Archive for November 28, 2005

If politics in what later become Lebanon in the 19th century was defined by a Druze-Maronite conflict, and if the Sunni-Maronite conflict defined modern Lebanon, the Sunni Shi`ite conflict will define the next stage of political conflict in Lebanon. The Christian factor will not be the decisive one on its own. In fact, it will [...]

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

“Militants Allegedly Operating Within Iraqi Police” (No. Really?)

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

Sometimes I feel that the Arab masses are collectively taking a nap.

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

The Empire, Naked. Today I had a choice. I asked myself this: shall I insert a screw drive deep inside my ear, or shall I start reading this new book The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib, edited by Karen Greenberg and Joshua Dratel and published by Cambridge University Press. Unfortunately, I settled on [...]

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

‘Napoleon should be remembered as a genocidal dictator rather than founder of modern France.’

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

Lies and Fabrications of Iyad `Allawi: Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat and Al-Arabiyya continue their propaganda drive on behalf of Iyad `Allawi (former puppet prime minister/car bomber/embezzler-in-Yemen/Saddam’s henchman). In today’s episode in Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat, `Allawi claims that when serving as a proud puppet prime minister, he was independent and never had to consult with the US occupation. Occasionally, [...]

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

For those who care, I shall be speaking tomorrow (Tuesday) at Stanford University (Bldg 420, room 041) at 6:00PM. The topic is Lebanon. Hummus will be served at 6:30PM sharp.

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

I am really sick AND tired of reading about the “wisdom” of King `Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in the Arabic press, including in my favorite newspaper As-Safir. This about a man who can’t complete a sentence. I mean, really. If I can buy the Arab media, I will make radical changes. I will feature grocers, [...]

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

Oh, and tell Saddam to stop grandstanding. His “glory” days are over. He should go and rearrange his prison cell instead.

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

Sa`d Hariri has been helping the Lebanonese cause from Brazil and Argentina. Like his father before him, he travels into countries to take care of the family’s private business, and tells the Lebanese that he is working for the interests of Lebanon.

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

No heroes left. One of the people that I used to respect and admire in the Arab world is Moroccan dissident Ibrahim Sirfati, who spent some 17 years in King Hasan’s jail in Morocco. Here was a courageous revolutionary who worked against the Monarchy in Morocco, and refused to take advantage of Western advocacy of [...]

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

Those Palestinians. Palestinian school children kicking a checkpoint of Israeli occupation.

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

Karen Hughes: still changing Muslim AND Arab public opinion.

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

Conspiracy versus conspiracy: Hariri Inc versus Syrian Regime. When witness Muhammad Zuhayr As-Siddiq was testifying against Syria, the Syrian government labeled him as a crook and a liar. When Husam Husam testified today against the Hariri Inc, Hariri Inc described him as a crook and a liar. There are two or more conspiracies clashing in [...]

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

“Suicide” of Ghazi Kan`an. I have written about Ghazi Kan`an’s suicide before. My theory was that he probably was pushed to kill himself by a Syrian regime that viewed him as being too loyal (and too coopted( by Hariri Inc. I speculated that the Syrian government leaked to New TV damaging information about Kan`an, that [...]

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

Panel, c. 1902. Odilon Redon.

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

I stayed late watching some of the trial of Saddam. I can’t believe this American managed spectacle. The US wants to use it for their propaganda, but it always backfires. Just like Hurra TV. Every footage of the trial helps the propaganda of Saddam and his supporters. He really runs the court; the judge (the [...]

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

Michael Hudson on Finkelstein at Georgetown

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

“But according to Hersh, the Mehlis report is built on the same anemic foundations as Powell’s UN presentation in February, 2003. “He is relying on intercepts of an unnamed source inside the Iranian air force, someone without inside stuff. It’s not empirical.” On the basis of this thin evidence, he says, the Bush administration is [...]

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad

It is no big deal. “Critics say civilians died in incendiary attacks. U.S. asserts white phosphorus was only used on insurgents.”

Posted on November 28, 2005 by As'ad