Archive for January 15, 2011
The Obama administration and Tunisia
“”It will be remembered that only when the U.S. made sure that Bin `Ali left the country, the White House issued the statement that the Tunisian people have the right to choose their leaders,” wrote As’ad AbuKhalil, a professor of political science at …
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
US and French embassies?
I have received Tunisian calls for demonstrations against the French and US embassies in Tunis. Hundreds of prisoners have been released. News of mass arrests of relatives of Bin `Ali. Obviously, the new government/army may lose more …
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Aljazeera needs to STOP pushing the Islamist Rashid Ghannushi
Now, Aljazeera hosted the lousy tele-Islamist, Yusuf Al-Qardawi, who sent salutations to the people of Tunisia as if they care about his salutations. Secondly, and most importantly, Aljazeera has stop promoting Rashid Ghannushi and stop announcin…
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
You have to read this: YOU HAVE TO read the Financial Times
“”Mr Ben Ali ruled Tunisia with an iron grip for 23 years; opposition is stifled, and the country is an anomaly among pro-western Arab states for its extensive restrictions on freedom of expression.”" Yes, an anomaly unless you count Morocco, …
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Saudi repression
“The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about new regulations for online media you issued on January 1. The rules contain several provisions that can be used to restrict coverage. The provisions are vaguely worded, contain numerous…
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
The Left in Tunisia
I should be writing something on the map of Leftist and communist parties in Tunisia. The left (especially the underground) has always been vibrant: there are Leninist and Trotskiest and Anarchist factions.
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Tourists? Lies of the Israeli media about the Mossad station in Tunisia (most likely)
“A group of 20 Israelis was rescued Saturday evening from Tunisia, where a violent uprising has succeeded in overturning the government. The complicated mission was orchestrated by a number of Israeli authorities, including the Foreign Ministry…
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Comrade Bassam in Jadaliyya
“Though it is a luxury, and naively premature, to talk about an impending collapse of various forms of existing political and economic exploitation, locally or globally originating, it is no longer too early to start thinking about what might come next…
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Mossad in Tunisia
We will soon learn more about how the Mossad had a free hand in Tunisia and how members of the Bin Ali secret police facilitated the movement of Mossad’s terrorist hit teams in the country.
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
The Eagle and the Lion
After the Iranian Revolution, James Bill wrote an important book on the history of US-Iranian relations. We now need a book on the criminal relationship between the US/French/Israeli governments and the Bin Ali regime.
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Christopher Hitchens on Tunisia
“On the face of it, the country is one of Africa’s most outstanding success stories. In the 2006–7 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report, it was ranked No. 1 in Africa for economic competitiveness, even, incidentally, outpac…
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Jeffrey Feltman
I am really glad that Jeffrey Feltman (who had received his political training under Martin Indyk at the US embassy in Tel Aviv) is at the helm of Middle East foreign policy at the US Department of State. The management of the crisis in Tunisia h…
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
The Pilot of Bin Ali
The Pilot of Bin Ali told the latter: I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we found one country to shelter you. The bad news is that it is Saudi Arabia.
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
The Washington Post
“”Ben Ali, who received a military education in France,” and then this: “Only Thursday, after a month of confrontation in which non-governmental organizations estimated that more than 50 demonstrators were killed, did France accuse Ben Ali of us…
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
An American reporter (who praised oil Gulf countries in the past) talks about Bin Ali
“”In the process of my work covering the Middle East, I had several interviews with President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, and I did not find him to be the authoritarian dictator that young Tunisians now claim. He is a husky, handsome man with a strong,…
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
See you in Saudi Arabia, he tells him
(thanks Maddy for the picture)
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Israel and Bin Ali
Israel has been very worried about the plight of Bin Ali, it seems. (20 Israelis have been rushed out of the country, it has been reported).
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
France and Tunisia
“When 26-year-old Iranian demonstrator Neda Agha-Soltan died on video in the streets of Tehran during the wave of post-election protests that rocked Iran in 2009, France reacted with fury and was quick to denounce crackdowns by security forces on …
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Saudi media and Tunisia
Jonathan from Cairo sent me this (I cite with his permission): “Al Arabiya was playing the same game as Radio Sawa this afternoon, airing a long sequence of lengthy interviews with Tunis shopkeepers whose property had been damaged by ‘hooligans’ and …
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad
Glowing profile of Bin Ali
The Tunisian people should read and circulate this glowing profile of Bin Ali in Hariri mouthpiece, Al-Mustaqbal (thanks Hassan)
Posted on January 15, 2011 by As'ad