Tag: MEMO

The US, UK and Saudi Arabia are to blame for al-Qaeda’s resurgence

I wrote about my take on Abdel Bari Atwan’s latest book on al-Qaida and discuss some of its themes:

The horrific doctrine and practices of bin Laden and his followers ensures that the popular appeal of al-Qaeda in the Middle East is always going to be limited at best. Add to that the defeat that al-Qaeda “central” (bin Laden and his small group did not originally name themselves “al-Qaeda,” but soon adopted the western-invented moniker when it because a byword for fear after September 2001) suffered in 2001 when America and its military allies invaded and bombed Afghanistan, destroying its bases, toppling its Taliban allies and forcing its leadership to flee to Pakistan.

Read the whole column over at MEMO.

War of the puppets

The Dahlan-Abbas war of words:

Palestinian Authority “President” Mahmoud Abbas (whose elected term expired years ago) is currently at war with rival Muhammad Dahlan. It is a war of words for the most part, although money, influence and trading insults in the media is also a big part. Dahlan has been exiled from the West Bank since 2010, along with some of his closest goons.

Cameron’s Knesset cuckoo-land

I read Cameron’s speech to the Israeli parliament so you didn’t have to:

Cameron spends large portions of the speech trying to prove his Zionist credentials. Just how much more will I do for thee, Israel? He changed the law to make it easier for Israeli war criminals to visit Britain without fear of prosecution under universal jurisdiction laws. His country is investing in Israel more than ever. And so on.

My column from yesterday: Israel’s love-in with Europe’s new Nazis

Yarosh replied: “No, absolutely not. In the last days, I have met the Israeli ambassador and we started a friendly relationship.” Yarosh reportedly now sits on the current government’s security council as Deputy Secretary of National Security. His allies in Svoboda, a fascist political party, now control the defence ministry, and several other government seats – all the way up to deputy prime minister. With such a massive share of power in the emerging “new” Ukraine, it is no surprise, therefore, that the Israelis should want to meet with an odious fascist like Yarosh.

Israel’s latest attempt to incite Muslim-Christian sectarianism will fail

On why the ongoing Israeli conspiracy to divide and conquer will not win in the long term:

Any talk of “benefits” given to Palestinian Christians by Israel are empty promises at best – beyond the handful of collaborators that Israel has managed to bribe or blackmail into its service (of all religions and political groups it should be noted).

Dire state of Libya is a warning against intervention in Syria

On the precedent of Libya for Syria:

Local ceasefires appear to be the only way forward that does not involve a seemingly perpetual civil war.

With the possibility that talks of “intervention” could make a comeback sometime in the next month, it is worth reviewing what such NATO “intervention” has meant for Libya.

Al-Jazeera English‘s programme Fault Lines revisited the country long after most of the western journalists lost interest and left it.

PA’s negotiations with Israel unlikely to go anywhere

Column on Kerry’s sham negotiations:

But the main reason why Kerry’s deal-making is unlikely to lead anywhere is Israeli intransigence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and even Lieberman (currently positioning himself as next prime minister) may be inclined to get behind the deal. But the same cannot be said for their coalition partners, Uri Ariel’s “Jewish Home” party.

 

BDS opponents still don’t get it

On the BDS freak-out:

What Israel’s apologists still don’t get is that, much like the Palestinian cause itself, BDS is a popular, grass-roots and humanist campaign.

So here is some free advice for them: you can’t make the “BDS threat” go away by throwing money at the problem. Previously the Israeli government seems to have tried ignoring the problem, but that didn’t work, so now they are trying a different tack: freaking out about it.

The US and UK are still to blame in Iraq

On Iraq, and Blair’s war crimes:

Blair’s propaganda line often goes that the death toll is not his responsibility, because it was the consequence of the sectarian civil war that followed the invasion. This is a total lie.

In fact, by now, we know that the sectarian civil war was instigated by the American occupiers of Iraq as a matter of early policy.

Egypt’s military plots destabilization of Gaza

On rumours of an Egyptian “invasion” of Gaza:

After the Muslim Brotherhood, the spectre of Hamas has been been another primary boogie man for the generals. Pro-regime media outlets have relentlessly harped on with one farcical conspiracy theory after the next about Hamas – including the ridiculous claim that Morsi wanted to hand the Sinai over to Hamas.

With the Brotherhood dealt with, these latest Egyptian army threats do not come as a surprise.

Egypt’s farcical election

On Egypt’s recent election:

Buoyed by a newly invigorated cult of personality centred around Sisi, the military dictatorship decided to shore up its power by staging an election to usher in a new constitution. It will free the army, police and intelligence services from civilian control, giving the coup a legalistic veneer.

Once, Saddam Hussein used to to claim 99 percent of Iraqis had voted for him. The dictator Mubarak and his party “won” rigged elections with 80-88 percent. Sisi decided to out do him.

Shared ideology helps explain US support for Israel

On the shared values of shared colonialisms:

Regev’s reply was stark, but honest: “Yes, as the Americans did to the Indians.”

It was a clear statement of Israel’s really-existing ideology, intentions and practice. It is refreshing in the sense that at least she openly stated her racist animosity to Palestinians. It stands in contrast to liberal Zionism’s smokescreens about “peace,” while at the same time carrying out the same policies.