tagged w/ Middle East Politics
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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's government announced bold new measures Friday aimed at reconciling with minority Kurds and ending an insurgency that has dragged on for 25 years, but there was no mention of the sweeping amnesty sought by Kurdish rebels.
Interior Minister Besir Atalay told Parliament the government wants to remove all restrictions on the use of the once-banned Kurdish language, create a committee to fight discrimination, restore Kurdish names of villages and establish an independent body to deal with complaints against security forces.
"It is an open-ended, dynamic process," Atalay said.
The rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, launched its fight for autonomy in 1984 and tens of thousands of people have died, with human rights abuses committed by both sides. Fighting has ebbed, but Turkey's civilian and military leaders have acknowledged that force alone cannot solve the problem. Making peace with its Kurdish opponents would also help Turkey in its struggling bid to join the European Union.
Some of the proposed measures would require legislative approval. The ruling party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a strong majority in parliament, and would likely pass the measures despite opponents who say the plan would ignore the sacrifices of slain soldiers and undermine the unity of the state.
"We aim to expand all our citizens' political rights and freedoms," Atalay said. "The democratic overture does not intend to harm our unitary state and national unity, but to strengthen it."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h9VhSca_oZldvbO-XktR7l7Sa_PgD9BUMJKG0ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's government announced bold new measures Friday aimed at... more
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Looks like the US wasn't so wrong about Iran developing nuclear weapons...now multiple sources are leading to more unanswered questions...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/05/iran-tested-nuclear-warhead-design
excerpt below :
The UN's nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design, the Guardian has learned.
The very existence of the technology, known as a "two-point implosion" device, is officially secret in both the US and Britain, but according to previously unpublished documentation in a dossier compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of the design. The development was today described by nuclear experts as "breathtaking" and has added urgency to the effort to find a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis.
The sophisticated technology, once mastered, allows for the production of smaller and simpler warheads than older models. It reduces the diameter of a warhead and makes it easier to put a nuclear warhead on a missile.
Documentation referring to experiments testing a two-point detonation design are part of the evidence of nuclear weaponisation gathered by the IAEA and presented to Iran for its response.Looks like the US wasn't so wrong about Iran developing nuclear weapons...now multiple... more
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Relatives and friends of Hind Qassim, 35, load her coffin during her funeral in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 160 kilometers south of Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 27, 2009. Qassim was killed when a pair of suicide car bombings on Sunday devastated the heart of Iraq's capital in the country's deadliest attack in more than two years.
By REBECCA SANTANA
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's Sunnis, long dissatisfied with the Shiite-led government, seek more power, respect and a bigger share of oil wealth in upcoming elections. But disunity among their political leaders and the sheer force of Shiite numbers threaten to derail those hopes.
The result, some analysts and Iraqis fear, could be increased violence as some embittered Sunnis try to destabilize the government and gain power.
Sunday's bombings that killed 155 people in Baghdad sent a chill across the country, with an al-Qaida-linked group claiming responsibility. Three years ago, Iraq descended into intense violence when Sunni extremists launched bombing campaigns that aggravated the underlying Sunni-Shiite tensions, fueling a vicious cycle of sectarian reprisals that brought the country to the edge of chaos.
But analysts caution that fringe al-Qaida-linked groups, like Islamic State of Iraq which claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks, could play off the simmering Sunni fear and anxiety, especially if the January election proves bad for Sunnis.
"They want to make this government dysfunctional," said Riad Kahwaji, head of the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, discussing attacks by Sunni extremists.
Al-Qaida in Iraq, which once held sway among Sunni insurgents in the country, "wants to make a comeback, and they seem to be making a comeback in a very noisy and bloody way," he said.
Sunnis, who make up 20 percent of the overall population, have never accepted their status as a minority after generations as the politically dominant group in Iraqi society. They lost that status when the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein and propelled the Shiites, who make up an estimated 60 percent of the population, into power.
In addition, Sunnis complain that the Shiite-led government keeps them from positions of power such as the police, doesn't share the country's oil wealth sufficiently with Sunni areas and targets Sunnis for arrest.
Intensifying fears of violence is the fact that a law to govern January's elections remains caught in a deadlock. It has been during periods of political impasse that Iraq becomes particularly vulnerable to renewed violence.
In 2006, months of political wrangling over the country's first permanent post-invasion government allowed al-Qaida linked insurgent groups, backed by some Sunnis, to provoke Shiite militias into a near-civil war.
So far, Shiites in Iraq do not seem to be responding, even when provoked by the recent rash of extremist al-Qaida-linked attacks.
Yet, "there is always that danger that the sectarian factions can revert to violence. So, it's vital to keep the political process going," said Terrence Kelly, a senior analyst at the RAND Corp. "Al-Qaida's goal has always been to keep a democratically based political process from taking hold."
The attackers have targeted mostly government buildings - a potent target since the government is Shiite-led, but less outright sectarian than attacking Shiite markets and neighborhoods as in the bloody days of 2006 and 2007.
Iraq's mainstream Sunnis have been quick to distance themselves from the horrific bombings, and analysts note that groups like al-Qaida in Iraq which claimed the attacks, should not be confused with the Sunni population or political groups.
Yet there is no question that many Sunnis are disaffected as the January vote nears, and looking to the election to regain some of their lost power, who led the country under Saddam, bocotted a critical first nationwide vote in 2005, resulting in a Shiite-led government.Relatives and friends of Hind Qassim, 35, load her coffin during her funeral in the... more
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Boomgen TV is a new news service that reports the news from inside Iran in English on daily basis. Here is the report no. 25.Boomgen TV is a new news service that reports the news from inside Iran in English on... more
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As a foreigner living in the US, I was amazed to see how many Americans view Reagan as the person who supposedly "defeated" the Soviet Union. This strange myth and many others are described in the book "Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future". The writer, Will Bunch, describes how this myth was created largely by Washington conservatives in the 1990s, who wanted a hero who they could associate with the conservative agenda.
As a person who still remembers Reagan "Iran-Contra" affair and his relationship with hard-liner part of the Iranian government, I hope the younger generation reads this book to know more about this horrible disgusting president of the United States, and what he did to this country and to the world.As a foreigner living in the US, I was amazed to see how many Americans view Reagan as... more
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There is no way the racist Zionist regime can deny the truth now.
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A Defense Department study offers what may be the first time in a unclassified report that Israel is a nuclear power. On page 37 of the U.S. Joint Forces Command report, the Army includes Israel within "a growing arc of nuclear powers running from Israel in the west through an emerging Iran to Pakistan, India, and on to China, North Korea, and Russia in the east."A Defense Department study offers what may be the first time in a unclassified report... more
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This article in Los Angeles Times by Ben Ehrenreich addresses a subject that most main stream media are silent about.This article in Los Angeles Times by Ben Ehrenreich addresses a subject that most main... more
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"YOU F***ING IRAQIS ARE GOOD FOR NOTHIN" ...
The Iraqi police men must have a lot of patience."YOU F***ING IRAQIS ARE GOOD FOR NOTHIN" ...
The Iraqi police men must have a lot of... more
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Syria hopes a series of indirect talks with Israel will soon lead to direct negotiations.
Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad said that possibility was discussed during a summit attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the leaders of Turkey and Qatar.
Word of the Syrian proposal came during a landmark visit to Damascus by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took part in a summit Thursday that also included the leaders of Turkey and Qatar.
Syria and Israel have been involved in indirect talks in Turkey for the past few months. There have been four rounds of talks so far, and Syria hopes to begin a fifth round early next week, according to a senior official close to the negotiations.
The Syrian government has put forward a six-point proposal outlining goals for furthering indirect talks with Israel, a senior Syrian government official. The Syrian government handed the proposal to Turkey to pass along to Israel, the senior official said.
Israeli officials did not immediately confirm whether they had received a copy of Syria's proposals, but they did say they were trying to set up another round of talks with Turkish mediation.
Syria hopes a series of indirect talks with Israel will soon lead to direct... more
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What makes someone so desperate to go on a suicide mission? How do Muslims look at the people of other faiths? What is Jihad?
These are the questions that all of us have been asking since 9/11/2001.
Searching For Answers is a documentary on Muslim-Americans and how they feel about today's world, terrorism and its affects. This documentary interviews various groups of people (mainly youth and community leaders) in the Middle Eastern and South Asian communities to find out what they think about the current affairs, the post 9/11 world, and their place in the American society.
For more information please go to: www.searchingforanswers.infoWhat makes someone so desperate to go on a suicide mission? How do Muslims look at the... more
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A senior military official close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been assassinated, according to Arab media reports.
The official, identified as Brig Gen Mohammed Suleiman, was shot dead on Friday night at a beach resort near the port city of Tartus, the reports say.
The Free Syria website, which opposes the Syrian government, described him as President Assad's top security adviser. Pan-Arab newspapers al-Hayat and Asharq al-Awsat say Mr Suleiman had responsibility for sensitive security issues.
Mr Suleiman was also reported to serve as Syria's liaison officer to Hezbollah - a powerful political and military organisation of Shia Muslims in Lebanon.
Damascus has so far refused to comment on the alleged shooting.
A senior military official close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been... more
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A top US official is to attend talks aimed at persuading Iran to halt its nuclear enrichment program.
Under Secretary of State William Burns will travel to Switzerland with the EU foreign envoy Javier Solana to receive Iran's response to a UN offer.
The US said Mr Burns would not hold separate talks with Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili, and was there to listen.
In the past, the Bush administration has insisted that no talks will be held with Iran until it suspends its uranium enrichment program. Now, in a clear shift in policy, it seems a meeting is going to take place without that precondition being met.
The Bush administration says Mr Burns's presence is designed to demonstrate the West's unity and to reiterate that the terms of negotiations remain the same - namely that Iran must first halt its uranium enrichment programme for further talks to take place.
A top US official is to attend talks aimed at persuading Iran to halt its nuclear... more
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A planned prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah will take place on Wednesday, Israeli officials say.
Israel will release five Lebanese prisoners in exchange for two Israeli soldiers seized in a cross-border raid that triggered a 33-day war in 2006.
The condition of the two Israeli soldiers is not known, but it is widely believed that they are dead. The Lebanese prisoners due to be freed include Samir Qantar, in jail since 1979 for a deadly guerrilla raid.
Under the prisoner-swap arrangement, Hezbollah handed over documents about the navigator, including two previously unseen photographs, on Saturday. The photographs were passed on to his family along with letters that were reportedly written several years ago, but Israeli authorities said they provided no new information about his well being.
In the exchange Israel is also expected to hand over the bodies of 200 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters killed while infiltrating northern Israel.
A planned prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah will take place on Wednesday,... more
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told a newspaper his country is unlikely to make peace with Israel while President George W. Bush remains in office.
However, in an interview published on the website of Le Figaro daily on Monday, Assad said he was betting that the next U.S. leader would get more involved in the peace process.
Assad said Syria and Israel were looking for common ground to start face-to-face negotiations, adding that it was vital to find the right country to mediate such talks.
"Frankly, we do not think that the current American administration is capable of making peace. It doesn't have either the will or the vision and it only has a few months left," he said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told a newspaper his country is unlikely to make... more
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This is a candidate who says he’s going to usher in change; that he is a different kind of politician who has the skills to get things done. He reminds us again and again that he had the foresight to oppose the war in Iraq. And he seems to have a genuine interest in lifting up the poor.
But his record suggests that he is incapable of ushering in any kind of change I’d like to see. It is one of accommodation and concession to the very political powers that we need to rein in and oppose if we are to make truly lasting advances.This is a candidate who says he’s going to usher in change; that he is a different... more
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a great synopsis of whats wrong with america
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listen to this man ...time is running out
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Listen to this man... time is running out...
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http://www.opendebates.org
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