A prominent journalist who spread lies the U.S. government used to sell the war in Iraq-which led to the deaths of an estimated 1 million-plus people-implied that whistleblower Chelsea Manning has blood on her hands for exposing U.S. atrocities in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Manning, who has been serving a 35-year prison sentence for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, had her prison sentence commuted on Tuesday, January 17, after years of pressure from grassroots activists and advocacy groups.
Category: Middle East
Haley slams Obama for not blocking UN measure against Israel
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley assailed the Obama administration on Wednesday for failing to block a U.N. Security Council resolution that condemned Israel’s settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Obama Appoints Anti-Israel Adviser to Holocaust Museum Council
President Barack Obama appointed White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes to a post on the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s council, the White House Reported Tuesday. Rhodes was probed by Congress over revelations that he served in his sensitive position as the president’s most trusted advisor despite the fact that he had not qualified for security clearances based on FBI background checks in 2008.
Nikki Haley Set for Confirmation Hearing
Nikki Haley delivers the State of the State in the House chambers at the South Carolina Statehouse, Jan. 20, 2016, in Columbia, South Carolina. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday for her confirmation hearing to be considered as President-elect Donald Trump ‘s choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations .
Top Palestinian Official: Congress Limited in Push Back to U.N. Resolution
Congress has limited options for responding to a United Nations Security Council resolution critical of Israel, according to a top Palestinian official who spoke to THE WEEKLY STANDARD. The remarks from Maen Areikat, the chief representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the United States, came as lawmakers rolled out legislation in the aftermath of the December resolution, which describes the West Bank and east Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory and condemns Israeli construction in those areas.
Oman says it accepts 10 Guantanamo Bay detainees
Oman said Monday it accepted 10 detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay ahead of President Barack Obama leaving office, part of his efforts to shrink the facility he promised to close. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had accepted the prisoners at Obama’s request.
BC-AP News Digest
The main event is Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday, but there are some signs that more Americans are coming to Washington for the day of protests on Saturday, a stark change from past transitions of power from one president to the next. By Jessica Gresko.
Obama says U.N. vote didn’t rupture U.S.-Israel relations
U.S. President Barack Obama played down fallout from a U.S. abstention on a United Nations resolution last month demanding an end to Israeli settlements in occupied territory, saying it did not trigger a significant break in relations with Israel. Relations between the United States and Israel, which have soured during Obama’s eight years in office, reached a low point late last month when Washington, defying pressure from longtime ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump, declined to veto the U.N. resolution.
Pew: Republicans Love Israel, Democrats Only So-So
Only 33% of Democrats sympathize more with Israel, 31% more with the Arabs in the conflict, and 35% sympathize with neither, with both, or don’t have an opinion. Only 11% of Republicans sympathize more with the Arabs, and 15% say they sympathize with neither side, with both sides or don’t have an opinion.
Secretary of State John Kerry and 70 Nations Meet Paris to Cede Parts of Israel to the Palestinians
With less than one week left in his Presidency, President Barack Hussein Obama’s Secretary of State, John Kerry is in Paris this week meeting with 72 nations at a ‘Peace’ Summit . The purpose of the summit is to further actions led by Obama’s administration at the UN mandating that Israel hand over significant sections of its territory to a group of Palestinians.
Confessions of a Megalomaniac
THE ARAB taxi driver who brought me to Ramallah had no trouble with the Israeli border posts. He just evaded them.
Top Cabinet nominees Tillerson, Mattis contradict Trump’s foreign policy
Toughness with Russia and China, support of the Iran nuclear deal, the quest for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Donald Trump’s diplomacy and military picks have outlined the incoming administration’s foreign policy in Senate confirmation hearings this week. And on many strategic issues, in particular the president-elect’s desire for improved ties with Russia, Rex Tillerson, the former head of ExxonMobil chosen for secretary of state, and James Mattis, the retired U.S. Marine Corps general chosen as defense secretary, contradicted Trump in the hearings Wednesday and Thursday.
Religion Of Peace: Muslims Toss Gay Off Building to Start Off New Year
Highly disturbing images have emerged showing ISIS members throwing a man off the top of a building in Mosul as punishment for being gay. The twisted terrorists blindfolded their victim, believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s, carried his body to the top of a building and then hurled him off.
Confirmation Hearing Update: General “Mad Dog” Mattis, Defense Secretary
Up next we have General Mattis for position of Secretary of Defense. Typically this position must be held by someone who has been a civilian for at least 7 years, a qualification Mattis has not met since he just left uniform service in 2013.
Next 25 Articles
Gunfire has been heard outside a Turkish police station as suicide bombers cause mass casualties in Kabul. Two loud explosions rocked the Afghan capital killing an unconfirmed number of people, while local media in Turkey say a terrorist has been shot dead in an attempted attack in Gaziantep.
Palestinians await Israeli outpost’s evacuation
Once planted with tomatoes, cucumbers and okra, the wind-swept hilltop now hosts the white trailer homes of an Israeli settlement outpost that took root more than 20 years ago. Now, Abdel-Kareem and other Palestinian landowners are set to reclaim the property they watched stripped from them, hoping to finally put to rest a bitter, years-long legal saga on Feb. 8 – the latest court-ordered deadline for the evacuation of the Amona outpost.
Response to 2011 deaths of US troops shed light on Trump Pentagon pick
The Iranian-supplied rockets were raining down on Gen. James Mattis’ troops throughout the spring and summer of 2011 with greater and greater intensity.
Netanyahu Thanks House For Condemning UN Security Council Resolution
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday for disavowing the UN Security Council’s resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity as a “flagrant violation of international law.” “After the outrageous anti-Israel resolution at the UN, the U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday resoundingly to support Israel and reject this one-sided resolution,” Netanyahu said .
Netanyahu caught trying to negotiate more favorable press coverage
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016.
This is the moment for an Israeli victory Prof. Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes is president and founder of the Middle East Forum, author of 12 books, several books, president of the Middle East Forum, is considered one of the world’s foremost analysts on the Middle East and Muslim history. He warned of militant Islam’s war with the USA years before 9.11 and called Arafat’s bluff at Oslo.
Saudi Arabia’s dream of becoming dominant Muslim power in world has gone down in flames
LONDON: As recently as two years ago, Saudi Arabia ‘s half century-long effort to establish itself as the main power among Arab and Islamic states looked as if it was succeeding. A US state department paper sent by former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in 2014 and published by Wikileaks spoke of the Saudis and Qataris as rivals competing “to dominate the Sunni world”.
US goes from bandleader to bystander in Syria peace efforts
Stung by years of failure to stop Syria’s bloodshed, the United States is now but a bystander to the civil war as President Barack Obama leaves office. Secretary of State John Kerry still is speaking sporadically with Russian, Turkish and Arab foreign ministers about cease-fire efforts, and there are occasional consultations with the opposition.
Israel Cuts $6 Million to UN Over Settlement Vote
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement in front of a new construction, in the Jewish settlement known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim, March 16, 2015 Israel says it is withholding about $6 million from its annual United Nations dues, following a U.N. Security Council resolution last month calling for an end to Israel’s “settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.” The United States abstained from voting on the measure, opening the way for the other 14 members of the Council to unanimously pass the resolution.
France ‘not planning’ UNSC resolution
France is not secretly planning a UN Security Council resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after a major conference in Paris this month, the president of the French Senate said Thursday. Gerard Larcher said he was not aware of any country working on a resolution to put before the Council between the January 15 meeting and the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president on January 20. Speaking to the press in Jerusalem at the end of a four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Larcher said that many Israeli interlocutors had expressed fear France would try to translate the outcome of the conference into a UN resolution.
House rebukes United Nations
The House overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan measure Thursday that rebukes the United Nations for criticizing Israeli settlements as Republicans used the debate to accuse President Barack Obama of turning his back on the Jewish state. Lawmakers voted 342-80 for the non-binding resolution that declares unwavering support for Israel and insists that the United States reject any future U.N. actions that are similarly “one-sided and anti-Israel.”
U.S. Transfers Four Guantanamo Detainees To Saudi Arabia, Says More Likely
Four Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo Bay arrived in Saudi Arabia on January 5, news agencies reported, with the White House saying additional transfers are likely before President Barack Obama leaves office later this month. Reuters and AFP reported that the detainees arrived at a Riyadh airport after being released from the U.S. naval base in Cuba that Obama vowed to close when he came into office.
Obama releases more Gitmo detainees before Trump takes office
President Barack Obama pledged during his 2008 campaign to empty Gitmo. President-elect Donald Trump said on the stump that Gitmo was filled with bad guys, and he would fill it up with more.
US transfers more Guantanamo prisoners
The Pentagon announced Thursday that four inmates were transferred from the Guantanamo Bay prison to Saudi Arabia, dropping the prison’s population to 55. “The United States is grateful to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility,” the Pentagon said in a statement. The news comes amid reports President Barack Obama is attempting to empty the facility as much as possible prior to Inauguration Day.
GOP seeks to punish UN with funding cut after Israel vote
Congressional Republicans are prepping legislation to slash US funding to the United Nations, saying it’s the right response following last month’s Security Council vote condemning Israeli settlements. The conservative House Freedom Caucus will meet Monday to discuss whether to move forward with efforts to reduce funding to the world body or to require Congress to reauthorize the spending every two years or it will cease.
Recalling Syria ‘red line,’ Kerry says US didn’t back down
Touting his four years as secretary of state, John Kerry on Thursday attempted to explain one of the most contentious moments in American diplomacy during his tenure: President Barack Obama’s failure to enforce his “red line” warning to Syria about using chemical weapons. In a news conference meant to promote his achievements, Kerry said that Obama didn’t backtrack in 2013 on his ultimatum to Syrian President Bashar Assad not to attack rebels or civilians with his chemical weapons arsenal.
GOP senators introduce bill forcing president’s hand on moving embassy to Jerusalem
Jewish worshippers draped in prayer shawls performing the annual Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, Sept. 30, 2015.
Our failed Israel policy
Try as he might this late in the game, President Barack Obama’s Israel policy should go down in history as a failure. In keeping with a broader pattern, the White House has expected Israel to accept its judgments on the largest matters, such as Iran, and then has become frustrated when Israel reacts poorly to its judgments on smaller ones, such as the status of settlements.
The economic war against ISIL: Airstrikes and financial measures aim to deplete militants’ funding
The Islamic State starts the new year with a drastically depleted bank account, counterterrorism officials say, following months of intensified efforts to deprive the Islamists of oil profits and other revenue used to finance military operations and terrorists attacks abroad. Coalition aircraft in the past 15 months have destroyed more than 1,200 tanker trucks – including 168 vehicles struck in a single air raid in Syria in early December – while also using new weapons and tactics to inflict lasting damage on the terrorists’ remaining oil fields, U.S. and Middle Eastern officials say.
What’s important?
I’ll indicate in advance that this is a personal and rambling note, promoted by several responses to what I wrote about the recent decision of the UN Security Council. And it is by no means the first time I’ve been provoked by what I’ve received from my Internet friends.
Thomas L. Friedman: Netanyahu Makes Trump His Chump
For those of you confused over the latest fight between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel, let me make it simple: Barack Obama and John Kerry admire and want to preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the Land of Israel. I have covered this issue my entire adult life and have never met two U.S. leaders more committed to Israel as a Jewish democracy.
Dershowitz: I’ll Leave Democratic Party If Ellison Becomes DNC Chair
While Alan Dershowitz is a staunch liberal, he’s threatening to leave the Democratic Party should Rep. Keith Ellison become the next chairman for the national committee. Dershowitz, a renowned attorney and Israel supporter, said he would resign due to Ellison’s positions on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and his association with Louis Farrakhan : Speaking on Fox Business, Dershowitz said there is a divide in the Democratic Party over Jewish issues, particularly the support of Israel, or lack thereof, offered by the Obama administration.
The Latest: Trump ditches press pool to play golf
File – In this Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 file photo, President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Giant Center, in Hershey, Pa. After a pair of diplomatic victories, the Palestinians are now setting their sights on a Mideast peace conference in France next month in a bid to rally support as they prepare for the uncertainty of the Trump Administration.
Obama’s petty attempts to sabotage Trump are bound to fail :0
It’s easy to come up with several different reasons for the Obama administration’s moves against Russia and Israel. The repudiation of his policies in last month’s election would have wounded a normal person’s ego, to say nothing of someone as vain as Obama.
Netanyahu’s Settlement Expansions Create International Tensions
Donald Trump has a new best friend. “President-elect Trump, thank you for your warm friendship and your clear-cut support of Israel,” gushed Bibi Netanyahu, after he berated John Kerry in a fashion that would once have resulted in a rupture of diplomatic relations.
Continue reading Netanyahu makes Trump his chump
For those of you confused over the latest fight between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel, let me make it simple: Barack Obama and John Kerry admire and want to preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the Land of Israel. I have covered this issue my entire adult life and have never met two U.S. leaders more committed to Israel as a Jewish democracy.