Monday, January 7, 2008

With President Bush -- 'Remember him?' -- beginning a Middle East tour, apparently convinced that "future generations will understand the brilliance of his foreign policy," Israel and other countries in the Middle East consider setting their own course on Iran, an issue which is expected to 'overshadow Arab-Israeli conflict' on his trip. [Cursor.org] 11:23:58 AM    comment []

The deteriorating security situation in Pakistan's tribal regions sends thousands fleeing to Afghanistan, while pledges to scale down the controversial military prison at Bagram, which now has twice as many prisoners as Guantanamo, remain unfulfilled. [Cursor.org] 11:21:53 AM    comment []

With strengthening political parties not a big ticket item in U.S. aid to Pakistan, and regionalism and ethnic suspicion growing, Christian Parenti argues that "Without addressing the deeper geostrategic forces at work here and developing a diplomatic solution, there will be no rollback of Taliban-style Islamic fundamentalism." [Cursor.org] 11:19:50 AM    comment []

Among the revelations long gagged FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds details for the London Times are how corrupt U.S. "government officials allowed Pakistan and other states to steal nuclear weapons secrets," and that 'Israel planted nuclear moles in the U.S.,' as Brad Blog puts the story in context. Plus: 'Nuclear... deterrence?' [Cursor.org] 11:18:30 AM    comment []