Archive for the ‘middle east’ Category
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
by Warren
Yeah, it’s a total shocker to me that the Iranians aren’t actually ready to trot out a nuclear weapon, though it is amazing to hear it from American intelligence agencies. Looks like the y might have finally grown a set and not just told Bush what he wants to hear, like they did in the “slam dunk” days building up to the Iraq war. Still, the sterling record of spot-on analysis from the American intelligence community leading up to both 9/11 and the war means Iran probably DOES have nukes.
Posted in
iran, middle east, military, Politics
Friday, November 30th, 2007
by Warren
One of Donald Rumsfeld’s big goals for the American military was “transformation,” a process by which the armed forces modernized and adopted a more “network-centric” approach to combat. It worked spectacularly during the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, with Special Forces troops laser-targeting opposing forces and ground commanders getting a God’s-eye view of their operations theatre. But network-centric warfare has turned out to be a bust for winning the peace, as Wired Magazine details.
Posted in
afghanistan, al queda, iraq, middle east, military, terrorism, united states
Sunday, November 25th, 2007
by Warren
There’s a village in Morocco called Tetouan that’s the home town of a disproportionate number of young jihadis, including some of the men responsible for the Madrid train bombings in 2004. The New York Times Magazine investigates (at length) what turns normal young men from Tetouan into suicide bombers.
Posted in
al queda, iraq, middle east, military, terrorism
Thursday, November 22nd, 2007
by Warren
Amnesty International made a film featuring a performance artist going through six hours of the allegedly non-tortuous treatment that prisoners of American forces endure when being interrogated. The artist isn’t acting; every single whimper out of the guy is the real thing. Kind of puts the whole “war on terror” thing in perspective.
Posted in
9/11, Administration, al queda, film, middle east, military, Politics, united states
Monday, November 12th, 2007
by Warren
Ah, more shaping of questionable intelligence to fit Dick Cheney’s homicidal whims. How delightful!
Posted in
Administration, iran, iraq, middle east, military, Politics, terrorism, united states
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007
by Warren
Remember the news about a week ago about State Department employees being forced to serve time in Iraq? Turns out they’re not very happy with the idea, likening the task to a “death sentence.”
Posted in
iraq, middle east, Politics, united states
Thursday, October 25th, 2007
by Warren
Nope, it doesn’t involve duct tape or keeping an eye on your neighbours for possible un-American activities. Wired magazine profiles a suburban Montana woman who spends her days at an office, but her nights monitoring jihadi activity online.
Posted in
al queda, internet, iraq, middle east, military, Politics, terrorism, united states
Monday, October 22nd, 2007
by Warren
With the violence marring the return of exiled Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto, it’s increasingly obvious that Pakistan is sinking into the thrall of militants. Newsweek has a very interesting piece on how we should be more scared of civil unrest in Pakistan, which already has nuclear weapons, than in Iraq, which doesn’t.
Posted in
al queda, History, middle east, military, Politics, terrorism
Sunday, October 14th, 2007
by Warren
While Bin Laden occasionally creates videos aimed at a Western audience, his parables of naughty she-goats unearthing knifes don’t have a hell of a lot of cachet in media-soaked North America. But a growing group of jihadi bloggers and other activists already based in the West are spreading Al Queda’s message,and according to the New York Times, are doing so with some measure of success.
Posted in
al queda, media, middle east, osama, Politics
Friday, October 12th, 2007
by Warren
With Blackwater already in trouble for shooting Iraqi civilians, more stories are coming to light of arrogance and recklessness regarding the private security firm. The latest involves Blackwater operatives getting into a car crash with U.S. soldiers, then forcing the soldiers to lie down at gunpoint until help arrived. Not that there’s any real legitimate power structure in Iraq, but you’d think U.S. soldiers would be the last word in authority in a war zone, just by dint of hardware and history.
Posted in
History, iraq, middle east, military, Politics