the bathroom or wash for prayers. They have wrapped me in the Israeli flag and told me there is a holy war between the Cross and the Star of David on one hand and the Crescent on the other. They have beaten me unconscious. [LA Times]

Robert Kraiser, a journalist who covered the Vietnam War, speaks of failures in Iraq:

After nearly four years of ineffectual war-fighting, after the collapse of domestic support for President Bush and his policies, after the expenditure of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars, it no longer seems possible to avoid the grim conclusion: For the United States, Iraq has become another Vietnam. [Washington Post]

Dahlia Lithwick scrutinizes the Bush administration's efforts in fighting the war on terrorism:

...It has finally become clear that the goal of these efforts isn't to win the war against terrorism; indeed, nothing about Padilla, Guantanamo Bay or signing statements moves the country an inch closer to eradicating terrorism. The object is a larger one: expanding executive power, for its own sake. [Washington Post]

Pentagon Official Doesn't Want Military Detainees to Have Lawyers:

The senior Pentagon official in charge of military detainees suspected of terrorism said in an interview this week that he was dismayed that lawyers at many of the nation’s top firms were representing prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and that the firms’ corporate clients should consider ending their business ties. [NY Times]

And one more...when you think the world is closing in on you, just count your blessings:

Instead, when the family arrived at Dulles International Airport late Tuesday afternoon, a frail-looking Kabir rode in a wheelchair. A navy knit cap concealed the damage wrought by chemotherapy. His leukemia had kept coming back with more and more vengeance until he unequivocally declared that he was done. [Washington Post]

Iraqi Children "Play" Civil War

2007-01-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big fan of the Wall Street Journal, especially with regards to Iraq-related stories. But one article in today's paper caught my attention, and it "touched me" in a very sad kind of way. It's the story of a 5-year old boy living in a Shiite dominated town, finding pleasure in tagging along with the Mahdi Army, retelling stories of Shiite militias defending his neighborhood, and proudly calling his Sunni neighbors "terrorists." Who taught him this? Why should his favorite toy be a fake AK-47? Why should he want to beat up any kid he thinks isn't Shiite?

Maybe I should repeat this. A five year old...shouldn't he be learning the alphabet in his kindergarten class? The debate is over. This is how you know it's civil war. When the 5-year old Shiites and Sunnis are ganging up against each other and calling each other "terrorists." I'm sure the Sunni kids are playing similar "games."

In Baghdad Slum, Sectarian Strife Is Also Child's Play

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A year ago, a young gunman walked into Ali Hussein's living room and drew a weapon. The intruder's head was wrapped in a scarf, leaving a narrow slit for his eyes. His clothes were all black, the favorite attire of a powerful Shiite Muslim militia. He introduced himself as a commander, shouted the incantation "God is greater" and warned Sunni Muslims not to fight back. With that, he raised his plastic pistol.
The gunman's name is Hassoni, and he was only 4 years old at the time. The scene unfolded in his father's house in Baghdad's Sadr City slum, a sprawling Shiite Muslim district stretching toward the eastern edge of the Iraqi capital. "I was happy to see him this way because it means he has courage," Mr. Hussein, 26, said of his son. Since then, Hassoni's favorite game has grown more elaborate, migrating from the living room onto the neighboring streets, drawing in other children and increasingly emulating the violent world of the adults.

As Iraq careers toward full-scale civil war between its Shiite majority and Sunni minority, the culture of celebrating sectarian strife has taken root even among the very young in Sadr City. Home to more than two million people, the Baghdad district is the stronghold of the Mahdi Army, a Shiite militia blamed for abducting and killing Sunnis. But to Sadr City residents, the Mahdi Army is a revered self-defense force, the only group they see as capable of preventing wholesale slaughter of Shiites at the hands of Sunni extremists. Shiite politicians blame atrocities against Sunnis on rogue forces that falsely claim to represent the real Mahdi Army.

The celebration of sectarian violence is widespread here. Some militia leaders have acquired almost mythical status, including Abu Dera, an elusive gangster alleged to be behind some of the worst sectarian killings of Sunnis. In the lore of the streets, Abu Dera and other fighters are Zorro-like figures who strike into the heart of Sunni neighborhoods, dispense swift revenge and return home unharmed.

Hassoni, who is now 5, spends hours listening to such tales in his family's grocery store, where customers routinely trade stories -- real and imagined -- of Shiite militias fighting Sunni insurgents. Abu Dera became his hero, and his father has helped encourage the adulation by playing songs on his stereo extolling the valor of Shiite gunmen. "Abu Dera is trying to kill the bad guys," said Mr. Hussein, who works as a security guard at the Ministry of Education and sometimes helps patrol his neighborhood.

A friendly boy with striking brown eyes and neatly combed hair falling over his forehead, Hassoni says he wants to grow up to be powerful enough to have a big car and armed guards surrounding him.

When he plays with friends, the boys divide themselves into two groups -- one Shiite and the other Sunni -- and shoot at each other with pellet guns, lurking behind cars and in roadside ditches. "Kids always refuse to be Sunnis, but because they need to play, some of them have to pretend to be Sunnis," said Mr. Hussein, who often watches his son's hours-long battles. Using trash, the children erect their own barricades. Hassoni likes to pretend to be Abu Dera and calls himself the leader of the gang. Other members include a boy nicknamed Bush Senior for his foreign-looking red hair. Hassoni often returns home with torn clothes and pellet bruises.

A few blocks away, Qassim Abdul-Ridha, a father of four, said his 6-year-old son, Karar, and his gang fight street battles against other children, often sending a girl to scout out the rivals' hiding places. Chanting "Muqtada" in homage to Muqtada al-Sadr, the powerful Shiite cleric who leads the Mahdi Army, the boys try to capture their opponents' toy guns as trophies.

The real Mahdi Army is always nearby to provide inspiration. Sometimes, Hassoni hangs around grown-up gunmen manning the real roadblocks and runs errands for them, such as bringing them food and drink. He also gathers war stories and then breathlessly relays them to his parents. The latest tale Hassoni heard on the street involved a group of Shiite gunmen who mounted a rescue mission of Shiite hostages held by Sunni extremists. The gunmen ended up kidnapping the kidnappers and brought them to Sadr City. "He's very excited, always smiling, when he tells us these stories," his father said.

One day, Hassoni brought home a steel pipe he found in a garbage dump and declared it to be a rocket launcher, which he was going to use to fire mortars at Sunni neighborhoods, much as real militiamen do. Asked recently what he thinks of Sunnis, he answered with one word: "terrorists." Together with other children, Hassoni fills empty bottles with sand, and sticks a twig in them to resemble a fuse. The bottles serve as make-believe bombs for use against imaginary Sunnis or American patrols.

Hassoni's arsenal of toy guns has grown from one plastic pistol to include two AK-47 models and a sniper rifle with a scope, now his favorite weapon. Mr. Hussein gave him the rifle as a gift at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan when Iraqi families exchange presents. Hassoni was so excited, his father says, that he paid no attention to a toy train and a toy piano given to him by his mother and aunt. The black life-size rifle looks completely real.

The line between the game and real life has grown increasingly blurry. In late November, suspected Sunni insurgents detonated five car bombs inside Sadr City, killing 240 Shiite civilians, the bloodiest attack since the U.S. invasion in 2003. The blasts occurred just over a mile from Mr. Hussein's house, and Hassoni saw the black plumes of smoke. Later that evening, Hassoni and other children patrolled their street looking for strangers. Hassoni started saying things like, "Sunnis hate us and don't want us to be anywhere near them," his father said.

A few days later, Hassoni and his gang spotted a boy they didn't know. They stopped him and demanded to know what he was doing on their street. "I heard the Mahdi Army saying that if you see strangers, ask them where they come from and what they are doing here," he said. "And that kid was not from our area." When the boy tried to run away, Hassoni and his friends caught him and beat him up.

Later, it turned out that the boy and his parents, all Shiites, were visiting relatives on Hassoni's street. "We had a lot of problems with our neighbors because of this fight," Mr. Hussein recalled. He said he sat his son down for a talk, telling him it is wrong to attack other boys. Hassoni promised to behave but said he will continue looking for strangers on his street.

Have You Been 'Plutoed'?

2007-01-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

Don't know what plutoed means? Get with the program. It's been designated the "word of the year". As you may recall, the tiny planet Pluto was evicted from the planetary system earlier this year much to the dismay of many fans. The result? A new word to describe what many consider a humorous twist to this astronomical event. Here's the story:

Pluto may no longer be a planet, but it has a new claim to fame: "Plutoed" has been chosen 2006 Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society.
The society defined "to pluto" as "to demote or devalue someone or something, as happened to the former planet Pluto when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto no longer met its definition of a planet."

Here's to hoping I won't be "plutoed" by anyone this new year!

Keith Ellison Responds, Swears on Jefferson's Quran

2007-01-05T10:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, January 4th, Representative-elect Keith Ellison was sworn in as the first Muslim Congressman. He placed his right hand on a copy of the Quran owned by one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson. As noted in my earlier posts, Ellison has come under heavy attack for choosing to swear on the Quran because he is a Muslim. But in a savvy move forecasting his political wit, Ellison chose to shut the critics up by using Jefferson's Quran as a symbol of the man's open-mindedness and level of education compared to the bigots who roam the airwaves and even the chambers of Congress today. In a powerful editorial posted yesterday on the Washington Post's "On Faith" forum, Keith Ellison tells the American people to "Choose Generosity, Not Exclusion." It's a must read.

We need a politics of generosity based on the reality of abundance as opposed to a politics of not-enough. The richest 1 percent of the nation, on average, owns 190 times as much as a typical household. The child poverty rate in the United States is the highest of 16 other industrialized nations. Employers are shifting health insurance costs onto workers. Not only are fewer employees receiving health insurance through their employers, but those who still do are paying more for it.

Recently, I have become the focus of some criticism for my use of the Qu'ran for my ceremonial swearing in. Let me be clear, I am going to be sworn into office like all members of Congress. I am going to swear to uphold the United States Constitution. We seem to have lost the political vision of our founding document -- a vision of inclusion, tolerance and generosity.

I do not blame my critics for subscribing to a politics of scarcity and intolerance. However, I believe we all must project a new politics of generosity and inclusion This is the vision of the diverse coalition in my Congressional district. My constituents in Minnesota elected me to fight for a new politics in which a loving nation guarantees health care for all of its people; a new politics in which executive pay may not skyrocket while workers do not have enough to care for their families. I was elected to articulate a new politics in which no one is cut out of the American dream, not immigrants, not gays, not poor people, not even a Muslim committed to serve his nation.

Kudos to you, Mr. Ellison.

Photos of the ceremony:

Keith Ellison (D-MN) places his hand on an English translation of the Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson and held by his wife Kim (C) as he is sworn in as the first Muslim member of Congress by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Captitol Hill in Washington, January 4th, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Young

Rep. Keith Ellison, places his hand on the Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson as his wife Kim Ellison holds the two-volume book during his swearing in ceremony, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, left, joins Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., as they look at the Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson which Ellison later used during his swearing in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

The Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson and used by Rep. Keith Ellison, is displayed at the Library of Congress , Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Iraq, After the Gallows

2007-01-04T10:47:00.000-05:00

The world is still recovering from the hangover of Saddam's execution (no pun intended). With the leaking of a cell phone recording of the full hanging, more questions have been raised, and more people are angry with the way the cold blooded dictator was put to death. I've been following the reaction of the blogosphere in general, and the Iraqi blogosphere in particular, as well as other editorials in major newspapers around the world.

A great summary of the reactions of Iraqi bloggers to the hanging is provided by Iraq Slogger. While most of them agree that Saddam should have been put to death, nearly all condemn the way the execution was handled and indicate that such a shameful process does not bode well for the future of Iraq. Click here to read the full summary. (h/t Healing Iraq)

Sami - Iraqi Thoughts I am still shocked even after watching hours of TV. Its funny how as I grew up this was the man I hated most in my life and have always wanted him killed but for some reason the feelings of joy were not what I expected.

Iraq Pundit- Saddam has long been a dead man walking, and I don't care about him or whatever hell he has gone to. My concern is how his well-deserved execution will affect the continuing crisis in Iraq.

Dr Fadhil Badran (Iraq4Ever)- The assassination of Saddam Hussein has killed the last hope of peace in Iraq.

Treasure of Baghdad Although I expected it, I was shocked when I heard it. I felt I want to cry but my tears were mixed, tears of happiness and sadness at the same time. Memories of my life under Saddam flashed back in my mind like a train moving fast.

Meanwhile in Iraq, the killings and kidnappings have not stopped. Iraqi Konfused Kid provides a heart wrenching account of his friend's ordeal in attempting to save the lives of his brothers who have been kidnapped by militias. It's a must read.

But by far one of the best editorials I have read about the execution is Ghada Karmi's piece in the Guardian:

It was always clear that Saddam's fate was sealed from the moment US forces "got 'im", in Paul Bremer's tasteless phrase. He was to be used as a trophy of a mindless and catastrophic war, to redeem America's dented image. But it was also essential to stop him revealing secrets about the west's past enthusiasm in supporting and arming his regime. Hence he was tried on the relatively minor charge of killing 148 people in the village of Dujail, after a plot to assassinate him. Far better to put him away safely for that rather than risk his exposing western hypocrisy, treachery and double-dealing.

Also, today's New York Times editorial, "The Ugly Death of Saddam Hussein" hits the right note:

Saddam Hussein deserves no one’s pity. But as anyone who has seen the graphic cellphone video of his hanging can testify, his execution bore little resemblance to dispassionate, state-administered justice. The condemned dictator appeared to have been delivered from United States military custody into the hands of a Shiite lynch mob...

Most Americans, whatever their view of the war, understand that the rule of Saddam Hussein brought a murderous curse and untold suffering upon the Iraqi people. Mr. Hussein has now gone to his grave. But the outrageous manner of his killing, deliberately mimicking his own depraved methods, assures that his cruelty will outlive him.

Keith Ellison & Thomas Jefferson's Quran

2007-01-03T10:50:00.000-05:00

Yes, Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of this nation, owned a Quran, the holy book of Islam. He was known to be an education man, well-traveled, and believed to have obtained the book because he had a personal interest in learning more about different cultures and civilizations. His copy of the Quran sits in the Library of Congress, including his own notes written in the book. At his swearing in ceremony, the first Muslim Congressman, Keith Ellison, has decided to use Jefforson's copy of the Quran.

Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he'd take his oath of office on the Koran -- especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values.
Yet the holy book at tomorrow's ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We've learned that the new congressman -- in a savvy bit of political symbolism -- will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

"He wanted to use a Koran that was special," said Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress, who was contacted by the Minnesota Dem early in December. Dimunation, who grew up in Ellison's 5th District, was happy to help.

When Ellison announced that he will be using a Quran for the swearing in, some bigoted radio hosts and even congressmen objected, saying that such an act would be against tradition. Ironically, their statements are a slap in the face of our founding fathers who wanted independence so they can practice their religion free of any government or other intervention.

This is a very smart move on the part of Congressman Ellison who will be sworn in tomorrow with much attention focused on his faith. He made the right choice to remain steadfast in his desire to use the book he prescribes to and is bound to in such a ceremony. If he is expected to pledge allegiance to this country and his new position, he should do so in a manner that makes him comfortable. Condemning him for making such a choice when other representatives have chosen to use Bibles, Torahs, or no book at all, is purely discriminatory and is against the most fundamental rights this country is based upon.

Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Quran shows that although we have come a long way in developing our democracy, it is still the case that we have many individuals who choose to be impediments in the way of securing personal freedoms which every American is entitled to. These are the people we must be vigilant of, not those who choose to swear on their holy books.

Read the full Washington Post article here, and this from Reuters.
Related post: "We Don't Need Any More Muslim Congressmen"

Saddam Hanged, Part II

2007-01-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

It's nearly impossible to avoid the news of Saddam's execution over the past few days. Every blog I visit, every channel I watch, every newspaper I flip through, every conversation I have has involved the fate of the former Iraqi dictator. I wrote my last post about the hanging before I had seen the images of Saddam being taken to the gallows. Since then, a lot of feelings have come over me, the most prominent of which is an utter sense of hopelessness and mild disgust.

I'm disgusted with the videos which I don't believe should have been made public by random individuals who were present at the execution. I'm disgusted with the chants I heard while Saddam was being hanged; individuals calling out the name of Muqtada Al-Sadr, for example. I'm disgusted with the "houses of mourning" for Saddam that sprung up in different parts of the Arab world. There's a lot to be angry about right now.

Trying to take it all in, I'm starting to realize how much of a negative impact this event will have on the future of the Iraq that is already in shambles. Many questions come to mind when I think of what has happened over the past three and a half years in Iraq. Sanctions, weapons, lies, invasion, victory, capture, elections, trial, chaos, conviction, civil war, hanging.

Saddam Hussein deserved to die, and all Iraqis deserved to see the man who tortured them given the justice he deserves. All is a key word here. Not just the supporters of Al-Sadr, and Al-Maliki. But every single Iraqi, because they all suffered under his rule. Unfortunately, the occupation in Iraq has succeeded at intensifying the sectarian differences between Iraqis, and they have used Saddam as a tool for that. He has been portrayed as the representative of the Sunni population, although he abused any Sunni and any Iraqi who did not bow down to his commands. Projecting the hanging as a victory for only some Iraqis is wrong, but it is the only way to succeed in "dividing and conquering" what is left of Iraq. If Iraqis were united at this time, Saddam's hanging would have been much more meaningful. Instead, it has become an event that will only exacerbate the existing tensions between the population.

Saddam should not have been hanged until he was tried for every crime that he was accused of. Executing him after only one trial related to his Shiite victims, and ignoring the Kurds and Sunnis who were oppressed by this man can only be explained in one way. The trial, conviction, and sentence of Saddam Hussein was meant to divide the Iraqi people and not unite them against him. Iraqi Sunnis became synonymous with him which is baseless lie. As I mentioned before, every Iraqi suffered from him, and his victims from all sects and ethnicities should have been avenged through his trial and even present at his hanging. The fact that Moqtada Al-Sadr's loyalists were even able to penetrate what should have been a highly secure execution. Instead of chanting against the dictator and for a better future for Iraq, they chanted the name of a man who is a divisive leader of a militia responsible some of the chaos and not a uniting force in Iraq.

Finally, the fact that he was quickly executed while his trial on other charges has just begun raises many questions. Was the US afraid of a trial that would reveal that Saddam received his chemical weapons from them? Did they not want to hear Saddam say that they had secretly given him the green light to invade Kuwait? Did the US not want to highlight to the world the fact that they were silent while Saddam gassed the Kurds?

Too many questions, not enough answers. The only thing clear today is the bleak future of Iraq. I'll leave you with excerpts of some interesting articles on this subject.

The Los Angeles Times Editorial says the execution has become irrelevant today:

It is absurd to regret the death of a man so brutal. His removal from power was heartening to defenders of human rights everywhere. Yet it's worth asking, as U.S. troops go on heightened alert in Baghdad, whether Hussein's death represents progress or yet another anticlimax for Iraq. When his regime was toppled in the spring of 2003, and again at his ignominious capture three years ago, Iraqis and U.S. troops — not to mention Washington policymakers — allowed themselves to hope that they had reached some kind of turning point in the war.

No one voices such unrealistic optimism anymore. Hussein's irrelevance was one of the main achievements of the war in Iraq. It is also one of the main reasons why that war continues.

This from the New York Times article, "Hussein Divides Iraq, Even in Death":

Almost four years after United States troops entered Iraq with a broader foreign policy goal of ushering in a “new” Middle East, one built on democracy and rule of law, the execution of Mr. Hussein on one of the holiest days in Islam marked the unceremonious demise of that strategy, many Arab analysts said.
“If you compare the results to the objectives the U.S. claimed to realize, whether it was democracy or control of the region, their policies have evidently failed,” said Nawaf Kabbara, professor of political science at Balamand University in Beirut. “They were not able to spread democracy, control anything or make any serious breakthrough. It is a failure on all levels.”
As vicious as he was, Mr. Hussein also held the country firmly together. Beyond military control, there was a subtle social glue: Iraqis of all sects loved to hate Saddam together. Now that he is gone, Shiites are afraid to joke with Sunnis about him, and Sunnis feel they are being blamed for his crimes.
Others, namely Kurds, opposed the quick hanging. Now, Mr. Hussein will not testify in other important genocide cases, especially the trial over the Anfal military campaign against the Kurds, in which he is accused of unleashing mass killings and chemical attacks that killed tens of thousands of villagers.
“The truth of what happened in al-Anfal has been buried,” said Abu Abdul Rahman, a 38-year-old Kurdish taxi driver. “What happened in al-Anfal? Who took part in it?”
Mr. Hussein may be gone, but the fear that succeeded him is what defines her life today.
“Where can I live, if Baghdad is divided?” she said in English. “In the Shiite sector or Sunni sector?”
“I have to run away. It’s not a place to live in anymore.”

And this also from the NYT, "For Arab Critics, Hussein's Execution Symbolizes the Victory of Vengeance Over Justice":

“Saddam Hussein was guilty a thousand times over, but still the Americans and the Iraqi government managed to run a shabby trial,” said Jihad al-Khazen, a columnist and former editor of the pan-Arab newspapers Al Hayat and Asharq al Awsat. “If they organized a fair trial with international observers that could have served as a model for other countries. Instead they messed it up, and I think Saddam in the eyes of many people will now be seen as another martyr.”

Saddam Hanged

2006-12-30T01:15:00.000-05:00

Rumors were flying all day today as to whether the former Iraqi dictator had been handed over to Iraqi authorities, which would indicate that his execution is nearing. There's not much that can be hidden with the 24-hour news technology we have at our fingertips. Indeed, most major news networks are now reporting that Saddam Hussein has been hanged according to the sentencing of the Dujail trial which ended a few months ago. It is indeed the end of an era, and the end of a brutal tyrant. Unfortunately, it is not the beginning of a good thing either. Iraq today is in shambles. Nevertheless, the actions of this cold blooded murderer should not be mixed with the politics of occupation in Iraq today.

What baffles me is what I will see tomorrow morning when I turn on the television and see the reaction of the Arab and Muslim world, which will likely be a condemnation of the execution. I do understand where many people are coming from, that they consider his trial unfair and the whole issue of the occupation to be tainting it. That is probably the case, and Saddam probably did not receive a fair trial. However, I do not recall that he granted anyone a fair trial when he was ruling Iraq with an iron fist. I consider myself an advocate of human rights, and that any suspect should be innocent until proven guilty. In my eyes, however, Saddam crossed all the lines of humanity and justice. Some might say that he was forced to use such policies to keep Iraq together, but I see that he had no regard for human life.

As the New York Times Editorial wrote today, the trial of Saddam should have been fair so as to set the tone for the new judicial system in the country, and the respect for rule of law:

The important question was never really about whether Saddam Hussein was guilty of crimes against humanity. The public record is bulging with the lengthy litany of his vile and unforgivable atrocities...

What really mattered was whether an Iraq freed from his death grip could hold him accountable in a way that nurtured hope for a better future. A carefully conducted, scrupulously fair trial could have helped undo some of the damage inflicted by his rule.

It could have, but it didn’t. After a flawed, politicized and divisive trial, Mr. Hussein was handed his sentence: death by hanging.

Many people will argue that George W. Bush and many other leaders have more blood on their hands than Saddam. That might the case, but does that mean that if we cannot try one criminal we should not try any? It is a double standard indeed for an occupying and invading force like the US to be calling for justice for Saddam when the US government supported him only a decades ago. But does that mean we should let him go? Allow him to live in exile and disregard the injustices he inflicted upon his people?

A day will come when other tyrants like him will fall. Those who think that they are all-powerful today should read a little history and know that this is what Saddam Hussein thought he was. And now he is dead after people danced around his corpse which was hung to death.

I always hated the old adage, "my enemy's enemy is my best friend". I hate it because it appears to justify actions. It appears to justify that the US collaborated with Saddam when he was the enemy of their other enemy, Iran. I hate it because some people use it to justify their support for Saddam claiming that his enemy is the US which is causing all the chaos in Iraq.

For everyone who says that Saddam is a hero, please stop right here. Please stop, and put yourself in the shoes of the countless families in Iraq who's lives were ruined by this man. The women who woke up to find their husband's bodies lying in a trash bag in front of their homes. The Kurdish families who were wiped out because they dared to ask for equal rights. The Shiites who were massacred because they wanted their voices to be heard. And the Sunnis who were forced to be slaves at the feet of this tyrant to avoid getting shot.

Some Arabs and Muslims will feel ashamed today and degraded because Saddam was technically executed at the hands of American forces, because of the invasion, and because they caught him. Is this really what makes you ashamed? Is it not your own leaders who were silent when he killed your brethren? Are you not ashamed that the Arab world was not able to defend Iraqis in the face of international sanctions a decade ago? Are you not ashamed that you are so militarily incapacitated that any European country could probably invade your territory over night without much effort? Are you not ashamed that you still have leaders like Saddam ruling over you in the most barbaric of ways? Does it not make you ashamed that the Arab world is so far behind the rest of the world? Does this not make you ashamed?! Please tell me what makes you ashamed! If you are ashamed that Saddam is being killed at the hands of foreigners, then shame on you, because there are so many other issues that we should be ashamed of.

Every single Iraqi was a victim of Saddam Hussein, and I am glad he is dead. I am glad that he will now meet the Lord who created him and watched him commit the worst crimes imaginable, and will show him the Justice he deserves.

Will his execution bring peace to Iraq? No. Most Iraqis right now are too worried about their safety to care about this news. They will hear it and feel it. They might be happy, they might be sad. Will it help them put food on the table? Will it allow them to go out in the streets in the day and the night without fear of never coming back home? Absolutely not. The civil war in Iraq today is a direct result of the unplanned aftermath of the military victory which the US claimed.

Saddam's execution will not change that reality. Saddam's execution is a reminder and a symbolic event.

Let those who are following in his footsteps today take note.

Egypt + Guns + Fatah = Trouble

2006-12-28T23:14:00.000-05:00

News from the Occupied Palestinian territories gets more depressing and more interesting by the hour. The latest are reports that Egypt has sent a hefty arms shipment to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah affiliated security forces, with the approval and support of the US and Israel. Abbas had met with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert a few days earlier.

Egypt has sent a large quantity of arms to the forces of moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party with the help of Israel, an Israeli official said.

"In coordination with Israel, Egypt delivered a large quantity of guns and munitions to the Abbas forces," the official told AFP, asking to remain anonymous.

The Haaretz daily meanwhile reported that "a load of 2,000 Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles as well as 20,000 cartridge clips and two million bullets were transferred to Fatah's armed groups in the Gaza Strip, in coordination with the Israeli army."
Israeli public radio reported that there would shortly be another delivery of weaponry to Abbas's forces in the West Bank, this time from Jordan. [AFP]

These steps seem to follow an expected route since the coup that Abbas attempted last week when he announced his intention to call for early presidential and legislative elections in the territories, effectively sidelining the ruling Hamas party. Since then, it has been clear that Abbas was given the green light for this by the US as American officials expressed support for his declaration. It is no coincidence either that Abbas was hosted by Israeli PM Olmert a week later for some unexpected and somewhat secretive discussions.

Abbas's Fatah affiliated security forces are known to have been heavily involved in much of the violence that has been taking place in Gaza and the West Bank for the past two weeks between various Palestinian factions, armed groups, and criminal gangs resulting in a shameful display of Palestinians shooting and punching one another. The shipment of arms to a corrupt security apparatus like Fatah's can only cause more trouble for the already instable territories.

Instead of calling on Israel to stop its settlement expansion, incursions, wall construction, and the occupation altogether, Egypt has gone on attacking the democratically elected government which Hamas now heads. So much for the "only democracy in the Middle East" and the "champion of democracy around the world."

It is very amusing to see how the Israeli government flip-flops with regards to its relationship to Fatah, condemning them when they want, and supporting them when they want. These days, Fatah represent the "forces of peace":

Amos Gilad, head of political military policy at the Defense Ministry, told Israel Radio on Thursday that the assistance provided to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Presidential Guard is aimed at reinforcing the forces of peace in the area.

"The assistance is aimed at reinforcing the forces of peace in the face of the forces of darkness that are threatening the future of the Middle East," Gilad said, commenting on the news of an arms transfer from Egypt to Palestinian security forces, first published in Haaretz Thursday morning. [Haaretz]

I guess this is what they call "democracy promotion."

All together now, D-E-M-O-C-R-A-C-Y!

On a side note, I wasn't pleased when I heard that Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh was going on a trip to preform the Hajj. I'm pretty sure he's already preformed this religious duty, and even if he hasn't, right now is not the time to be leaving your people to fend for themselves for personal trips. Let's not take the Fatah route, shall we? Just because you're going to Hajj, doesn't make it different from Fatah officials' trips to Paris and Milan, even though we know you won't be going to splurge in Mecca.

God I wish I could go train these politicians. I'll give you a discount, what do you say?

Happy Holidays

2006-12-25T20:39:00.000-05:00

In case you missed my last post about the holiday season (it didn't show up on some aggregators), Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all my readers who are celebrating at this time!

Holiday Lights Galore

2006-12-24T23:52:00.000-05:00

In Northern Virginia and Washington D.C., every season is unique and beautiful in its own way. During the spring, we have cherry blossoms blooming all over D.C., and in the summer... well, it's just muggy in the summer. Then comes fall when the trees change colors making every street corner and neighborhood an amazing painting. And finally winter, where scenes of holiday lights mixed with occasional snow covering the barren trees makes the cold weather a little more bearable. The lights start going up after Thanksgiving and the malls start decking their halls and their parking lots.

Although I don't celebrate Christmas, I do enjoy driving around and checking out the lights decorating homes all over the place. Every year they get more elaborate, some a little too much for the eye to handle. But generally, they make the neighborhoods light up with joy.

My favorite things about this time of year: lights in the streets, red holiday cups from Starbucks, candy canes, pretty trees in the windows, sales after Christmas, funny Santa hats on the Metro, "the holiday cheer" (not available in all shopping centers), and a day or two off to wrap the season all up.

To everyone else who surely has more meaningful reasons for celebrating this holiday, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah! Eid Al-Adha is just around the corner too, and I wish it could be this time of year all the time so we can all celebrate together :)
Until then, enjoy these photos of lights around my neighborhood (sorry about the blurriness).

Check them all out on my Flickr.

We Don't Need Any More Muslim Congressmen

2006-12-22T11:20:00.000-05:00

Definitely none that will take their oath on the Quran. That's what a Congressman from southern Virginia, Rep. Virgil Goode Jr, wrote in a letter to his constituents criticizing the influx of immigrants into this country and indicating that an open immigration policy will only lead to more Muslims becoming members of Congress. Fortunately, most of the public has expressed disapproval of Congressman Goode's remarks. The Washington Post lead editorial today lambastes the congressman for his bigotry:

BIGOTRY COMES in various guises -- some coded, some closeted, some colossally stupid. The bigotry displayed recently by Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., a Republican who represents a patch of south-central Virginia, falls squarely in the third category. Mr. Goode, evidently in a state of xenophobic delirium, went on a semi-public tirade against the looming peril and corrupting threat posed by Muslim immigration to the United States. "I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America," he wrote in a letter to constituents.
The inspiration for Mr. Goode's rant is Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat who last month became the first Muslim elected to Congress. Mr. Ellison, who was born in Detroit and converted to Islam in college, has decided to use the Koran during a ceremonial swearing-in, as is his constitutional right. This does not sit well with Mr. Goode, who, obnoxiously referring to his congressional colleague-to-be as "the Muslim Representative from Minnesota," warned ominously that current immigration policy would lead to an outbreak of elected Muslims in this country and unfettered use of the Koran.
Forget that Muslims represent a small fraction of immigrants to America. And leave aside the obvious point that Mr. Goode was evidently napping in class the day they taught the traditional American values of tolerance, diversity and religious freedom. This country's history is rife with instances of uncivil, hateful and violent behavior toward newcomers, be they Jewish, Irish, Italian or plenty of others whose ethnicities did not jibe with some pinched view of what it means to be American. Mr. Goode's dimwitted outburst of nativism is nothing new.
No, the real worry for the nation is that the rest of the world might take Mr. Goode seriously, interpreting his biased remarks about Muslims as proof that America really has embarked on a civilizational war against Islam. With 535 members, you'd think that Congress would welcome the presence of a single Muslim representative. Whether it can afford a lawmaker of Mr. Goode's caliber is another question. [emphasis added]

The Council on American Islamic Relations the Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation have called upon the congressman to retract his statements and apologize. So far, he has stood by what he wrote.

We have a long way to go before we can preach tolerance and democracy to the world.

For more on the subject:

Rep. Goode's Letter

CAIR Questions GOP Silence on Rep's Islamophobic Remarks

Keith Ellison Responds

Goode Defends His Letter

VA Lawmaker's Remarks on Muslims Criticized

Abu Mazen's Coup D'état

2006-12-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

No matter how you look at it, the Palestinian president's announcement that he is planning on holding early legislative and presidential elections in the Occupied Territories, is at best an attempt to seriously undermine the democratically elected government and at worst an attempt to overthrow it. Since the constitution does not stipulate what the procedures would be in the case where a 'no confidence' measure is to be taken, president Abu Mazen has decided that he can interpret it in his favor since he is the executive, albeit one who does not seem to want to let the workings of democracy take root.

The constitution does not indicate that the president has the right to call for early elections, but it does not indicate that he cannot call for them either. Abbas sugar coated his decision by indicating that this is the choice of the people, and that he wanted to give them the opportunity to express their choices through the ballot box. However, as the author of this article states, this decision is purely anti-democratic and against the basic laws of the PA:

The Palestinian President relied on what he regarded as one of his constitutional rights by virtue of the second article of the Palestinian Basic Law, which stipulates that the 'people are the source of legislative, executive and judicial authority'. He expressed his desire to leave the choice to the Palestinian people to decide the fate of the legislative and executive authorities.

But the view of the Palestinian President is constitutionally deficient. The phrase 'people are the source of authorities' means that it is the people who elect their representatives in such authorities through public elections on the scheduled time. But to leave the door open for the people to choose their representatives at any time they want, or at the time the President wants, runs contrary to the spirit of constitutional law of any country.

Abbas's comments were purely inflammatory and as the president of a people already plagued with war and poverty, he should have known better than to make such statements that will only divide the Palestinian people at a time when they long to be united. Nevertheless, I don't think that the situation will "erupt into civil war" as the mainstream media would have us believe. Why don't they use those same words with confidence when speaking of Iraq?

It is worthwhile noting that the reactions to the call for early elections have been mixed. One poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza depicted these mixed reactions:

48% believe the government should resign, 47% believe it shouldn't.
61% support holding early elections, 37% oppose.
56% believe that the president has the right to call for early elections, 38% believe he does not.

If parliamentary elections were held today:
42% would vote for Fatah
35 % for Hamas
12 % for independent lists
10 % undecided

If presidential elections were held today between these two candidates:
46% for Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah)
45% for Ismail Haniyah (Hamas)

Public dissatisfaction with Abbas is up 15% compared to three months ago.
Public dissatisfaction with Hamas is up 9% compared to three months ago.

The margin of error is 3% which means that the race for president is at a dead heat, if those two candidates were to run together. As of today, Hamas has said that it would boycott such elections because they are illegal and unconstitutional.

However, if Hamas does decide to participate in the next elections, and is defeated by Fatah, this story will become a perfect example of how Islamists will always fail in a democratic environment. Never mind the fact that they were isolated by the entire world, leaving their population starving and their leaders begging for cash.

Let me say this, Mr. Abbas: at least the leaders in place today are willing to put their lives on the line in order to bring back money into the territories to keep the government running and keep the people alive. This is the exact opposite of what you and your cohorts did when you stuffed the dollars down your throats, vacationed in France and built mansions in undisclosed locations.

It seems like Abbas and Dahlan are desperately missing the cash that used to flow between their fingers. I don't blame you. I'd want early elections too.

A Round Up of the Shameful Violence in Palestine

2006-12-15T19:36:00.000-05:00

As if occupation, assassinations, home demolitions, and international siege were not enough to make the lives of Palestinians a living hell, now comes the threat of internal conflict between criminals affiliated with both Fatah and Hamas and opportunists who want to take advantage of the instability that is rampant in the Occupied Territories.

This began when the three children of the head of intelligence services Major Baha' Balousha were brutally murdered on their way to school. Balousha is a member of the Fatah party, and fingers were immediately pointed at the ruling party Hamas, without any evidence for such an implication.

"They drained my blood when they killed my three children, and wasted my lifetime's fruit in the blink of an eye. If they consider that an accomplishment, I congratulate them for it", the bereaved mother said.

According to fellow blogger Laila who heard the shots from her house, some sources indicate that it may have been Fatah members who had grudges against Balousha, which is not far fetched considering the fact that he is head of the sensitive intelligence department.

Apparently, Balousha had some sort of information on another high profile figure within Fateh that somebody thought should die with him. Except, of course, he missed his target.

Balousha had reportedly documented CIA money transfers to Abbas’s Fateh movement, and who was getting paid, as well as some other information about local drug dealers. I guess if you are an intelligence chief, there is a limitless number of reasons that people would want you dead.

Regardless of what the motive was, and who the intended target was, the fact of the matter is that taking the law into your own hands should not be an option. Sadly, children had to die to make it clear to their elders that their actions are brutal and uncalled for.

Unfortunately, the murders did not stop after this horrific incident. A Hamas affiliated judge was shot to death "gang style" by criminals allegedly from Fatah. He was the second judge to be killed in one week.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh cut his international begging trip short after the escalation of violence. He was attempting to reach out to neighboring countries that could help stem the growing despair in the Territories as the international community continues to impose sanctions on the democratically elected government. Israel prevented him from entering Gaza with the cash he received during his trip. The cash would have been used to pay the salaries of government employees who have not been paid for months.

On his way back into Gaza, the prime minister and his guards got into a scuffle with security forces affiliated with Fatah. The scuffle intensified and the PM's body guards was killed and twenty others were injured, including his son. The PM accused Fatah of attempting to assassinate him.

At the bodyguard's funeral, Khalil al-Hayeh, head of the Hamas bloc in parliament, told mourners that Dahlan was trying to instigate a coup against the government and appeared to call for his assassination.

Dahlan said the allegations were an attempt by Hamas leaders "to mask their sweeping failure to manage Palestinian political and social life."

Wait a minute, look who's talking! Dahlan?! One of the most vicious and corrupt members of Fatah?

At a Hamas led rally in Gaza the next day, Hamas officials said that President Abbas wants to start a war among Palestinians. Fatah affiliated security forces fired shots during the rally which caused clashes among protesters and armed forces.

And in the clashes continued in the West Bank:

The fighting Friday in the normally peaceful city of Ramallah began when Hamas supporters tried to march toward the town center, where Fatah-allied police had deployed to prevent a planned Hamas celebration.

Police formed a cordon around a Hamas mosque to prevent those inside from marching, then beat them with clubs and fired their rifles in the air when the activists tried to leave. The marchers fought back, throwing stones and bottles at the police, some of whom fired into the crowd.

So who is to blame?

There is no doubt that many have taken advantage of the deteriorating situation in the OT's. Fatah, in a weakened position after Hamas took control of the government through democratic elections, has been almost revelling as it watches the government fail to maintain control of the streets, keep the government running, or provide basic services for Palestinians due to the international siege imposed on them.

The US should be proud as well, as the Bush administration led the international community in boycotting the Hamas-led government and punishing the Palestinians for taking part in a democratic election. I guess this was part of the democracy promotion plan. It's no wonder then our efforts in Iraq are failing miserably.

To those criminals who are the cause of the violence: please, stop competing with the IDF. Please don't let the world watch as Palestinians grab each others' throats. Stop these shameful and senseless acts and know that your real enemy is the occupation and the individuals who are imposing this illegal occupation on you.

stop

this

madness.

Photos courtesy of Reuters, AP, Getty Images. See NYTimes slideshow.

On "Desert Muslims"

2006-12-10T22:51:00.000-05:00

Don't you love it when someone tries really hard to defend us poor, miserable, uncivilized bunch of Muslims and Arabs by indicating that "we're really not THAT bad"? I especially love it when a "seasoned" journalist or politician makes this attempt. This is how I read Nicholas Kristof's editorial in today's New York Times entitled "The Muslim Stereotype".

Kristof is in Brunei, an exotic predominantly Muslim Southeast Asian country, where the "sultan has two wives... women can drive... and young people can flirt together in cafes". There he declares that he "find[s] the common American stereotypes of Islam profoundly warped." One might assume that some good will come out of this piece, right? That Kristof will declare once and for all that Muslims are not terrorists and they don't live in the desert. Well, not quite.

In an attempt to indicate that the international media focuses too much on Arab Muslims (where most of the terrorists come from), Kristof makes a failed attempt at highlighting the "good" that comes of out of the predominantly non-Arab Muslims around the world, and specifically in Asia. He seems to have just discovered that Indonesia is a democracy and that Bangladesh has had two female prime ministers.

He writes that the West is really tried of looking at an Arab world that "sometimes seems to put its creative juices mostly into building better bombs". Someone help me here, please. When was the last time you saw an Arab country building an arsenal of weapons to protect itself? You'd think he would be referring to some of the most powerful nations in the world whose stockpiles of weapons continue to swell and their victims can be found in Iraq and elsewhere.

Oh wait, maybe he was referring to Iran's nuclear weapons program? But Iran is not Arab, or did Ahmedenijad turn it into an Arab state while I was sleeping? Well then he must be talking about suicide bombers! How could I forget?! How creative does one have to be to build a suicide belt? It's really an insult to say that all of Arab "creativity" is focused on bomb-making. If anything, suicide bombs represent a lack of power and a resort to cheap materials to create weapons that are used to attack Israeli checkpoints and Iraqi markets. If they were really creative, Arabs would be building stockpiles of conventional and nuclear weapons to rival the threat posed by the very creative Israelis.

Kristof is right in the sense that "Muslims" are often confused with Arabs, and subsequently, non-Arab Muslims get lost in the picture. This is not a fault of Arab Muslims, however. It's the fault of an ignorant media that chooses to reinforce this misconception. It's also true that most of the news headlines today focus on the Middle East, but that should not translate into "everyone involved in those conflicts is Muslim". He concludes by making an absurd correlation between the level of religiosity and modernity in the Muslim world and the geographical location of the country involved.

The plain fact is that some Muslim societies do have a real problem with violence, with the subjugation of women, with tolerance. But the mosaic of Islam is vast and contains many more hopeful glimpses of the future.

There is a historic dichotomy between desert Islam -- the austere fundamentalism of countries like Saudi Arabia -- and riverine or coastal Islam, more outward-looking, flexible and tolerant. Desert Muslims grab the headlines, but my bet is that in the struggle for the soul of Islam, maritime Muslims have the edge.

This is not in defense of the wrongs that take place in the name of Islam across Arabia. One cannot deny that problems do exist, many of which are caused by oppressive dictators and ignorance of Islamic teachings. But to attempt to highlight the "goodness" of Asian Muslims by overemphasizing the faults of Arab Muslims does nothing to help the ever increasing stereotypes and accusations hurled at Islam on daily basis. Kristof would be well served if he made an attempt to take a closer look at the lives of those "desert Muslims" and the reasons behind the problems he indicated.

After doing that, he should come by to Washington D.C. where cab drivers and children crossing streets are gunned down everyday, where women wait in alleys at night to be picked up, and where airlines pull passengers off planes because they pray to their Lord. Seems to me like a healthy dose of violence, subjugation of women, and intolerance right here in our nation's capital. See you soon, Mr. Kristof.

[The full article is only available to TimesSelect members. If you can't access it, email me and I can send it to you. A simple blog search will also lead to blogs that posted the piece.]

On World AIDS Day

2006-12-01T20:09:00.000-05:00

Today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day, a day of action and raising awareness about this brutal epidemic. On this day, I pray that the leaders of the world unite their power and resources to find a cure. I pray that we unite to erase the ignorance that is so prevalent in this world regarding this disease. I pray that the leaders of the world stop funding wars, buying F-16's and building nuclear weapons, and instead address the problems that we humans around the world agree are more important than this sickening greed for money and power.

Let's wipe out this ignorance and wipe out this disease, one by one, let's educate ourselves.

[technorati tags: AIDS, HIV, war]

Saturday: Protest Gaza Seige @ Dupont Circle

2006-11-30T18:10:00.000-05:00

This Saturday December 2nd is the international day of action against the Gaza Siege. There will be peaceful protests held around the world in coordination with the main one being held in Tel Aviv. Check this website for information about events in your city, or organize one yourself. For those in the DC area, the protest will be held on Saturday at 12 noon in Dupont Circle. For more information on this protest, click here.

Saturday, December 2, 2006

12:00 noon

Rally at Dupont Circle

Speakers:

Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, (invited)

Former DC Delegate to the US House of Representatives

Dr. Mark Braverman,

Partners for Peace, and Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace

Huwaida Arraf,

Co-founder, International Solidarity Movement

Yonatan Shapira,

Israeli Refusenik, Co-founder, Combatants for Peace

Mai Abdul Rahman

American Palestinian Women’s Association, President and WIAMEP, member

Washington DC Rally Sponsored By:

Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace, the Coalition for Justice and Accountability, Save Gaza and the DC Anti-War Network (DAWN)

Dupont Circle, intersection of Massachusetts and Connecticut

Easily accessible through the Dupont Circle Metro stop on the Red Line

For more information or to sponsor, call 1-888-810-6202 or relamine@yahoo.com

Be there. It's the least we can do to speak out against the injustice being inflicted on Gazans.

Random News Stories

2006-11-29T13:55:00.000-05:00

Hunger has been eradicated in the US. Yes, you heard me right. We no longer have a problem called "hunger." It's now called "low food security". The people at USDA are geniuses, really. Now the homeless man in front of my office will be saying, "Hi, I'm ~~hungry~~ suffering from very low food security, can you spare a dollar?"

You know there is something either seriously wrong with CNN or seriously wrong with some of my fellow Americans when you see this headline on their website: Woman Microwaves Baby. It was on the homepage yesterday. Sad, sad world.

Does something happen to politicians after they leave office? Because it seems to me that they start making sense only when they're not in office. Powell now says Iraq is in a "civil war." Or maybe they just have more freedom to speak their mind when they leave.

And to stop North Korea from nuking the world, the Bush administration has thought of a genius plan: no more iPods for Kim Jung Il. Yeah, don't dream of them buddy. We're not going to sell them to you! Nana nana na naaaaa!

Did you know Matt Lauer is 48?! Am I the only one who thought he was 35 or something like that? His make up artist must be good.

Jordanian Student 'Not Guilty' in 9/11 Perjury Case

2006-11-22T20:31:00.000-05:00

I first heard of this case Monday from Democracy Now's Amy Goodman who interviewed Osama Awadallah, the Jordanian student who was detained a few days after 9/11. After long hours of questioning and mistreatment over a couple of weeks, Awadallah was presented to a Grand Jury as a "material witness". When they asked him about his knowledge of one of the hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks, Awadallah could not answer. He had, however, given the FBI all the information they asked for and answered all of their questions just days before. But one can imagine that after days in solitary confinement, questioning by four agents more than 8 hours at a time, someone might just not be ready to give testimony to a grand jury. He was then charged with perjury and was recently found not guilty on all 27 charges by the jury. This is an excerpt of the interview he had with Amy Goodman:

AMY GOODMAN: Did you have a lawyer present?
OSAMA AWADALLAH: No, I didn't have a lawyer. They told me it was going to be a short time, you don't need anyone to be with you. You're going to be fine. Just a few questions and then you will go home. I said that's fine. Remember, at that time, I'm 20 years old, you know? My English at that time was not like I'm speaking to you now. It's completely different. Its been only 2 years in the country, or year and a half...
AMY GOODMAN: Was there an Arabic speaker there?
OSAMA AWADALLAH: No. There wasn't an interpreter there, nor an Arabic speaker. They questioned me all day until 10:00, 11:00, midnight. And I was so exhausted I just wanted to go home. I even was going to answer whatever they wanted in order to just get home and rest. My family didn't know where I am. Everyone was worried. My community was looking for me. And I came at 11:00 and I went to my brother's and there, I told them what happened with me and the second day, the FBI. -- well, actually, on that day, on September 20th, they asked me that they want to come the next day to continue questioning me. I said I just said everything that you want, that I have. Why this other day? They said well there's a couple questions we need to verify. I said ok.
And the second day at 6:00 in the morning, they came to my apartment and I drove with them. I told them it was a Friday—Friday, the Friday service and I told them I had to catch my Friday service. So I hope this won't take much time. They said no, no problem. Then we went there. They started confronting me with things more, you know, in a more high-tone than the previous day and they start to jump on me, this time, there are four people asking me questions not like one. It's like you have a person there and you have four people asking you questions at the same time. So you have to answer. All this pressure and stress that you know, they came in and then at the end, they said you know what? I guess we’re going to go to New York right now. Right now, we’re going to put you on a plane and ship you to New York just--just like this. From there, continued, went to MCC Jail and then to Oklahoma—uh I think San Bernardino Sheriff Jail, then they took me to Oklahoma Jail and then ended up in New York. And until then, that's all that happened.

Read the full interview, watch it or listen to it here.

Fall Colors

2006-11-19T20:17:00.000-05:00

My favorite season in the US is Fall, or Autumn. How can it not be?! Feast your eyes on these amazing scenes. No need to drive hours or fly for them; just pull back my curtains and enjoy. Thank God for these little blessings, subhan'Allah.
Images around my home in Northern Virginia; the rest on my Flickr page.

amazing colors

my backyard

a foggy day in the neighborhood

leaf covered pathways

before

and after

AlJazeera's English Venture

2006-11-16T20:35:00.000-05:00

As someone who watches AlJazeera's Arabic channel regularly, I was looking forward to the launch of the English channel as well as the relaunch of the English website. I watched some of the free version clips and my initial reaction was to focus on the British/BBC like feel of the channel. The new website is much better than the old one which looked like it was from the Internet Stone Age, but can still use a lot of improvement. I must say it's an exciting venture to have an international English-language channel broadcast world news from the heart of the Middle East. What AlJazeera has accomplished over the past 10 years is no small feat. It has by far been one of the most powerful tools and most innovative technologies to emerge from the region in a long time, paving the way for more open and independent media that is so lacking in the region.

The new channel is not yet available in North America, and most likely will not be for a while. It is difficult to break into the cable/satellite companies here in the US, especially if you have already been vilified by the US government. Even the BBC is not carried by a cable/satellite channel here in the US, although it is available on some local stations for a two hours per day. Instead of welcoming such a news outlet that will be able to reach out to the American public and portray international issues from a different angle, unfortunately, AJE is not yet allowed to provide this bridge between the West and the Muslim world.

I subscribed to it yesterday through Real Player, but was not able to get it to work until now. I had to call customer service and be switched around until I was finally told that there has been some problems with the subscriptions to the new channel, and they will be fixed in the next few days so that it can automatically appear on my Real Player. Until then, I'll have to access it through a certain link. It has better quality streaming than I expected, but this is the first time I subscribe to a channel through the Internet and I'm not sure how much I will watch it.

I'm mostly interested in the programs that will be on the channel more than the news reports. When I first saw the news highlights, I was taken aback by the strong British accents of almost every reporter and anchor. The headlines on the bottom of the screen with the orange background are really similar to how the BBC looks. Sometimes I forget that I'm watching an "Arab" channel until someone says "AlJazeera" then I realize how foreign it seems. I guess I would've liked for it to have an Arab touch rather than trying to be something completely Western in appearance, albeit not content.

The news reports from Africa are gripping and add a much needed focus on the often under-represented and beleaguered continent. I just saw a report about the temporary refugee camps in Darfur which is definitely not something I would see on CNN or even BBC these days. It's a welcome change. I caught a short part of Riz Khan's show where he hosted a Palestinian who was tortured in Israeli jails and a former IDF member who is now a refusenik. I'm not sure what the topic of the show was, but to host these types of individuals as opposed to the usual policy makers is an interesting way of getting diverse opinions on hot topics.

So it'll take me some time to adjust to the British accents, but I hope the content will be good enough for me to watch it make use of my subscription.

You can subscribe through Real Player or Jump TV here.

[technorati tags: media, Aljazeera, BBC]

Talking About Palestine and Israel, in America

2006-11-14T20:54:00.000-05:00

A few interesting articles caught my attention over the past few days, all related to the way Americans talk about the "Israel Palestine issue". That's about the only similarity between these articles; one about pro-Israeli evangelicals, another about a former president's view of Israel, and the last about college students bickering about the conflict.

David D. Kirkpatrick writes in the New York Times today with a provocative headline, "For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel is 'God's Foreign Policy' ". Kirkpatrick discusses the rise of popularity of pro-Israeli evangelical Christian groups recently, especially during the war on Lebanon this past July. One such group--the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews-- ran commercials on Fox News network asking viewers to donate to help Israelis hurt by the war.

The response, mainly from evangelicals, “burned out the call centers,” Mr. Eckstein said. During the five-week war, his group added 30,000 new donors. Thanks to the influx of money, he said his organization has exceeded its income from the first 10 months of last year by 60 percent, putting it on track to pull in $80 million this year. “The war really generated a momentum,” Mr. Eckstein said.

On the other side of the spectrum, former president Jimmy Carter is feeling the heat even before his new book-- entitled "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid"-- was released today. Pro-Israeli groups pounced on the opportunity to start a smear campaign against anyone daring to question Israel's apartheid-like occupation of the Palestine territories. American politicians didn't hesitate to make statements criticizing the book (before reading it) and its author for such a characterization of the Jewish state.

Two key party leaders — Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, party chairman, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — and several congressmen issued statements Monday saying that the book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” does not represent their views on the Jewish state.
“It is wrong to suggest that the Jewish people would support a government in Israel or anywhere else that institutionalizes ethnically based oppression, and Democrats reject that allegation vigorously,” Pelosi wrote in a statement. “With all due respect to former President Carter, he does not speak for the Democratic Party on Israel.” [h/t www4report]

(Side note: If you just now realized that Nancy Pelosi's position as the new Speaker of the House won't do the Palestine issue any good, feel free to go cry in the corner). The politicians do not even attempt to give the book a chance and wait to read it then refute its arguments. Even this Israeli reporter notes the futility in arguing against characterizing Israel as an apartheid regime (although he goes on to criticize Carter's use of the word in terms of "the context and bigger picture").

Apartheid is the worst word one can use against Israel and stay within the boundaries of legitimacy. Using analogies to Nazi Germany - as some anti-Israel activists have done in the past - is unacceptable. Using words like Occupation is not strong enough to earn any attention. Carter pushed the envelope just a little bit futher, but got the effect he wished to have: Anger, controversy, political turmoil, hurt feelings. Arguing about Apartheid is pointless. There is enough material evidence to prove that apartheid exists in the occupied territories in one form or another. If you argue about the use of this word, you lose. If you argue that Israel is blameless you also lose.

Finally, a lengthy article in the Boston Globe today looks at the dynamics of discussions on this conflict across college campuses in the US. Jake Halpern writes that the issue of Palestine and Israel is simply "Too Hot to Handle", even though more controversial issues such as race and homosexuality are more openly broached without the same intensity among college students.

The question for students and administrators at Brandeis, UC Irvine, Penn State, and other schools is this: Why is it so hard to talk about Israel in an open, civil, and constructive manner? After all, our college campuses have long provided a forum for discussing the nation's most divisive and controversial issues - including date rape, racism, abortion, and gay rights. So why, exactly, is the subject of Israel so difficult to discuss?
The Holy Land has never been an easy topic of conversation. The fact that three of the world's major religions all have a large spiritual stake in the city of Jerusalem, Israel's capital, guarantees that virtually every young person with an opinion has something to say on the fate of this place. But why is the topic especially contentious right now?
The answer in part is that Christian, Jewish, and Muslim college students are more organized than they ever have been - and more outspoken, especially when it comes to Israel.

This is indeed true that many American students are more aware and engaged in what is going on in the region, and have put their energy into organizations that support their views and allow them to express their opinions on the conflict. It is also the case that pro-Israeli student groups receive a lot of funding and training from national organizations such as AIPAC and ADL, in addition to having Hillel's resources at their disposal, despite the fact that the latter is predominantly a religious organization and ideally should not engage in all this politics. The work of pro-Israeli groups is thus more organized and much better funded than that of pro-Palestinian groups which nonetheless are generating a lot of discussion about the occupation and American support for it despite the intimidation they face from some hard-line pro-Israel groups and university administrators.

[photo courtesy: Amazon]
[technorati tags: evangelical, Palestine, Israel, Jimmy Carter, apartheid, college, Hillel, AIPAC]

Israel Doesn't Just Destroy Lives

2006-11-11T22:21:00.000-05:00

It destroys history too. During their vicious rampage in Beit Hanoun, the Israeli Occupying Forces managed to bring to the ground an 800 year old mosque.

The An-Nasr mosque in Beit Hanoun, which was completely destroyed by the Israeli shelling during the invasion of Beit Hanoun, is a historic mosque that was built 800 years ago.

The imam of the mosque, Sheikh Shihda Abu Zreiq, told Ma'an on Friday that the occupation has ruined "the house of God", which was built in the year 637 according to the Islamic calendar, following the 'Um An-Nasr' battle between the armies of Sultan Mahmoud Qutob and the Crusaders' armies in the area between Gaza City and Asqalan (today's Ashkelon). The Muslim armies triumphed in the battle.

If a Palestinian rocket destroyed a small insignificant synagogue, what would the world's reaction be? Not to mention an 800 year old synagogue...

"This mosque is more than 800 years old. It is part of our heritage and thousands of people visited it every year," laments Akram Abdel Jawd Qassam, whose family have been caretakers of the holy site for half a century.

"The Jews want to destroy everything. Even our heritage and our history. It’s a tragedy," adds the old man.

"They said there were fighters in the mosque but they are liars. I have the keys and it was closed. They occupied my house for two days and never asked me to open the doors to show them that it was empty," he said.

Just another day in the Occupied Territories...

[photo: Ma'an News]

It's the War, Stupid.

2006-11-09T19:32:00.000-05:00

Cover of The Independent, Nov. 9th.

[hat tip: Tworset]

51 to 49; Democrats Control Senate

2006-11-09T16:18:00.000-05:00

It's official. Republican incumbent George Allen has conceded that he lost the election for Virginia's top congressional seat to Democrat Jim Webb. The majority of the senate hinged on the tight race in Virginia, which some thought would end up in a recount because of how close the vote was. Jim Webb won by a slim 0.3% margin, a little more than 7,000 votes in a predominantly and historically Republican state. Last night, the Associate Press called the seat for Webb. Today, Allen's concession makes it official.

Republican Sen. George Allen conceded defeat Thursday to Democrat Jim Webb, sealing the Democrats' control of Congress and the political downfall of a man once considered a White House contender.
Allen said the "owners of government have spoken and I respect their decision." "The Bible teaches us there is a time and place for everything, and today I called and congratulated Jim Webb," he said.
Webb, a former Republican and Navy secretary under President Reagan, claimed victory early Wednesday after election returns howed him with a narrow lead of about 7,200 votes out of 2.37 million ballots cast. llen chose not to demand a recount after initial canvassing of the results failed to significantly alter Webb's lead.
"I do not wish to cause more litigation that would not alter the results," Allen said, adding that he saw "no good purpose being served by continuously and needlessly expending money and causing any more personal animosity."
The Virginia contest was the last undecided Senate race in the country, and Webb's victory tipped the scales, giving the Democrats control of 51 Senate seats and majorities in both the House and Senate for the first time since 1994.

AP: Webb Wins, Dems Take Control of Senate

2006-11-08T21:13:00.001-05:00

The latest from the Associated Press declares that the Democratic party has gained control of the Senate with the winning of Democrat James Webb over Republican incumbent George Allen in Virginia. The AP's declaration that Webb has won is based on the following:

The Associated Press contacted election officials in all 134 localities where voting occurred, obtaining updated numbers Wednesday. About half the localities said they had completed their postelection canvassing and nearly all had counted outstanding absentees. Most were expected to be finished by Friday.

The new AP count showed Webb with 1,172,538 votes and Allen with 1,165,302, a difference of 7,236. Virginia has had two statewide vote recounts in modern history, but both resulted in vote changes of no more than a few hundred votes.

An adviser to Allen, speaking on condition of anonymity because his boss had not formally decided to end the campaign, said the senator wanted to wait until most of canvassing was completed before announcing his decision, possibly as early as Thursday evening.

The adviser said that Allen was disinclined to request a recount if the final vote spread was similar to that of election night.

George Allen has not conceded yet, but he might make an announcement as early as tonight. The loss of a historically Republican state such as Virginia is a stinging defeat for the Republicans.

Stay tuned, I'll updating as much as possible tonight.

You Rock Virginia!

[by the way, it's interesting that I heard this first on Aljazeera's 9PM EST broadcast, before CNN, FOX, or ABC had it on their websites]

BREAKING NEWS: Rumsfeld Resigns

2006-11-08T13:25:00.000-05:00

From the AP:

President Bush said Wednesday Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is stepping down and former CIA Director Robert Gates will take over at the Pentagon and in prosecuting the war in Iraq.

Rumsfeld, architect of an unpopular war in Iraq, intends to resign after six stormy years at the Pentagon, Republican officials said.

The development occurred one day after midterm elections that cost Republicans control of the House, and possibly the Senate, as well. Surveys of voters at polling places said opposition to the war was a significant contributor to the Democratic victory.

Bush described Rumsfeld as a "superb leader" in a time of change, but said his defense chief recognizes the value of "fresh perspective." He said Rumsfeld is a "trusted adviser and friend," and that he's "deeply grateful" for his service to the country. Bush said he and Rumsfeld agreed that "the timing is right for new leadership" at the Pentagon.

American politics is so entertaining!

While America Votes, Israel Massacres in Beit Hanoun

2006-11-08T11:19:00.000-05:00

With international attention focused on high stakes mid-term elections in the US, Israel has taken free reign in Beit Hanoun killing more than 18 civilians and maiming 40 others last night. Major news networks yesterday reported an "end" to the Israeli "offensive" yesterday. There was no end insight, however, for thousands of Palestinians who faced a barrage of shelling from American tax-payer funded tanks that resulted in pools of blood and carnage all over the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. Not surprisingly, Israel "expressed regret" and said it would investigate.

Mathew Price reports for the BBC from Beit Hanoun:

A woman just walked past me crying, being helped by some of her neighbours. Most people are shocked and uncomprehending about what happened in their street during the night.
A father of one child who was killed told me: "One missile I believe could have been a mistake, but the number of missiles that were fired, I can't believe that was a mistake." A resident who works in one of Gaza's hospitals says: "I have not seen injuries like this for a long time."
"The shrapnel severed peoples hands and arms and they were left lying on the ground," Dr Ali said. He had been sleeping in his bedroom when the shells struck the next door building. The windows of his bedroom had been blasted out and there was glass on the ground. Dr Ali tells the same story as everyone I spoke to, that there had been no anti-Israeli attacks by Palestinian militants from this area, as the Israeli military claims, before the shells struck.

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Palestinians sit next to a pool of blood mixed with water in a street of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun Wednesday Nov. 8, 2006. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A Palestinian woman carries her injured baby son into the Beit Lahia hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. (AFP/Mohammed Abed)

Dima Al Athamneh, 2, is seen in the hospital of the Gaza strip town of Beit Lahiya Wednesday Nov. 8, 2006. Israeli tank shells landed in a residential neighborhood north of the neighboring village of Beit Hanoun early Wednesday, killing at least 18 people in their sleep, including eight children, according to witnesses and hospital officials. Dima's mother was among those killed in the shelling. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

A Palestinian man mourns after losing thirteen members of his extended family, including his sons, in an Israeli shelling at Beit Hanoun town in northern Gaza Strip November 8, 2006. (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)

Latest Results from VA Senate Elections-- Webb vs. Allen

2006-11-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

I'm hooked on the VA General Elections website that updates the results every few minutes or so. This is so nerve racking! So far Webb, the Democratic candidate, has been trailing by less than 1%. I'll keep updating this as it changes:

9:52 PM, 88% reporting: Allen leading by 0.4%

9:56 PM, 90% reporting: Allen leading by 1.3%

10:00 PM, 90.3% reporting: Allen leading by 1.23%

10:02 PM, 91.53% reporting: Allen leading by 0.84 % (yessss, please keep going down!)

10:20 PM, 92.63% reporting: Allen leading by 0.96 % (nooooooo!)

10:40 PM, 94.31% reporting: Allen leading by 0.55%

10:56 PM, 95.6% reporting: Allen leading by 0.62%

People, we're talking about less than ONE percent here! We're talking about RED hot Republican majority Virginia where only a few weeks ago Allen had a SIXTEEN percent lead over Democrat Jim Webb. If the result difference turns out to be less than 1 percent, the candidates can ask for a recount. If the difference is less than 0.5%, the state pays for the recount.

This is a nail biter!

11:24 PM, 97.26% reporting: Allen leading by only 0.31% (I can't tell you how exciting this is!)

11:48 PM, 97.67% reporting: Allen leading by only 0.13% (ahhhhhh!)

With less than 2% of precincts left, here's some of my analysis. As you can see here, the only localities left with significant votes to be tallied are:
Prince William County, Fairfax City, and Richmond City. All of these localities are leaning (some heavily) to the Democratic side, which means this could really make the difference for Webb! When he came on tv a little while ago, he said that they are confident that out of the votes left to be tallied, most will be in his favor.

Now, at 12:00 AM, with 99.10% reporting, Webb is trailing by ONLY 0.07%!

12:42 AM with 99.26% reporting, Democrat Jim Webb is now leading by 0.08%! (yes I'm still up!)

***As of 10:01 AM*** Wednesday morning, with 99.84% reporting, Democrat Jim Webb is leading by 0.30%. Late last night, Webb declared victory while Republican incumbent George Allen has refused to concede. The votes are indeed too close to call and a recount looks eminent. If that does happen, the votes will likely take weeks to be recounted and verified and the majority of the Senate might hinge on these results.

Who knew that good old Virginia could be interesting?!

[technorati tags: elections, midterm, Congress, Allen, Webb, Virginia]

Saddam, Gaza, and the Elections

2006-11-05T18:59:00.000-05:00

The past week has been a blur. It's been a nightmare for Palestinians in Beit Hanoun, and Iraqis in Baghdad and other parts of the country. One is left speechless in the face of such atrocities that do not elicit international action or even empty words of condemnation. Saddam's sentencing, however, did generate some chatter from various leaders around the world who praised the death penalty sentence for the brutal dictator.

When Saddam was captured, I was much more relieved than when I heard the sentence today. The situation in Iraq today makes the trial of Saddam Hussein seem so insignificant. I think death by hanging is not even a good enough punishment for this murderer. Still, I believe that God knows His business with him and his henchmen and has special accommodations for them in Hell. It's ironic that Bush is relishing in Saddam's misery since I'm pretty sure that his place in Hell won't be too far from the Iraqi dictator's. Nobody really knows who will go to heaven or hell, and I don't really care, because what I do know is that each and every one of us will get what we deserve one day.

Something that has really bothered me about Hussein's trail was when he tried to make himself appear like the victim and continuously made religious references like carrying the Quran with him and yelling "Allahu Akbar". I mean, C'MON buddy, did you just wake up and discover Islam after you were captured?! Oh wait, I forgot, you did put "Allahu Akbar" on the Iraqi flag. That means you're a good Muslim. But seriously, I don't understand anyone who would fall for this act of his. He didn't remember that Allah was Greatest when he butchered the Kurds, Shiites, and even Sunnis for decades. He didn't remember that Allah was watching him when he pointed his pistol at his daughters' husbands and his other relatives. He is just like every other person today who is misusing Islam for their own illegitimate purposes. I despise them all.

And I despise the likes of Bush too who are calling the verdict a "great victory". How convenient it is that the sentencing is announced two days before the mid-term elections! Bush wants to say to the Americans who are sick and tired of this war, "See, we are catching the bad guys!" Where were you cowards when he was gassing the Kurds? Oh wait, maybe you were giving him money to commit his crimes? Or were you providing other forms of military and political support to Saddam Hussein just because he was fighting your enemies, the Iranians? Indeed, my enemy's enemy is my best friend. Doesn't matter if this best friend is a cold blooded dictator. I just hope I live to see the day when George W. Bush and Donal Rumsfeld are tried for crimes against humanity.

And in Palestine, oh Palestine.

Be ashamed, oh Arab and Muslim men, be ashamed! Be ashamed that our Palestinian mothers, sisters, and daughters must now stand in the face of Israeli gunfire to protect their men while you are sitting peacefully in your homes, living under oppressive regimes that do not have enough dignity to show some support for their Palestinian brethren. They do not even have the courage to condemn these atrocities, and even if they do that, their lack of action speaks much louder than their empty words. Just stay home, stuff your stomachs with food, and your brains with images of Nancy Ajram, your lungs with shisha smoke, and watch as Palestine and Iraq fall apart.

It isn't enough, Olmert and Bush, that you are starving the Palestinians?! STARVING THEM TO DEATH. Maybe now you feel bad for them, which is why you are sending your men with big guns and big planes to kill as many of them as possible before they claim that they have died from starvation. Fifty lives you have ruined in less than a week. Fifty families you have broken in a matter of days.

Unfortunately, you still do not understand. You do not understand that Palestinians do not die of lack of food. They can only suffer from lack of freedom. Lack of justice. And lack of peace. They die fighting for freedom, justice, and peace. They do not die fighting for oil.

Here's to hoping the Democrats can change something this November. (And no, I'm not holding my breath).

(Photo credit: A wounded Palestinian woman lies on the ground as others run for cover after an Israeli tank opened fire at them at Beit Hanoun town in northern Gaza strip, November 3, 2006. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem)

I don't have a title today

2006-10-26T22:29:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to give a little update since I haven't blogged in what feels like ages. Many things came up over the last week that pushed me away from my dear blog, mainly the last few days of Ramadan as well as Eid which was Monday-Wednesday. I took Monday and Tuesday off so this week feels like it really flew by (which is not always a good thing).

I wanted to post about Eid around the Muslim world and in my neck of the woods, but I really could not get myself to do that. This Eid was indeed bitter~~sweet~~ because of what seems to be the never ending bloodshed in Iraq and Palestine. I couldn't post anything really jolly about Eid, nor did I want to post bloody pictures from the car bombs in Iraq or Gaza on Eid day.

Needless to say, Iraq is tearing at my heart in what is an increasingly obvious and undeniable civil war that is ravaging many parts of the country. I pray night and day for the Iraqi people who have suffered more than enough under Saddam's tyrannical regime, and now under the horrors of the post-Bush-invasion. Injustice is something I cannot bear to watch.

So as Ramadan and Eid have ended, I should expect to be back to my regular schedule, but that is not the case this time around. I am facing an uphill personal battle with various forces that I cannot begin to describe. Over the next week, I will be facing two very difficult exams--academic and personal. As I pray for patience and strength, my hardships seem utterly incomparable to what others in our world have to face on a daily basis, from war to famine to oppression and occupation. I am indeed blessed.

May God have mercy on us all.

I hope to be back to blogging more regularly in the next week or so. Thank you for continuing to check up on me.

A Journalist in Guantanamo: The Story of Sami al-Haj

2006-10-17T21:50:00.000-05:00

Nicholas Kristof's writes an excellent op-ed in the New York Times today shedding light on the story of Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj who has been imprisoned by the US for the past five years. The article speaks for itself, and you can read the full text below as it is only available on the web for NYT Select members.

More details about Sami's ordeal can be found in this report by the Committee to Protect Journalists as well as Reporters Without Borders. I first learned about Sami's case through Al-Jazeera which occasionally shows a short piece quoting letters from Sami in prison and images of his son which are truly heartbreaking.

Freedom of the press, huh? Just goes to prove that the US and UK are guilty of intentionally targeting Al-Jazeera headquarters in Iraq and killing their reporter Tariq Ayub.
---

Sami's Shame, and Ours

by Nicholas D. Kristof

October 17, 2006

There is no public evidence that Sami al-Hajj committed any crime other than journalism for a television network the Bush administration doesn't like.

But the U.S. has been holding Mr. Hajj, a cameraman for Al Jazeera, for nearly five years without trial, mostly at Guantanamo Bay. With the jailing of Mr. Hajj and of four journalists in Iraq, the U.S. ranked No. 6 in the world in the number of journalists it imprisoned last year, just behind Uzbekistan and tied with Burma, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

This week, President Bush is expected to sign the Military Commissions Act concerning prisoners at Guantanamo, and he has hailed the law as ''a strong signal to the terrorists.'' But the closer you look at Guantanamo the more you feel that it will be remembered mostly as a national disgrace.

Mr. Hajj is the only journalist known to be there, and, of course, it's possible that he is guilty of terrorist-related crimes. If so, he should be tried, convicted and sentenced.

But so far, the evidence turned up by his lawyers and by the Committee to Protect Journalists -- which published an excellent report on Mr. Hajj's case this month -- suggests that the U.S. military may be keeping him in hopes of forcing him to become a spy.

Mr. Hajj, 37, who attended university and speaks English, joined Al Jazeera as a cameraman in April 2000 and covered the war in Afghanistan. He was detained on Dec. 15, 2001, and taken to the American military prison in Bagram, Afghanistan.

''They were the longest days of my life,'' Mr. Hajj's lawyers quoted him as saying. He told them he was repeatedly beaten, kicked, starved, left out in the freezing cold and subjected to anal cavity searches in public ''just to humiliate me.''

In June 2002, Mr. Hajj was flown to Guantanamo, where he says the beatings initially were brutal but have since subsided somewhat.

At first, interrogators said Mr. Hajj had shot video of Osama bin Laden during an Al Jazeera interview, but it turned out that they may have mixed him up with another cameraman of a similar name. When that assertion fell apart, the authorities offered accusations that he had ferried a large sum of money to a suspicious Islamic charity, that he had supported Chechen rebels, and that he had once given a car ride and other assistance to an official of Al Qaeda.

One indication that even our government may not take those accusations so seriously is that the interrogations barely touched on them, Mr. Hajj's lawyers say.

''About 95 percent of the interrogations he went through were about Al Jazeera,'' said one of the lawyers, Zachary Katznelson of London. ''Sami would say, 'What about me? Will you ask about me?' ''

He added, ''It really does seem that the focus of the inquiry is about his employer, Al Jazeera, and not about him or any actions he may have taken.''

Mr. Katznelson also says that interrogators told Mr. Hajj they would free him immediately if he would agree to go back to Al Jazeera and spy on it. He once asked what would happen if he backed out of the deal after he was free.

''You would not do that,'' Mr. Hajj quoted his interrogator as saying, ''because it would endanger your child.''

The Defense Department declined to comment on Mr. Hajj's case, saying that in general, it does not comment on specific detainees at Guantanamo.

While Mr. Hajj is unknown in the U.S., his case has received wide attention in the Arab world. The Bush administration is thus doing long-term damage to American interests.

Mr. Hajj's lawyers say he has two torn ligaments in his knee from abuse in his first weeks in custody, making it exceptionally painful for him to use the squat toilet in his cell. The lawyers say he has been offered treatment for his knee and a sitting toilet that would be less painful to use -- but only if he spills dirt on Al Jazeera. And he says he has none to spill.

And while Defense Department documents indicate that he has been a model inmate at Guantanamo, he protests that he has been called racial epithets (he is black) and that he has seen guards desecrate the Koran.

When Sudan detained an American journalist, Paul Salopek, in August in Darfur, journalists and human rights groups reacted with outrage until he was freed a month later. We should be just as offended when it is our own government that is sinking to Sudanese standards of justice.

This doesn't look like a war on terrorism, but a war on our own values.

[technorati tags: Aljazeera, media, war on terror, Guantanamo, torture, Bush]

And in the Occupied Palestinian Territories...

2006-10-12T19:55:00.000-05:00

The Israeli Occupying Forces took the lives of eight Palestinians and wounded at least ten others Thursday morning. Three of the dead were Hamas activists while the rest were unarmed innocent bystanders. A teenage boy and his father were killed in the attack. Later in the evening, an Israeli missile killed an unidentified 13 year old girl and another man in the Shijaia neighborhood in Gaza City.
[Aljazeera, Maan News, Reuters]

Clearly, Dr. Rice's visit to Israel was a step in the right direction.

A wounded Palestinian woman reacts after her son was killed by an Israeli missile in the Shijaia neighbourhood in Gaza October 12, 2006. An Israeli missile fired from an unmanned drone killed two Palestinians including a young girl and wounded more than 10 others in the Shijaia neighbourhood in Gaza City on Thursday, local residents and hospital staff said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA)

A Palestinian woman carries a child wounded by an Israeli missile strike in the Shijaia neighbourhood in Gaza October 12, 2006. An Israeli missile fired from an unmanned drone killed two Palestinians including a young girl and wounded more than 10 others in the Shijaia neighbourhood in Gaza City on Thursday, local residents and hospital staff said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA)

Palestinians gather round the debris of destroyed houses targeted by an Israeli missile attack in the Jabalia refugee camp, north of Gaza City. Six Palestinians, including a teenage boy and three Hamas militants, have been killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip as troops mounted a fresh incursion as part of a four-month offensive.(AFP/Mohammed Abed)

Relatives of Palestinian boy Sohaeb Qdeh, 13, mourn near his body following an Israeli air strike in Abbassan, near Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip. Five Palestinians, including the 13-year-old boy, were killed in an air strike supporting an Israeli army incursion into the Gaza Strip(AFP/Said Khatib)

[technorati tags: Palestine, Gaza, Israel, IDF]

Meanwhile in Iraq...

2006-10-11T00:20:00.000-05:00

The threat letters are everywhere...

"Warning.. Warning.. Warning. To the worshippers of the Sajjad mosque: Beware of coming near this mosque, or your fate will be death. Woe to the unjust. Death to transgressors. Damn you, lackeys of the occupiers."

"Warning. Warning. Warning. To the Palestinian traitors who allied themselves with Wahhabis, Takfiris, Nawasib and Ba’athist Saddamists, especially those who inhabit the Dar Al-Shu’oun area: We warn you that we will eliminate you all if you do not leave this area entirely within 10 days."

"As a result of the criminal and sectarian behaviour of what is called (the disgraceful) Jaish Al-Mahdi and (the treacherous) Badr forces by killing, kidnapping and deporting the Sunni community (at Mahmoudiya, Rashidiya, Sha’ab, Shu’la and Hurriya), as well as violating the honour of Sunnis and plundering their possessions, the organisation has decided, Inshallah, to return the strike twofold and treat them the same (an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth). It has been decided to deport you from Sunni areas, including Ghazaliya, within 24 hours, or otherwise your heads will be cut off, the same as your militias act with members of the Sunni community. He who has warned is henceforth excused." [Healing Iraq]

The "secterian violence" continues...

Iraqi police found 60 bodies dumped across Baghdad in the 24 hours until Tuesday morning, all apparent victims of sectarian death squads, a grim reminder of the spiraling communal bloodshed that has killed thousands.
A bomb placed under a car near a Sunni mosque in the southern Baghdad district of Doura exploded at midday, killing 10 people, police said. [Reuters]

Yet another Republican Senator on Iraq:

It seems to me the situation is simply drifting sideways," Warner told reporters after completing his eighth trip to Iraq. "It was a markedly different trip from ones before. We just did not have the freedom and ability to travel where I have been before." [Chicago Tribune]

While our young Americans are dying for Bush...

The US military is suffering one of its worst weeks since the invasion. Fourteen US troops have been killed since Monday. The military says that's the highest three-day total so far. A military spokesperson attributed the deaths to a record number of bomb attacks on US troops. Meanwhile a new poll by the veteran advocacy group VoteVets.org has found nearly two thirds of troops who've fought in Iraq and Afghanistan believe the military is overextended. [Democracy Now]

In Iraq, school is out...

Iraq's school and university system is in danger of collapse in large areas of the country as pupils and teachers take flight in the face of threats of violence.
Professors and parents have told the Guardian they no longer feel safe to attend their educational institutions. In some schools and colleges, up to half the staff have fled abroad, resigned or applied to go on prolonged vacation, and class sizes have also dropped by up to half in the areas that are the worst affected. [Guardian Unlimited]

In Baghdad, no family is spared...

The brother of Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president was assassinated yesterday by gunmen who broke into his home, the third of the politician's four siblings to be slain this year. Sunnis blamed Shi'ite militias and demanded a crackdown to stop the sectarian violence raging in the capital.
Iraqi authorities, meanwhile, arrested the head of the mess hall at a base where as many as 400 mainly Shi'ite policemen suffered food poisoning during a Ramadan meal in what may have been the first known attempt by insurgents to carry out a mass poisoning against police. [Boston Globe]

But in Washington, a "Day of Celebration" is in the works...

Tucked away in fine print in the military spending bill for this past year was a lump sum of $20 million to pay for a celebration in the nation’s capital “for commemoration of success” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Not surprisingly, the money was not spent.
Now Congressional Republicans are saying, in effect, maybe next year. A paragraph written into spending legislation and approved by the Senate and House allows the $20 million to be rolled over into 2007.
The original legislation empowered the president to designate “a day of celebration” to commemorate the success of the armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to “issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.” [NYTimes]

And there you have it folks. This is Iraq. Not Condi's Iraq. Not Rumsfeld's Iraq. Not Bush's Iraq. Not Fox News' Iraq.

[technorati tags: Iraq, war, Bush, John Warner, civil war]

Remember the Victims, Help the Survivors

2006-10-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

It got a little cold over the past few days in the DC metro area. People started pulling out their wool coats, leather gloves, and cozy scarves as they cranked up the heaters in their homes and offices to stay warm in the near 50 degree weather. (Yeah, it's lame, I know, we're like that over here; we freak out when we get an inch of snow.) As people here and in many places in the northern hemisphere bundle up for the beginning of chilly weather, hundreds of thousands of people in are still living in tents one year after the tragic earthquake that hit Pakistan and Kashmir.

October 8th marks the 1st anniversary of the death of 75,000 human beings after a 7.6 magnitude quake struck the region. Millions of people were left homeless last winter, and this year again many thousands are still living in temporary shelters and tents.

The tremor occurred as the school day was beginning - 18,000 children died in schools alone, yet more were killed at home.
The BBC's Barbara Plett has visited the area and found that children are still being taught in tents and in the open air.
In one mountain village in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where 49 children died, students told our correspondent that they are no longer afraid to go back into school thanks to encouragement from their teachers - although a school has yet to be built. [BBC]

This comes at a time when many of us are reflecting upon the many bounties we have that we nonetheless take for granted everyday. Whether it's during Ramadan, Yom Kippur, or Thanksgiving and Christmas, many of us will remember those who are less fortunate and attempt to ease their suffering to the best of our abilities.

Not only in Pakistan and Kashmir are people in dire need of assistance, but also in Indonesia where people are still reeling from the tragedy of the tsunami, and in Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine where hunger, disease, and war plague the beleaguered peoples of those regions. Wherever you turn, there are people that need a helping hand, and with a simple click of a mouse, we can put food on their table, clothe their children, and help them find some peace of mind, however illusive that goal might seem.

Every little bit helps. And each of us surely has a "little bit".

Islamic Relief
UN World Food Programme
UNICEF
ICRC A survivor of the October 8, 2005 earthquake offers prayer at the grave of his father who died in the quake in Poonch, about 250 km (156 miles) northwest of the Indian city of Jammu October 7, 2006. REUTERS/Amit Gupta (INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)

A survivor of the October 8, 2005 earthquake prepares food for the iftar during Ramadan at a refuge camp in the devastated city of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir October 6, 2006. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf asked the international aid community on Thursday for an extra $800 million to cover reconstruction costs after a devastating earthquake a year ago. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood (PAKISTAN ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)

[technorati tags: south asia, earthquake, humanitarian, relief, Darfur, Palestine, tsunami, Iraq, Afghanistan]

Weird Searches

2006-10-06T23:55:00.000-05:00

It's really fun to monitor the way people get to your blog, particularly when they search for key words in search engines. Of course nobody will end up on my blog if they search for "politics", "middle east", "occupation", or any other topic that I would normally discuss here. Those are simply too general. Today, however, I noticed many hits on my blog after people searched the words "sniper hit" which led them to a post about my experience when a sniper scare hit the Washington DC region (the 2nd hit on a Google search). I thought to myself, why would people be looking for something about the old sniper story? It must be something else.

I always run into really weird key word searches that have led people to my blog, but this one caught my attention because more than 20 people today came here all looking for the same thing: "sniper hit". One of them, however, searched for "sniper hit Google video" which I then used to search in Google and found a more likely result for their queries. What's even more interesting is that many of them are from Brazil and a few from Vietnam, Spain, Portugal and Germany!

Apparently there is a new game and/or video being posted on Google Video and YouTube called Sniper Hit which is purportedly a "jihadi" video depicting snipers shooting American soldiers in Iraq that has received a lot of attention. A quick search on YouTube showed the first result which seemed to match the news hype, but when you click on it, you get this message: "This video has been removed due to terms of use violation."

Many of the videos, showing sniper attacks against Americans and roadside bombs exploding under American military vehicles, have been posted not by insurgents or their official supporters but apparently by Internet users in the United States and other countries, who have passed along videos found elsewhere.

In a game "Sniper Hit" which is posted on YouTube by a user named 69souljah, a serviceman is knocked down by a shot but then gets up to seek cover.

Why would people want to watch such a thing? Curiosity, I guess, which killed the cat.

Other funny/weird keywords that apparently lead to this blog:

awlad shawari3 (sorry, none here)
"egyptian women" veil gloves
"ellen knickmeyer" genetics (whaaa?)
"one terrorist attack away from a police state" (hmmm)
al sayed hassan youtube
amman call
antiperspirant fasting ramadan (LOL)
britain news anchor wear hijab
bush's reality (or lack thereof?)
cause nine eleven
fady my space (sorry no fady here)
female dress hijab photo talking by phone
google video "sniper hit"
guantanamo extraordinary renditions (yes, we've got that!)
hanan turk pictures after hijab (this common one leads to this post)
hanan turk wearing islamic hijab
hanan turk website
hijab of egyptian actresses
if i break my fast young muslim (umm, then you go to hell...jk)
jordan egregious abuses
living conditions in sharjah
military blog israel
mohammed al-durrah video
mona news presenter lbc
muslim prayer chair (haha, you wish)
occupied territory syria
pictures of hanan turk in her new tv series
pictures of the mabahith
pictures showing how to wash for wudu (instead they got this)
sharing with people who speak your own langguage or different languages
torture slogans (you mean ANTI-torture slogans?)

[technorati tags: sniper hit, blogging, YouTube]

LA Times: Jordanian King's Proximity to US is Risky

2006-10-04T20:39:00.000-05:00

It's interesting to note all the criticism being directed at Jordan recently, including allegations of mistreatment of laborers as well as involvement in the American policy of "extraordinary rendition". An article in Sunday's Los Angeles Times added to this 'bad publicity', so to speak, and sheds light on the increasing proximity of the Jordanian monarchy and intelligence community to their counterparts in the US.

The article notes an increased detachment between the "too modernized" king and most members of the Jordanian populace. The writer goes as far as saying that the fate of the King Abdullah II may be similar to that of the infamous Shah Pahlavi in Iran. I won't try to summarize the article, but do have a look for yourself. This is an excerpt:

[C]ritics on both sides of the Jordanian divide say the 44-year-old king has failed to garner popular support. Descendants of the tribes that are the monarchy's base criticize the king for failing to abide by tribal customs and losing touch with his supporters. They whisper the name of Abdullah's popular younger brother, Hamzeh. Palestinian groups and activists fear that the government in Amman has gotten too close to Washington, has adopted the Bush administration's with-us-or-against-us worldview too thoroughly and is sliding on human rights and democracy.

As a Jordanian who doesn't live in Jordan, but visits frequently, I, like many others who visit it, would not be able to tell that such a rift exists between the monarchy and the people. In the streets of Amman, Irbid, and other cities, one can barely walk two blocks without seeing the picture of the king plastered on mini-markets and corporate billboards. Talking to Jordanians would not get you to think twice about their loyalty to the king either as direct criticism of the royal family would land you at least a few nights in jail. This is not to say that Jordanian policies are not questioned by the local media and scrutinized by members of parliament. Despite recent developments and initiatives by the King to promote free trade and a new "national agenda" for reform, not much has taken place on the ground that has impacted the lives of the average Jordanians.

I wonder how Jordanians would react to this idea, if they would even want to have any reaction at all. It's interesting to note that the Jordanian blogosphere which usually catches on to any Jordan-related article or story (especially in major American newspapers) hasn't picked up on this one...

In case you don't have access to the article through the LAT website, here it is in full:

Jordan's King Risks Shah's Fate, Critics Warn

By Borzou Daragahi

October 1, 2006

AMMAN, Jordan — A politically inexperienced king takes control of a Middle Eastern monarchy from his powerful father, surrounds himself with U.S. military hardware and spies, loses touch with his people and is finally ejected in a popular uprising.
That was the tale of Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, the pro-American ruler of Iran whose ouster ushered in the reign of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and three decades of Islamic rule.
Now many in this Arab country of more than 5 million people fear that a similar fate could befall King Abdullah II, the Jordanian monarch who assumed power after his charismatic father died in 1999.
"Until now in Amman we don't have a Khomeini," said one mid-ranking official serving the Jordanian Cabinet. "If there was a Khomeini, then this family would be in trouble."
The king's father, Hussein, deftly balanced his country's contradictory pressures. He paid respects to the conservative East Bank tribes' demands for stability while also attending to calls from the nation's more cosmopolitan majority Palestinians for democratic change.
But critics on both sides of the Jordanian divide say the 44-year-old king has failed to garner popular support. Descendants of the tribes that are the monarchy's base criticize the king for failing to abide by tribal customs and losing touch with his supporters. They whisper the name of Abdullah's popular younger brother, Hamzeh. Palestinian groups and activists fear that the government in Amman has gotten too close to Washington, has adopted the Bush administration's with-us-or-against-us worldview too thoroughly and is sliding on human rights and democracy.
"King Hussein was an artist," said Ivan Eland, for 17 years a staff member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and now an analyst at the Oakland-based Independent Institute, a think tank. "He was roundly criticized for supporting Saddam [Hussein] in the first Gulf War. But in retrospect, he looked pretty smart.
"The son has gotten more in bed with the United States," he added. "He hasn't been distancing himself from American policy. That has put him in a hole he hasn't been able" to get out of.
Numerous parallels exist between the shah's rule and that of Abdullah. Like the shah's SAVAK security and intelligence service, Jordan's General Intelligence Department, now in a new hilltop complex in an Amman suburb, operates as a "subdivision" of the CIA, said Alexis Debat, a former French Defense Ministry official who is a counter-terrorism consultant and a senior fellow at the Nixon Center in Washington.
By Debat's estimates, the Jordanian intelligence agency receives at least $20 million a year in U.S. funding for operations and liaison work. "They're doing all the legwork for the CIA," he said.
The Jordanians have become one of Washington's closest allies in the intelligence-gathering business, second only to Britain's MI6, counter-intelligence experts say. They are closer to the CIA than the Mossad, Israel's much-touted intelligence agency, which is considered to have too much of an agenda of its own to be completely reliable, Debat said.
Like the Iran of the 1970s, Jordan has become a receptacle of U.S. interests and trade. American aid to the kingdom has totaled $3.59 billion over the last five years, compared with $1.36 billion during the previous five years, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Like the shah's regime, the Jordanian monarchy has surrounded itself with American hardware. Just before Hussein's death, Amman took delivery of 16 advanced F-16 fighter jets. "That was a sort of threshold that Jordan crossed," said Michael R. Fischbach, a professor of history at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. "They got truly advanced weaponry. It made Jordan have aircraft on par with Israel."
U.S.-made military hardware abounds on Jordan's streets. Jordanian soldiers carrying American-made M-16 assault rifles and riding in olive-green U.S.-made Humvees watch over sensitive military and political sites in Amman, the capital. Convoys of U.S. military transport trucks move in and out of the country.
Perhaps most controversially, say Amnesty International and other human rights groups, Jordan has become an important nexus in U.S. intelligence's subterranean "renditions" network, in which terrorism suspects are secretly detained and interrogated in countries with blemished human rights records. Jordanian officials deny participation in the program.
Many worry that bolstering Jordanian security forces amid widespread reports of abuses against detainees has hampered the country's baby steps toward democratization.
"The security forces are improving at the cost of democracy," said Hamzeh Mansur, a leader of the Islamic Action Front, the main Islamist parliamentary bloc.
Jordanian officials say the security apparatus has been ramped up and civil liberties laws tightened out of fear the country will become a staging ground for secretive cells plotting violent operations in Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Jordan has also been victimized by terrorism, including the Nov. 9, 2005, bombings of three Amman hotels that killed dozens.
"You have to combat terrorism while it's in its planning stage," said Nasser Joudeh, a government spokesman. "We will not allow Jordan to be used as a scene for any activity relating to non-Jordanian problems. We will not allow anyone to bring militant or extremist ideas into Jordan or export them elsewhere."
But the Hashemite kingdom's evident close ties with Washington and its leap into the U.S.-declared war on terrorism threaten to put the government on what some call a collision course with many of its people, especially in light of a sharp increase in anti-American sentiment after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and Israel's recent bombing of Lebanon in the Jewish state's war against Shiite Muslim militants.
"Being darlings of the U.S. is considered bad, bad, bad," said a Western analyst based in Jordan who requested anonymity.
Jordanian government officials say the security forces have become less heavy-handed in their approach. "I am liberal-minded," said Maj. Gen. Mohammed Dahabi, the chief of Jordanian intelligence, who says he was appointed in December with a mandate to clean up the service's reputation as well as confront the growing threat of Islamic militants in neighboring Iraq and the West Bank.
However, confronted by the recent allegations of torture, the officials acknowledge that the past casts a long shadow on the country.
"Old habits die hard," said Dahabi, who represents a segment of the tribal-dominated security forces that strongly supports the king.
Few publicly speak out against the king because of a law that can be used to prosecute those who do. "Criticisms of the king and the intelligence forces are strictly taboo and carry serious penalties," says a January 2006 Human Rights Watch report. "Articles of the penal code criminalize speech slandering public officials, criticizing the king and his family, and harming relations with other states."
But Abdullah has emboldened a legion of critics among the country's tradition-minded tribes that are the backbone of the monarchy.
"He talks about information technology and foreign investment, but he doesn't really know his own people," said the government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of his sensitive position within the Cabinet.
"The tribes are very upset with him," said the Western analyst in Amman.
"The impression is that he's too Westernized."
Many critics say the monarch has been too busy pursuing a Western agenda instead of forging ahead with a vision for uniting the country, which remains divided between the powerful tribes and the numerous Jordanian nationals of Palestinian descent.
"He has ambitions to make Jordan a modern country," said Jean-Robert Leguey-Feilleux, a scholar of Middle East politics, diplomacy and terrorism at St. Louis University. "You can't do that without the support of the people."

[technorati tags: Jordan, US, politics]

Just testing...

2006-10-02T19:20:00.000-05:00

to see if this post shows up on the aggregators I'm on. Blogger beta messed up my feed so my previous posts haven't been showing up.

More News on Attempts to Kill Habeas Corpus

2006-09-28T11:23:00.000-05:00

Here are some more articles and commentary on the military commissions bill being debated in the Senate right now. If you haven't called your Senator today to ask them to defend the writ of habeas corpus, please do so ASAP because the vote will likely take place today. See my earlier post for more details.

Molly Ivins: Habeas Corpus, R.I.P. (1215 - 2006)

Boston Globe: Legal Residents' Rights Curbed in Detainee Bill

LA Times: Don't Suspend Habeas Corpus

WP: Rights Groups Decry US Senate Bill on Detainees

MSNBC: Specter to Press for Detainees' Habeas Corpus Rights

Znet: Indefinite Detention and Torture: A Political and Moral Mistake

[technorati tags: writ, habeas, corpus, Bush, civil rights, senate]

Save the Writ of Habeas Corpus!

2006-09-27T19:39:00.000-05:00

Recent news about the compromise on the military commissions bill that was debated in Congress has focused on article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and relevant US military stipulations regarding torture of detainees. A very critical section of the bill that has not been discussed by the media is the abolishment of the writ of habeas corpus for anyone in the US who is not an American citizen. The passage of this section of the bill would be a disaster for civil and human rights advocates across the US. Abolishing the writ of habeas corpus is slap in the face of the founding fathers of this country. While the bill has passed in the House, it is still up for debate in the Senate, and we still have a chance to try to stop it from passing!

What is the writ of habeas corpus?

A writ of habeas corpus is a court order addressed to a prison official (or other custodian) ordering that a detainee be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he or she should be released from custody. The writ of habeas corpus in common law countries is an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.

This is what the Supreme Court has said about the write of habeas corpus:

the Supreme Court has "recognized the fact that`the writ of habeas corpus is the fundamental instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary and lawless state action.' Harris v. Nelson, 394 U.S. 286, 290-91 (1969). " Therefore, the writ must be "administered with the initiative and flexibility essential to insure that miscarriages of justice within its reach are surfaced and corrected." Harris, 394 U.S. at 291.

This is what Congress wants to do with the writ; from the Center for Constitutional Rights:

Congress is on the verge of passing a military commissions bill that would authorize the indefinite detention, without access to the courts, of immigrants detained inside or outside of the United States—even if they are not charged with any crime. What began as legislation to regulate the trials of men at Guantánamo has grown so sweeping that it would encompass any non-U.S. citizen picked up anywhere in the world, even permanent legal residents detained inside the United States. This is being voted on in the House of Representatives today and will likely be voted on in the Senate on Thursday. Senators Specter and Levin will be introducing a bipartisan amendment to remove a provision that denies these immigrants access to courts. It is essential that you call your Senators and Representatives and urge them to vote for the Specter Amendment to remove the jurisdiction-stripping provision from the military commissions bill. (more)

Please act now to ensure that out Constitution continues to protect all who reside in this country. Call your members of Congress immediately, especially those listed with contact information below.

Kent Conrad (ND) (202) 224-2043
Joe Lieberman (CT) (202) 224-4041
Ben Nelson (NE) (202) 224-6551
James Jeffords (VT) (202) 224-5141
Lincoln Chafee (RI) (202) 224-2921
Richard Lugar (IN) (202) 224-4814
Craig Thomas (WY) (202) 224-6441
Chuck Hagel (NE) (202) 224-4224
Lisa Murkowski (AK) (202) 224-6665
John Sununu (NH) (202) 224-2841
Peter Dominici (NM) (202) 224-6621
Gordon Smith (OR) (202) 224-3753
Arlen Specter (PA) (202) 224-4254
Daniel Inouye (HI) (202) 224-3934
Mary Landrieu (LA) (202) 224-5824
Ron Wyden (OR) (202) 224-5244
Olympia Snowe (ME) (202) 224-5344
Susan Collins (ME) (202) 224-2523
Carl Levin (MI) (202) 224-6221
Hillary Clinton (NY) (202) 224-4451
Richard Durbin (IL) (202) 224-2152
Harry Reid (NV) (202) 224-3542
John Kerry (MA) (202) 224-2742
Lindsey Graham (SC) (202) 224-5972
John Warner (VA) (202) 224-2023
John McCain (AZ) (202) 224-2235

We cannot continue to sit back and watch idly as the Bush administration and their cohorts in Congress tear apart our constitutional rights. If we don't defend our own rights, noone else will!

It only takes a few minutes to write an email or make a phone call to your Senators, but it will take years if not decades to bring back our rights if they are taken away.

[Feel free to repost this on your blog or send it as an email to friends and family. Let's get the word out!]

*Update*: There are some reports that the Senate will be voting on this early this morning, so please call early and call a lot!

[technorati tags: writ, habeas, corpus, Bush, civil rights, senate]

A Blessed Ramadan

2006-09-24T00:05:00.000-05:00

Fasting in the month of Ramadan is a unique pillar in the Islamic faith. It is one that the majority of 1.6 billion Muslims around the world practice despite their varying levels of religiosity. Especially for those living in a Muslim majority country, it is hard to avoid fasting and the magical atmosphere of Ramadan. I experienced Ramadan in Dubai for 2 short years, but I would say it must be unique in every country. I would love to experience Ramadan in a more cultural and Islamic environment, but that doesn't mean that I haven't enjoyed Ramadan most of my life right here in good ol' northern Virginia.

We have a sizable and very diverse Muslim community in the Washington D.C. metro area, with plenty of mosques, community centers, MSA's, and Islamic schools. Because my family has always maintained close ties to our community here, I've never felt that I've been deprived of a sense of "Islamic-ness" during Ramadan and other Islamic holidays. I grew up going to the iftars (fast-breaking dinners) at the local mosque some evenings where it felt like we were all one big family enjoying dinner together. As we grew up, however, we stopped attending these community iftars and frequented the mosque for prayers less and less. Still, our memories as elementary school kids gathered in different parts of the Islamic center waiting impatiently for the prayer call, having iftar together, then rushing to buy candy to indulge our sweet cravings are truly unforgettable.

I remember one Ramadan when I was about 10 or 11 years old, I volunteered to help baby-sit some kids in the mosque while their mothers attended a lecture. We had a bag of lollipops and I passed them out to the kids while they played. I was proud to be fasting as I had started doing so at an early age. I got distracted with the kids, and found myself eating lollipop after lollipop. They were the small ones of which you could easily have 10 and still would want more. After going through about seven of them, my mom came to check on me and found me eating one. She said, "aren't you fasting?" And of course I was shocked, "oh my god! I totally forgot I was fasting! oh my god, how could I forget!" My mom just laughed at me and told me it was OK since I didn't do it on purpose, and that this was probably "a gift from God" since I was fasting so well for the past few years. I just can't seem to understand how I could go through so many lollipops without remembering that I was fasting! It's one of those incidents you never forget.

While in many Muslim countries most people will stop eating in public and restaurants will shut down during the day, that is not the case over here. Everywhere you go there is food and temptation. I remember in college when I used to walk through the main student union and have to face the aroma of french fries, burgers, pizza, and the works while going to meet my friends or study. In class I would cringe upon seeing a Starbucks cup and would just imagine the sweet taste of a tall chai or white mocha in the early morning. Still, nothing really ever came so close as to tempt me to break my fast, except getting sick. It's a disgraceful feeling that you have if you do break your fast for a stupid reason. This is what I feel when I'm sitting in front of the dinner table covered with all kinds of food and waiting for the clock to turn so I can break my fast. Once I drink that sip of water or juice, every feeling of hunger and weakness disappears. And you wonder to yourself how strong your body can be, but how weak your will can be as well, without faith. Because what else would make you not raise your hand to eat a bite or drink a sip during the day even if nobody can see you and nobody will know but you?

Despite all the talk of food, Ramadan is so much more than just abstaining from food and drink. It truly is a test of patience and strength. It's a time when Muslims feel that everything they do should be a form of worship. They like to pray on time, read more Quran, supplicate to the Lord, help the needy, and stay away from negative thoughts and bad language. It is a time when we should come closer to God and remember those who are less fortunate. Remember that we are nothing without the blessings of our Lord and that we are created to appreciate them and not abuse or misuse those blessings.

Just like other religious holidays that have been hijacked by businesses, this is the case in most Muslim countries where many people want to make a buck off of their Muslim brethren during this holy month. It's sad to see that Ramadan is being taken advantage of, and I'm glad that being in America keeps me away from that. I'm glad we don't have "Ramadan tents" over here to entertain us all night with coffee, sheesha, and belly dancers. How this concept could even be related to Ramadan still manages to shock me every time I see it on Arabic satellite channels. Instead of people praying for peace in Iraq, Palestine, and Darfur, they are smoking and drinking the night away so they can sleep the day away as well.

This Ramadan, I will pray for our communities across the world that are suffering from war, poverty, disease, occupation, oppression, and ignorance. I will pray that our youth are guided away from those who seek to take advantage of them for personal gains that cannot be justified by Islam. I will pray that our global community is not weakened by any attempts to sow disunity among Sunni and Shi'a, and that people of all faiths will continue to respect one another despite their differences. Ameen.

~Wishing you a blessed and peaceful Ramadan~

Ramadan prayers in Jakarta, Indonesia (REUTERS/Supri)

[technorati tags: Islam, Ramadan]

Stirrings on Guantanamo Bay & Extraordinary Renditions

2006-09-18T11:31:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share a few articles that I came across recently which should put the recent debates on Guantanamo Bay prisoners and secret prisons into perspective for all of us. Let us not forget that we are speaking of individuals who have not been convicted and most have no evidence against other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as Abu Bakker Qassem writes in a New York Times Op-Ed yesterday.

I have been greatly saddened to hear that the Congress of the United States, a country I deeply admire, is considering new laws that would deny prisoners at Guantánamo Bay the right to challenge their detentions in federal court.
I learned my respect for American institutions the hard way. When I was growing up as a Uighur in China, there were no independent courts to review the imprisonment and oppression of people who, like me, peacefully opposed the Communists. But I learned my hardest lesson from the United States: I spent four long years behind the razor wire of its prison in Cuba.
I was locked up and mistreated for being in the wrong place at the wrong time during America’s war in Afghanistan. Like hundreds of Guantánamo detainees, I was never a terrorist or a soldier. I was never even on a battlefield. Pakistani bounty hunters sold me and 17 other Uighurs to the United States military like animals for $5,000 a head. The Americans made a terrible mistake.

Also is the news recently is a similar type of secret imprisonment, extraordinary rendition, which I blogged about before regarding the case of Canadian Maher Arar. Extraordinary rendition occurs when "terror suspects are transferred from U.S. control into the control of foreign governments, so that interrogation methods that are not permitted under U.S. law may be applied to the suspects."

Outlawed is a new documentary film that addresses the issue of rendition by telling "the stories of Khaled El-Masri and Binyam Mohamed, two men who have survived extraordinary rendition, secret detention, and torture by the U.S. government working with various other governments worldwide." Democracy Now's Amy Goodman highlighted this documentary film on her show last week which is produced by the international human rights organization Witness. [You can read the transcript or download the episode here.] This is an excerpt from the interview:

BINYAM MOHAMED: [read by his brother] “I refused to talk in Karachi until they gave me a lawyer. I said it was my right to have a lawyer. The FBI said, ‘The law has changed, there are no lawyers. You can cooperate with us the easy way or the hard way.’ On the first day of the interrogation ‘Chuck’ said, ‘If you don’t talk to me you are going to Jordan. We can’t do what we want here. The Arabs will deal with you.’”

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: The United States has not transported anyone and will not transport anyone to a country when we believe he will be tortured. Where appropriate, the United States seeks assurances that transferred persons will not be tortured.

BINYAM MOHAMED: [read by his brother] “They would say, ‘There is this guy who would say you are a big man in Al Qaeda.’ I would say, ‘It is a lie.’ They would torture me. I would say, ‘OK it is true,’ they would say, ‘OK tell us more.’ I would say, ‘I don’t know more,’ they would torture me again. The guards would say, ‘America’s really pissed off at what happened, and they have said to the world, “either you are with us or against us.” We Moroccans say, “We are with you,” so we will do whatever they want.’”

You can watch the full length film which is available on Google Video. I recommend that everyone watch this brief film to get a realistic perspective on the issue. Imagine being abducted while on vacation, taken half way across the world, tortured, and forced to confess to a crime that you have nothing do with. Your family has no idea where you are. They move out of your home and back to their country. The full story with all of the gruesome details are in the film.

Fortunately, some of our senators have come to realize the dangers and risks involved in this type of criminal and inhumane activity and have recently protested the passage of legislation endorsed by President Bush with regards to the rights of detainees. Many Americans are speaking out in support of these senators as they still have a conscience and still believe in the rule of law [see these letters to the editor].

Most of these congressmen will be up for re-election in a few weeks, and this issue should be a top priority for every American that cares about the freedoms which this country was founded upon and cares about the reputation of the US in the international community. We cannot continue to promote democracy and freedom in parts of the world while secretly jailing innocent and not-yet-proven-guilty suspects and allowing the governments of third world countries to torture them indefinitely on our behalf.

[technorati tags: Guantanamo Bay, Bush, terrorism, war, torture, torture, human+rights, Outlawed, Witness]

Sticks and Stones...On the Pontiff's Words

2006-09-16T13:55:00.000-05:00

As if we don't have enough frustration and anger in the Muslim world for the wars, occupation, poverty, unemployment, humiliation, lack of freedoms, and so called terrorism that plague us, the highest authority of the Catholic faith decides that there is a pressing need to reiterate the ignorant and insulting message the Danish cartoons portrayed only a few months ago. And as if we don't have enough people saying we're crazy angry terrorists, a few Muslim lunatics had to go prove the Pope's statements by throwing fire bombs at churches in the West Bank town of Nablus. Do people not think anymore?! Is it really that hard to think twice before saying or doing something that might cause harm to many people around you and many people who listen to you?

The 'cartoon controversy' is still fresh in the memory of most people around the world, especially Muslims. The Prophet Muhammad was defamed in the satirical Danish cartoons with complete disregard for the feelings of 1.6 billion Muslims around the world who consider such drawings offensive at least and blasphemous at best. Millions of Muslims around the world peacefully protested the cartoons and some of course violently protested. It took much effort on the part of the Danish to retract and apologize for the actions of a few of their countrymen, and it took a lot more effort from the Muslim world to begin a dialogue about the important role the Prophet plays in the Islamic faith with the West. Discussions, conferences, and countless dialogues were held in order to bring both sides together to recognize the sanctity of different aspects of religion for followers of different faiths. This is the only positive result of the Danish cartoon controversy.

But just as people are beginning to calm down and realize that discussion and exchange of ideas is the only way to educate ourselves and each other about our beliefs, ideals, and customs, the Pope decides to spark yet another controversy by insulting the most revered figure in the Islamic faith, the Prophet Muhammad.

Muslims around the world have demanded an apology from the pontiff, and rightly so, for his insulting and inflammatory statements. Today, the Pope issued a statement, which most media outlets are still debating as to whether it constitutes an apology or not. The BBC says the Pope has apologized, while CNN says his statement comes short of an apology. [The full text of the statement is here.]

Thank you, Pope Benedict XVI, for "regretting" that your statement "could have sounded offensive" to Muslims around the world. Unfortunately, the damage has been done, yet again. And while most Muslims want an official and personal apology, that is not likely to change the reality of what happened. We all make mistakes, that is true. But we also know that a Pope is given such an important responsibility that he could not mistakenly make such a statement in a well-prepared for speech before a large audience.

And to those individuals who claim to represent me and my religion by attacking sacred churches and burning effigies and flags, please remember that the Prophet would not have, in a million years and in the face of thousands of insults, ever acted this way. His neighbor threw trash in front of his house every single day and the non-Muslims in Mecca insulted him verbally and even abused him physically. He turned the other cheek and prayed that God would forgive them and guide them. The Prophet said, "The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself in a moment of anger."

I conclude with a very well written editorial in the New York Times today which analyzes the situation very clearly and effectively:

There is more than enough religious anger in the world. So it is particularly disturbing that Pope Benedict XVI has insulted Muslims, quoting a 14th-century description of Islam as “evil and inhuman.”

In the most provocative part of a speech this week on “faith and reason,” the pontiff recounted a conversation between an “erudite” Byzantine Christian emperor and a “learned” Muslim Persian circa 1391. The pope quoted the emperor saying, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
Muslim leaders the world over have demanded apologies and threatened to recall their ambassadors from the Vatican, warning that the pope’s words dangerously reinforce a false and biased view of Islam. For many Muslims, holy war — jihad — is a spiritual struggle, and not a call to violence. And they denounce its perversion by extremists, who use jihad to justify murder and terrorism.
The Vatican issued a statement saying that Benedict meant no offense and in fact desired dialogue. But this is not the first time the pope has fomented discord between Christians and Muslims.
In 2004 when he was still the Vatican’s top theologian, he spoke out against Turkey’s joining the European Union, because Turkey, as a Muslim country was “in permanent contrast to Europe.”
A doctrinal conservative, his greatest fear appears to be the loss of a uniform Catholic identity, not exactly the best jumping-off point for tolerance or interfaith dialogue.
The world listens carefully to the words of any pope. And it is tragic and dangerous when one sows pain, either deliberately or carelessly. He needs to offer a deep and persuasive apology, demonstrating that words can also heal.

[technorati tags: pope, catholic, vatican, Islam, Islam, Muhammad]

Inspired...

2006-09-14T23:56:00.000-05:00

So our friend Iman decided to get inspired a week ago and inspire us all with her, so here it goes :o)

Name: me? moi? ana? :P
Childhood ambition: i don't remember having one in particular, but many which include being a journalist, a teacher, or a highly influential person that could make a difference in the world. [this question stumped me!]
First job: information services at my university
First ‘real’ job: what's a real job?
Fondest memory: childhood innocence
Retreat: sitting by the Potomac River
Wildest dream: winning the Nobel Prize for Peace
Proudest moment: when someone tells me I've changed the way they view the Palestinian issue or the way they view Muslims
Perfect day: when I can accomplish everything on my to-do-list and still have an extra hour to do whatever I want
Indulgence: shoes, handbags, chocolate (and jewelery)
Soundtrack: the best of savage garden
Last purchase: $10 on my Metro card
Alarm clock: my annoying cell phone alarm, but I usually wake up a few minutes before it rings
People: i've got them all figured out
Favorite book: not one in particular, most of them are in my profile
Most used expression: bala baradeh! (stop being silly )
Inspiration: failure and success
News source: Aljazeera on tv, BBC/AP/Reuters for quick online news, newspapers for analysis
Religion: indeed a way of life
Biggest challenge: maintaining hope in humanity
Education: is everything, cannot be compromised
Pain: no pain no gain
Happiness: stability

I didn't expect this to take me so long but I really had to think about some of them! Thanks Iman, as if I have enough brain cells to burn ;)

Syria Foils Terrorist Attack on US Embassy

2006-09-12T15:12:00.000-05:00

The time of this incident appears to be coinciding with the 5th anniversay of 9/11. Whether it is the work of Al-Qaeda is still not clear, but in my view highly unlikely because it does not appear to have been conducted with the same scale and precision that Al-Qaeda attacks are characterisitic of.

Three armed men have been killed and one wounded after they attacked the US embassy in Damascus in what Syria has called a terrorist operation.

The men approached the embassy compound on Tuesday morning and then attempted to blow up a car outside, according to Syrian television. [link]

The AP reports that Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha made comments to CNN indicating that an Al-Qaeda offshoot group named Jund al-Sham has been responsible for previous attacks in Syria although no one has yet claimed they are directly responsible for this attack.

Secretary of State Rice thanked Syria, a country the State Dept considers a sponsor of terrorism and a part of the "Axis of Evil", for protecting the US embassy and its staff.

[technorati tags: Syria, terrorism, US]

On Nine-Eleven

2006-09-11T22:54:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching the "docudrama" on ABC, The Path to 9/11. I don't intend to review this movie today, but watching it along with the rest of the media attention focused on the events of September 2001 forces each one of us to reflect on that day and the five years since then. For me, the attacks came at a critical point in my life, my senior year in high school, and its aftermath would shape my college life and career as no other events could.

Like most people, I remember exactly what I was doing when I heard about what happened. I remember how I felt and how the people around me felt. I cannot forget those moments of shock, confusion, and fear that came over me on that day. I remember the school I attended, a private Arabic/Islamic school, had to be evacuated immediately. We stayed home for a week fearing some crazy lunatic would blow up the school after receiving many threats. I remember seeing the first images of the towers online, then getting in my car and listening to reports already speculating about bin Laden's responsibility. Of course, from the beginning I had prayed the terrorists would not be Arabs or Muslims, but hearing bin Laden's name put everything in perspective. I remember coming home and watching the towers fall over and over again, and crying my eyes out for hours.

For my parents and grandparents and others from their generations, 9/11 does not have the same impact as it did on my generation. They have witnessed Arab-Israeli wars, the Cold War, and other major events that had a great impact on history. For a 17 year old at the time, nine-eleven is a defining moment in their lives. For a 17 year old Arab and Muslim girl living in the suburbs of Washington D.C., nine-eleven is a much more defining moment. It is a time when we might question our identity, our allegiances, and our people.

This is the age when American teens head off to college to begin a life on their own, independent of their families. They are given the freedom to explore and discover what is out there, the good, the bad and the ugly. I grew up knowing a lot about what went on around me and asking even more questions. I knew of the Intifadas, of the Berlin Wall, of Bosnia, of Iraqi sanctions. I wasn't a sheltered teenager by any means as my parents encouraged my interest in world affairs. I wanted to be a journalist to write about all the political happenings in the world.

It was not only the 9/11 attacks that began to shape my worldview as I entered the doors of university, but more so the events that followed. The aftermath and the consequences of the terrorist attacks are imprinted in my memory just like the events of 9/11/01. I cannot forget the day Kabul fell, the day Bush announced the invasion of Iraq, and the day Baghdad fell. I remember the fear my community lived in in the months after the attacks. Everything is political here when you are this close to D.C. This is not small town America.

In the months to come, friends would be profiled, others would be arrested without charge, searched without warrants, and some convicted without evidence. Justice is a word that would no longer have much weight in my dictionary. The PATRIOT Act would make it an illusive hope.

As I watched the movie, I wondered how long I would have to feel this hopelessness. As much as I would like to think I'm an optimistic person, the reality of today continues to slap me in the face. I had hope in the anti-war protests before the Iraqi invasion. The millions of people around the country and around the world who stood up and said no inspired me. The Muslims around the world who lit candles and prayed for the 9/11 victims reassured me that this was not the end. There is still some good out there. But today, you'd be hard pressed Muslims who would only remember 9/11 without remembering the rape of Iraq. Still fresh in their memory is the burning and the destruction in Lebanon. The starving children of Gaza.

Will anything I say or do even make a difference? Where do these people come from anyway like Zawahiri and Atta? They address me as a Muslim and tell me to take revenge on America. I want to take revenge on them for making 9/11 a defining moment in my life instead of a more positive event that I could always remember. I feel sorry for the young ones out there that might listen to them and act upon what they hear. I also feel sorry for the young American soldiers in Iraq who are acting upon what they hear from Bush and Rumsfeld. I fear that they will throw away their lives for what they think is a good cause, just like the young Muslims out there who might think that flying themselves into buildings is for a good cause. They are no longer able to think for themselves, to reflect on their actions, and the consequences of those actions. They alone will be held accountable, but they simply do not understand how their actions will impact the lives of millions of people around the world.

Again, will anything I say or do even make a difference? I am student of international politics, conflict resolution, and Middle East studies. Will any of this help if another war is about to be unleashed? If another terrorist attack is about to take place?

I can only pray that my limited yet hopefully uncorrupted knowledge and practice of Islam will make a difference somehow. I'm not going to be just another American or just another young Arab easily recruited by politicians and terrorists alike. I am my own person, I was granted a brain to reflect with and a body to use to make a difference in this world.

I will do just that, with all the power I have and the rest is up to Him.
We all should.

My First Blogoversary!

2006-09-08T13:38:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's been exactly one year since I started this blog last September. It seems now like I've been blogging forever and sometimes I wonder how things were before I discovered the blogosphere.

It's been a great experience blogging, reading other blogs, befriending bloggers, and being a part of this unique community. It's a cliche, but I really have learned a lot over the past year about many issues going on around the world and how these same issues and events are interpreted and analyzed in so many ways.

I definitely wouldn't have thought that blogging would bring me closer to my Jordanian heritage. But upon discovering an active and vibrant Jordanian blogging community, I instantly became addicted to reading every new post and relating it to what I experience when I visit Jordan every year. I know that when I first applied to get on Jordan Planet the administrators wondered if they should add me when I don't live in Jordan, rarely blogged about Jordan, or even identified myself as Jordanian. They may have seen my early political rants and lots of posts about the situation in Palestine, but nothing distinctly "Jordanian." But I thank them for adding me because I did begin to feel like I could relate to some Jordanians who shared similar interests and concerns about the world. I already wrote about how JP has affected my life and my blogging back in May, so I don't want to repeat everything I said.

And of course I'm grateful to be a part of Palestine Blogs and DC Blogs both of which provide me with an opportunity to learn more and meet more bloggers everyday and always be inspired by them.

As I browsed through my archives last night, I noticed how much my blogging style has changed over the past year. I started off with a lot of random rants about different political events although I feel that has changed into more calculated and thought out analysis of different political and social issues that concern me. While this may not appear to be a very personal blog, and that is how I intended it, politics and activism are a lot of who I am so I don't have to write about my own life for this blog to be personal. Palestine, Iraq, Darfur, and most tragedies of our day that I write about are personal to me because I feel that I am in some ways contributing to the suffering of these people, unless I speak out against it. Even on social issues such as the problems I see in Jordanian and Arab society as well as my own surrounding American community, I enjoy speaking my mind on these issues through this space of mine.

Blogging by yourself is one thing, but getting people to read your posts and interact with you is a completely different experience that adds so much flavor to blogging. It's not really about the number of people that come across my blog, but those that take the time to leave a comment or drop me an email thanking me for a post, or arguing with me on an issue. I know that there are readers out there who do not feel comfortable leaving comments or writing emails, but they are always here listening to me and somehow I can feel that.

So thank you to those bloggers who became my first friends and supported me when I barely got a couple of hits everyday and to everyone else who has since stopped by and found a way to interact with me and learn something new from my blog. I hope my posts continue to grab your attention and make you question and reflect on what is going on out there. Soon I will begin working on improving the visual appearance of my blog and adding more features which I think you will enjoy. I'm open to suggestions so please let me know if you have anything in mind!

Thanks again for reading and Happy Blogoversary to me :o)

On this occassion, I thought I would list some of my favorite posts. Enjoy!

Israel Not Expanding Settlements, Just "Thickening" Them

2006-09-05T16:37:00.000-05:00

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert announced plans to expand one of the largest illegal settlements in the Occupied West Bank. The 690 new houses will be built in Maale Adumim and Betar Illit.

The Construction and Housing Ministry published advertisements on Monday seeking construction proposals for the largest settlement activity undertaken by this government. Israel has also promised President Bush that it will pull down more than 20 illegal outposts created since March 2001, but has not done so.

Apparently, there was a tiny bit of criticism from the US side.

Stewart Tuttle, the spokesman for the American Embassy in Israel, said Monday that “in general it’s a principle of the road map — a foundation to reach peace in the region — that Israel not only remove illegal outposts, but also not expand settlements in the West Bank.”

But such criticism has had little effect on Israeli policy in the past, and is not expected to matter in this case. In general, Israel says it is not “expanding” settlements, but “thickening” them within existing built-up areas.

A former United States ambassador here, Daniel C. Kurtzer, tried to get Israel to agree with the United States on mapping the existing built-up areas of settlements in order to make it clear when settlements were being expanded. But Israel — which has detailed satellite maps of nearly every building in the West Bank — regularly refused.

This map from the BBC details the geographic area that comprises the illegal settlements in and around the West Bank:

Meanwhile, American politicians will be falling over each other trying to improve their pro-Israel image after some received low scores in a Haaretz study of potential US presidential candidates. The first part of the project, entitled "The Israel Factor", ranks American politicians likely to run for the highest office on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the "worst for Israel" and 10 being "the best for Israel." Of course, nobody has a perfect score, presumably to encourage such politicians to make more of an effort to support anything in favor of Israel. But we do have some high scorers, and they are:

1. Rudy Giuliani (8.75)- "The former New York mayor returned a $10 million donation from a Saudi prince after 9/11 following his comments on Israel."
3. John McCain (7.63)- "The Arizona Senator believes America must give Israel whatever equipment and technology it needs for defense."
3. Hillary Clinton(7.63)- "The Senator for New York and former First Lady supports moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem."

It seems like just when you think there couldn't possibly be another president who is more friendly to Israel, another candidate comes along just to prove you wrong. You can find the full list with more details here.

More on settlements:

What is a settlement and why is it illegal?

The establishment of settlements on the West Bank violates international humanitarian law, which establishes the principles applying during war and occupation. Moreover, the settlements lead to the infringement of international human rights law.
The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the occupying power to transfer citizens from its own territory to the occupied territory (Article 49). The Hague Regulations prohibit the occupying power to undertake permanent changes in the occupied area, unless these are due to military needs in the narrow sense of the term, or unless they are undertaken for the benefit of the local population.
The establishment of the settlements leads to the violation of the rights of the Palestinians as enshrined in international human rights law. Among other violations, the settlements infringe the right to self-determination, equality, property, an adequate standard of living, and freedom of movement.
[source: B'Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories]

Away From Bush's Reality, Iraq is Slipping into Civil War

2006-09-03T11:01:00.000-05:00

"Nations don't declare civil war, they slip into it." One of my professors said this to our class last year. As I am listening to and reading about the news in Iraq, I cannot help but think about this ominous statement. It is a frightening thing to wonder how much worse the situation in Iraq could get. A full fledged civil war would simply be the straw that broke the camel's back, that is, if it's not already broken. And while all signs point in this direction, the Bush administration continues to maintain that "progress" has been made, that we must "not relent", and we cannot "let the terrorists win." Well, Mr. President, let us distinguish reality from rhetoric.

"If America were to pull out before Iraq can defend itself, the consequences would be absolutely predictable — and absolutely disastrous," Mr. Bush said. "We would be handing Iraq over to our worst enemies."
Mr. Bush said Saddam sympathizers, armed groups backed by Iran and al Qaeda terrorists from across the world would use Iraq as a base of operation.
"They would have a new sanctuary to recruit and train terrorists at the heart of the Middle East, with huge oil riches to fund their ambitions," the president said. "And we know exactly where those ambitions lead. If we give up the fight in the streets of Baghdad, we will face the terrorists in the streets of our own cities."

Does it seem too naive to wonder who brought those terrorists into Iraq? Is it stupid to ask who instigated the "fight in the streets of Baghadad" in the first place? Is it wrong to ask, Mr. Bush, why were brought into this mess on the basis of a lie?!

This is what a new Pentagon report says about your "progress" in Iraq:

Iraqi casualties soared by more than 50 percent in recent months, the product of spiraling sectarian clashes and a Sunni-based insurgency that remains “potent and viable,” the Pentagon said in its latest comprehensive assessment of security in Iraq.

Since the establishment of the new Iraqi government on May 20th, the average number of weekly attacks has increased to 800. As a result of these attacks, Iraqi casualties have increased more than 51 percent. According to the report,

Iraqi casualties among civilians and security forces reached nearly 120 a day, up from about 80 a day in the pervious reporting period from mid-February to mid-May. About two years ago they were running about 30 a day.

No, these are not just statistics. These are fathers, sons, mothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles. They are human beings now being tallied like insects by the US War Ministry. But wait, there's more! As the New York Times reports, the targets of the attacks has also changed:

“Although the overall number of attacks increased in all categories, the proportion of those attacks directed against civilians increased substantially,” the Pentagon noted. “Death squads and terrorists are locked in mutually reinforcing cycles of sectarian strife, with Sunni and Shia extremists each portraying themselves as the defenders of their respective sectarian groups.”

Iraqis are increasingly pessimistic about the future of their country, despite the report's findings that there "technically" isn't a civil war yet.

The report notes that sectarian violence is gradually expanding north to Kirkuk and Diyala Province. Further, the confidence of Iraqis in the future has diminished, according to public opinion surveys cited in the Pentagon report.
Still, the study says the fighting in Iraq does not meet the “stringent international legal standards for civil war,” without further explanation. Even so, the sectarian fighting has been bloodier than ever.

Meanwhile in D.C., Washington Post op-ed columnist George Will talks to Republican Senator Warner about the prospects of civil war in Iraq. While the senator insists that "the essential characteristics of civil war are not yet present in Iraq," he also recognizes huge obstacles to preventing the country from slipping into it.

But Warner also knows: The Iraqi government's writ runs barely beyond Baghdad's Green Zone. The security forces are not yet competent to hold areas that U.S. forces clear of insurgents. Holding such areas might require sending more U.S. forces to Iraq, which would further alienate Iraqis. Moqtada al-Sadr, whose support helped make Nouri al-Maliki Iraq's prime minister, has a militia that is becoming Iraq's Hezbollah -- a sovereign force within the state, and one imperfectly controlled by Sadr.

Not too far from Warner, President Bush is on a speech campaign aimed at spewing more propaganda about "fascists", "Nazis", and the perils of giving up on Iraq in advance of the November elections. The president continues to preach to his "base" while most Americans are simply not buying the rhetoric. Three major polls have shown an all-time high in opposition to the war in Iraq.

A new Associated Press/Ipsos poll that surveyed the country [...] showed that 60 percent of Americans believe that the war in Iraq has increased the chances of a terrorist attack in the US. But in another sign of trouble for the Bush administration, the AP/Ipsos poll also shows that more Americans believe the Democrats will do a better job [in protecting the US] than Republicans, 47-40 percent.

The same poll also shows that 43% of Americans are embarssed by the US image overseas. A CNN poll indicates that 61% of Americans are opposed to the war in Iraq. The poll also indicates what the American public thinks of their leader:

Most Americans (54 percent) don't consider him honest, most (54 percent) don't think he shares their values and most (58 percent) say he does not inspire confidence.

While President Bush continues to link the war in Iraq to the War on Terror, most Americans feel that invading Iraq has increased the likelihood of the US being attacked again.

Not everyone agrees the war in Iraq is central to the war on terror, as the Bush administration maintains. Six in 10 polled think there will be more terrorism in this country because the U.S. went to war in Iraq. Some feel strongly that the two wars are separate.

Throughout all this, the president is still able to keep his sense of humor:

On Wednesday, Bush maintained that his series of speeches, which will culminate in an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 19, are not political.

Yale Shmale, indeed.

[technorati tags: Iraq, war, Bush, civil war, polls, Americans]

On the Anniversary of the Worst Natural Disaster in the US...

2006-08-31T09:48:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share the amazing story of one Muslim man living in New Orleans during the hurricane. It is a story of compassion, endurance, patience, and resolve. It also shows the major government failures in bringing help to the beleaguered Gulf region. Although it's a little long, it is definitely worth a read.

I heard a strange noise coming from outside when I woke up so, I went to see what it was. When I looked outside, I saw the water passing in the street . It was moving so very fast, just like a rapid river. It was moving all around my house, and it looked like it was steadily rising. My first thought was the levee had broken. All I could think of was what to do next.

And when you can't imagine that anything worse could happen...

When I entered the area where the phone was, I saw a strange man there. I asked my tenant who he was, and what he was doing here. My tenant said that he was with the search and rescue team, and he needed to use the phone. I told him, "Oh, ok." We heard people outside. My tenant went to talk to them. It was the military. They asked him if we needed water. We told him no thank you, we have some. Then they jumped out the boat, went inside the house with their machine guns, and they were yelling at us to get in the boat. One of the military persons searched the house, for what? Only God knows. They treated us like hard criminals. They asked to see our ID cards, we showed it to them, they didn't even look at it. They only returned it to us. I told them I own this house, and my tenant was trying to prove to them that he lived there. They didn't care. They forced us out by gunpoint.

Read Abdulrahman Zeitoun's full story here.

Is it cuz of Blogger Beta?

2006-08-30T15:19:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure why my new post wasn't picked up by some blog aggregators, specifically Jordan Planet and Palestine Blogs. Blogger Beta doesn't have the "republish index" which I used to use if my posts weren't caught by those websites. DC Blogs did pick it up, so I wonder if it's just those two sites that are having some technical issues. Anyway, let's see if this one will be picked up, and don't forget to check out the previous post, "Speaking of the Israel Lobby and the War on Lebanon".

Update: It's been picked up by Jordan Planet :o)

Speaking of the Israel Lobby and the War on Lebanon

2006-08-29T21:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I attended a great panel discussion at the National Press Club entitled “The Israel Lobby and the U.S. Response to the War in Lebanon.” The event was sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the speakers were the authors of the recent paper entitled “The Israel Lobby”, Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. Their paper, published by the London Review of Books, created a buzz in academic and political circles mostly in the US but also in the UK and abroad. Naturally, the paper and its authors were attacked by none other than “the lobby” and its die-hard supporters. The professors came today to shed some more light on their research and connect their arguments about the lobby to the American response to the recent war in Lebanon. Although I have read most of the paper, and blogged about it previously, I found the discussion to be enlightening and very timely. This post is not intended to be a transcript of the event, but a ~~brief~~ summary of what I found to be the most important and interesting aspects of the discussion.

Harvard professor Stephen Walt began the discussion by summarizing the highlights of their paper. The main premise of their research is that the strong influence of the Israel lobby has led to policies that are not in the interest of the United States. He pointed out the billions of US tax payer dollars that are provided unconditionally to Israel as military and economic aid, as well as the unwavering diplomatic support that it receives from the executive and legislative branches of the US government. Examples of this include 33 American vetoes (since 1982) of UN SC resolutions that were critical of Israeli actions and policies as well as the favoring of Israel in all of the wars that it has been involved in against its Arab neighbors. Walt explained that the support Israel receives from the US has been justified by strategic and moral reasoning. While Israel may have been a strategic ally during the Cold War and therefore its support justified, the Soviet Union no longer exists so this rationale is null and void.

Today, Israel is said to be an ally in the War on Terror as it shares a “common threat” of terrorism with the US. But as Walt points out, it is the US’s close relationship with Israel and its unconditional support that is one of the reasons America has been the target of terrorism. Upon hearing this claim, neo-conservatives are quick to criticize such statements accusing individuals and policy makers of “succumbing” to the terrorists’ demands. This is a faulty argument in my view, as it is not only the terrorists who are angered by the unwavering support for Israel, but most of the Arab and Muslim world. This, Walt added, has been confirmed by the 9/11 Commission Report, Arab public opinion surveys, as well as internal Pentagon reports that point to America’s relationship with Israel as one of the top grievances. It is clear that while many Arab countries have good relations with the US, the main “bone of contention” is the Israel issue. In addition, Israel’s nuclear arsenal, not challenged by the US, is also another issue of concern especially at a time when the US is attempting to stop other countries in the region from obtaining such weapons. Israel, therefore, is not a strategic asset to help deal with these problems; rather it is the cause of them.

Claims that Israel is a vulnerable country and the “only” democracy in the Middle East are used as moral justifications for the unrelenting US support for Israel. Walt points out that even these so-called moral reasons do not justify the extent of American support. While the US enjoys a liberal style democracy, Israel was established as a Jewish state, which paves the way for de facto discrimination against non-Jewish citizens of the state. In fact, the treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories as well as the treatment of non-Jewish Israelis as 2^nd class citizens cannot be morally justified.

In sum, this unprecedented and unreasonable support can only be explained by one reason: the Israel lobby. Walt was quick to point out that the lobby is a loose coalition of individuals and organization, not all of whom are Jewish, and is not a “secret cabal” of some sort. He points out that their activities are not illegitimate or illegal, but are part and parcel of the American system of interest groups that have long worked to influence American politicians. The success of the lobby is in part due to its singular focus on support and advocacy for Israel in addition to being one of the best funded (AIPAC’s annual budget nears $55 Million). The lobby reaches out to legislators and policy makers, helps draft important legislation, works overtime to shape public discourse with the help of the mainstream media that is strongly pro-Israel. The lobby is quick to attack and smear anyone critical of Israel or US support for Israel. It puts pressure on universities, helps fund media outlets, and is helped by Christian Zionist organizations as well as a majority of American think-tanks that usually lean in favor of the Jewish state. In March 2005 a National Journal study ranked the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the 2^nd best lobby, tied with the AARP.

Walt went on to discuss the way things would be around the beltway if the lobby was less influential. If that were the case, the US would not have funded illegal Israeli settlements which all US presidents since Nixon have acknowledged are dangerous and an obstacle to peace. The US would have adopted a more independent approach to a peace settlement with the Palestinians rather than acting on behalf of Israel. If the lobby were less influential, the US would have been less likely to invade Iraq as the lobby was active on this front pushing for an invasion that would weaken a potential threat to Israel in the region. He added that this was not the only reason the US went to war in Iraq, but that the lobby, with its neo-conservative allies, was able to heavily influence the decision to go to war. Finally, Walt pointed out that American policy toward Iran would have been more flexible was it not for the lobby’s strong stance against such interaction between America and Iran.

Walt ended his talk with a brief overview of the response to their paper. He pointed out that most critics resorted to attacks on his and Mearsheimer’s character (anti-Semitic), on extraneous issues in the paper and not the main premise and supporting arguments. He joked about their work being called “sloppy” by individuals who apparently ignored the fact that the authors have written six books between them and hundreds of articles, both distinguished educators with spotless (and boring—according to him) records who would not resort to “sloppy” work on such important research at this point in their career. Finally, Stephen Walt wondered why there was such a fuss over their paper when they were just pointing out what everyone in Washington already knew?! This was indeed common knowledge around the beltway but the fact that a Harvard and a Chicago University professor chose to write about it in an academic setting with such candor angered the lobby and its supporters.

Chicago University professor John Mearsheimer explained that the immediate response from the Bush administration to the war in Lebanon was to give a green light to Israel to “destroy” Hizbollah. As the days went by, and Israel intensified its aggression against Lebanese civilians and infrastructure, the international community began to criticize the unjustified response to the kidnapping of its two soldiers. The United States provided strong diplomatic support for Israel, vetoing a UN Security Council resolution which condemned Israel’s attack on UN offices in Southern Lebanon and it succeeded in delaying for weeks any effort to impose a cease-fire between the two countries. The US did not hesitate to respond to Israel’s request for military assistance; it sent smart bombs to Israeli forces as they continued pounding Lebanese towns and villages.

On the congressional side, our venerated representatives from both sides of the political spectrum nearly fell over themselves trying to prove who could do more to show support for Israel. The House drafted a resolution stating full support for Israel’s “fight against the terrorists” and an attempt to soften the language and encourage an end to the violence was rejected by pro-Israel lobbyists who pressured the likes of Nancy Pelosi not to change anything in the text. Not surprisingly, the resolution passed by an overwhelming majority. The Senate followed suit with a similar resolution which had 62 sponsors! Some of our representatives even attempted to stop the Iraqi Prime Minister from addressing Congress after he made statements questioning the American support for Israel against Lebanon. Democratic party chairman Howard Dean went so far as to say, “The Iraqi Prime Minister is anti-Semitic.”

The mainstream media in the US also stood firmly behind Israel during the war on Lebanon. A study conducted one week after the war began showed that almost no media outlet condemned Israel’s aggression. The Independent newspaper in the UK wrote:

There are two sides to every conflict - unless you rely on the US media for information about the battle in Lebanon. Viewers have been fed a diet of partisan coverage which treats Israel as the good guys and their Hizbollah enemy as the incarnation of evil.

Professor Mearsheimer pointed out that the war on Lebanon undermined major American efforts in the region with regards to three main issues: terrorist activities involving Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas; countries which the US classifies as rogue states including Syria and Iran; and the war in Iraq. The Bush administration’s support for Israel in the war made it all the more difficult to deal with these issues. The US support further increased anti-American sentiment in the region which makes the idea of “winning hearts and minds” that much harder. The war also helped to increase the popularity of Hezbollah and strengthen the organization which the US sought to undermine and weaken in order to support the new US-supported Lebanese government. Finally, the war provided more reasons for Iran and Syria to: support Hezbollah rather than distance themselves from it, obtain nuclear weapons, and keep the US mired in Iraq. The war clearly took a heavy toll on the “Cedar Revolution” which the Bush administration supported.

The US position in the war on Lebanon was nearly indistinguishable from that of the Israeli government, Mearsheimer explained. While Israel’s actions were in clear violation of international laws of war, the US did not waver in its support. Dan Halutz, Israel's army chief of staff said that they will "turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years." After surveying the carnage and destruction in Lebanon, the UN and other prominent human rights organization acknowledged that the reconstruction efforts that Lebanon had undergone over the past 15-20 years have been completely set back as a result of the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure by Israel.

During this time, the pro-Israel lobby was hard at work. Organizations raised millions of dollars for Israel, monitored media coverage and responded accordingly, met with congressmen and helped draft important legislation that allowed Israel to continue its destruction of Lebanon. Professor Mearsheimer shared an example of this type of pressure on members of congress. Chris van Hollen, a Maryland senator, in a July 30th letter to Secretary of State Condolezza Rice wrote , "a continuation of the bombing campaign, as it is being carried out, is against the interests of Israel and the United States."(full text of letter) Needless to say, the Israel lobby was up angered by van Hollen’s attempt to stop Israel from continuing its plans in Lebanon and they made their position clear and public. The senator subsequently apologized for sending the letter and emphasized that he would continue to support Israel. Nevertheless, the head of the ADL Abraham Fox was not satisfied with the apology and said that van Hollen needs to work harder to prove that he truly supports Israel. In another example, President Bush gently tried to tell the Israeli government not to undermine the Lebanese government but the Israel lobby called the President’s rhetoric “unacceptable.” As Olmert stated recently, "Thank god we have AIPAC, the greatest supporter and friend we have in the whole world." Elliott Abrams, one of the president’s advisors and David Wurmser, Cheney’s advisor on the Middle East are known staunch neoconservative supporters of Israel who pushed the Israel lobby’s agenda through the highest offices of the executive branch. Groups such as Christians United for Israel held a summit in support of Israel which attracted more than 3,500 attendees.

Despite the influence of the lobby on American politicians, Mearsheimer noted that American public opinion appears to be less supportive of Israel’s policies. Various public opinion polls proved this: an ABC News/WashPost poll showed that 46% of Americans believed Israel and Hezbollah were equally to blame for the conflict; a USA Today poll showed 38% of Americans disapproving of Israel’s military action in Lebanon; a CBS News/NYTimes poll indicated 41% of Americans believed that the US should not support Israel or Hezbollah; and in a CNN poll 43% of Americans thought Israel should agree to a cease-fire. In sum, the Bush administration’s and Congress’s staunchly pro-Israel stance were not representative of the majority of Americans.

Indeed, the strong influence of the lobby is the only explanation for the United States’ support for Israel as it is clear that there is no compelling strategic or moral rationale for such a stance, especially during the war on Lebanon.

Upon hearing excuses for the US support for Israel, I am reminded of the time when I asked one of my professors about the advantages the US gains from supporting Israel. He mumbled something about strategic alliance (during the Cold War) and intelligence sharing, which proved to be yet another unsatisfying answer. I constantly wonder why we should support a country that costs us tax payer money and our reputation in the world, undermines our efforts to tackle real problems in the Middle East, and is nothing more than a burden on a superpower that has the potential to make a difference in this world. I know for sure that if it were up to the American people, this blind support for Israel would be stopped. Like Professor Walt, I still have faith in the democratic ideals of our nation, and I can also see that slowly but surely, Americans are becoming more aware of the reality of the situation in the Middle East and the role their country plays in the region. At the moment, the quest for democracy and change in the Middle East, while it might be honest in intention, has been adulterated by a range of interest groups and individuals, from the Israel lobby to the neoconservatives. If this continues, none of these endeavors will succeed in bringing about the ideals of democracy to the Middle East that so many Americans enjoy today but at the same time appear to be losing them with every passing day.

[the video of the discussion is made available online by C-Span; 1.5 hours long]
[the transcript is also now available in PDF form]