Archived
news and commentary: March 14 - 20, 2005
2005/03/14 - 2005/03/20
2005/03/07 - 2005/03/13
2005/02/28 - 2005/03/06
2005/02/21 - 2005/02/27
2005/02/14 - 2005/02/20
2005/02/07 - 2005/02/13
Sunday,
March 20, 2005
News and
commentary:
"A Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim girl holds the holy Koran..."
(Damir Sagolj, Reuters, 2005/03/20)
"A Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim girl holds the holy Koran at the grave of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut's Martyrs Square March 20, 2005. In a show of unity between the country's Muslim communities, Lebanese Shi'ite Muslims and supporters of Hizbollah visited the grave of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was a Sunni Muslim killed by a bomb on February 14th.""Iraq versus Jordan: MidEast Pains, Coalition Political Gains" (Austin Bay, austinbay.net, 2005/03/20)
"Iraq and Jordan have recalled their ambassadors (Reuters). Iraqi protests at the Jordanian embassy are the immediate reason – but the deep reason is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his Al Qaeda terrorists. Last month a Jordanian terrorist killed himself and 125 Iraqis in the February 28th bloodbath at Hilla. When Jordanians from a the terrorist’s home-town called the killer “a martyr,” Iraqis erupted.
Reuters:Iraqi protesters have burned Jordanian flags and broken into the heavily-guarded embassy at least twice since the suicide bombing in Hilla on Feb. 28. They held banners reading “no to terrorism” and called on Arabs to speak out against praise of suicide bombers.
As the Reuters report notes, both the Jordanian government and the “alledged” terrorist’s family deny the man committed the crime.
However, But, Yet – no one debates Zarqawi’s nationality. Iraqis are sick and tired of Zarqawi’s and Al Qaeda’s murder and destruction and they want other Arab Muslim countries to take strong action. This hatred for Zarqawi isn’t a new phenomenon – I heard similar comments last summer in Baghdad. Now – after the Iraqi elections – the Iraqi people feel confident enough to demonstrate in the streets. That means they attract cameras – even Al Jazeerah’s.
The demonstrations are another huge political defeat for Al Qaeda. The demonstrations make the point that Al Qaeda kills Arabs, Al Qaeda kills Muslims. Washington fretted - and quite correctly – that the coalition was losing the “information war.” Since January 30th, the Iraqis have been winning that war." (See also: "Iraq, Jordan Recall Envoys as Dispute Worsens" (Reuters, 2005/03/20))"Nonstop Turbulence" (Robert D. Kaplan, The Wall Street Journal, 2005/03/20)
"Certainly, democracy has turned out to be a more potent force for change in the region than many analysts -- myself included - had suspected. Whereas students in Lebanon used to interpret freedom in terms of Sunni Arab nationalism, they now do so in terms of the democratic revolution in Ukraine. But the weakening of old dictatorships will bring into question the integrity of some of these states themselves, which have survived without turmoil only through the discipline imposed by internal security services. ...
Democratization means non-stop turbulence. To think Arabs are incapable of democracy is deterministic. But a little bit of determinism in the service of constructive pessimism is indispensable. For example, Central Europe had an easier democratic transition than the Balkans largely because of a Westernized Habsburg and Prussian tradition, associated with a large bourgeoisie, as opposed to the Balkans' more chaotic Ottoman past that featured a large peasantry. Still, compared to the Middle East, even the Balkans represent a wealthier and better governed part of the old Turkish sultanate. Therefore, not to expect trouble across the Middle East -- lots of it -- would be just as foolish as expecting that our military entry into Iraq would be met with flowers, rather than with guns.""My Students, Reveling in the Cedar Revolution" (Frances Z. Brown, The Washington Post, 2005/03/20)
Frances Brown is an American teacher at an international school in Beirut: "At the international school where I now teach, I've come to expect that a mini-rally may erupt at any moment among my sixth-graders, who largely come from wealthy, educated Lebanese families. A usually reticent student bounds into class one day exclaiming, "Miss, I'm proud to be Lebanese!" He summons public speaking skills I'd never seen in him before and begins addressing the class: "Freedom! Sovereignty! Independence!" It's nearly impossible to get this bunch to do anything simultaneously (I should know), yet my student's outburst inspires an impassioned and united response. He takes advantage of the soapbox to intone, "We must disarm Hezbollah, or they will cause another civil war, and we must make peace with Israel." I gasp; the sixth grade applauds in unison. ...
Many of these young protesters are inspired not only by Ukraine's Orange Revolution, on which they have modeled their so-called Cedar Revolution, but by the conviction that George W. Bush's approach to redesigning the Middle East is generally the right one. A 20-year-old man named Awtel reminds me that "Bush is strong against Syria. Besides," he adds, 'he is so clear when he speaks.'""Iran plans secret 'nuclear university' to train scientists" (Con Coughlin, The Sunday Telegraph, 2005/03/20)
"The Iranian government has given approval for the establishment of a secret nuclear research centre to train its scientists in all aspects of atomic technology, The Telegraph can reveal.
Recent reports received by Western intelligence show that Teheran has recently approved the establishment of a faculty of applied nuclear engineering that will be attached to the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI).
The faculty will provide post-graduate courses for Iranian scientists in nuclear engineering and the production of nuclear materials.
Intelligence officials believe that the creation of the facility is yet further evidence that Iran is involved in a clandestine programme to build nuclear weapons.""One dead as blast demolishes Qatar theatre packed with westerners" (Sean Rayment and Peter Zimonjic, The Sunday Telegraph, 2005/03/20)
"A car bomb in Doha, the capital of Qatar, demolished a theatre packed with Westerners and damaged an English speaking school leaving one person dead and up to 50 people injured last night.
Witnesses said the blast, which could be heard across the city, occurred when a car parked outside the theatre exploded.
It demolished part of the Doha Players' theatre, which was packed with up to 150 westerners, many of whom were British expatriates, and was showing an English-speaking version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. ...
Ahmed Goudah, who witnessed the explosion, said: "I saw people lying on the ground. They were mostly foreigners."
The Interior Ministry was quoted as saying the blast was caused by a car bomb."
Saturday,
March 19, 2005
News and
commentary:
"100,000 DEAD"
(Stephen Hird, Reuters, 2005/03/19)
A fake coffin with a blatant lie. As Charles Johnson points out: "That “100,000” number is a blatant, obvious lie started by British medical journal The Lancet, endlessly parroted by the peace creeps because it just feels right to them..." (See also: "100,000 Dead — or 8,000" (Fred Kaplan, Slate, 2004/10/29))
"Conscientious objector and former 1991 Gulf War veteran Ray Hewitt stands next to a mock coffin outside the U.S. Embassy during an anti-war demonstration to mark the second anniversary of the start of war in Iraq, central London, March 19, 2005.""Thousands Protest Iraq War Across Europe" (AP/The New York Times, 2005/03/19)
"LONDON (AP) -- Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters demonstrated across Europe on Saturday to mark the second anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, with 45,000 marching from London's Hyde Park past the American Embassy.
In Istanbul, Turkey, about 15,000 people protested in the Kadikoy neighborhood against the U.S. presence in Iraq. ...
Security was heavy as the demonstrators moved past the U.S. Embassy. Cement barricades and metal fences blocked the building, as they have since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Two former British soldiers placed a cardboard coffin bearing the words "100,000 dead" outside the embassy.
"George Bush, Uncle Sam, Iraq will be your Vietnam," marchers chanted.
At the demonstration in Istanbul, two marchers dressed like U.S. soldiers pretended to rough up another, who was dressed as a detainee with a sack on his head, in a mimed criticism of prisoner abuse cases.
"Murderer Bush, get out," read one sign." (See also: "Anti-War Moonbats on Parade" (Michelle Malkin, The National Ledger, 2005/03/16) and "The London and Paris 'street' is still roiling'" (Amir Taheri, The Jerusalem Post, 2005/03/09))"'Dutch Chemical Ali' on trial for genocide" (Ian Traynor, The Guardian, 2005/03/19)
"The first EU citizen to be accused of involvement in genocide appeared in court yesterday in the Netherlands in a case that is being closely watched by war crimes experts and human rights activists.
Under tight security, Frans van Anraat, 62, a Dutch businessman who is alleged to have helped Saddam Hussein to gas the Kurds of Halabja in 1988, appeared for a pre-trial hearing in Rotterdam, facing charges of complicity in genocide and international war crimes. ...
Fred Teeven, the prosecutor, told the hearing that Mr Van Anraat was fully aware that the chemicals he was supplying were being used for chemical weapons, adducing American, UN and Iraqi information to back up the allegation, as well as correspondence to and from Mr Van Anraat.
"Van Anraat was conscious of ... the fact that his materials were going to be used for poison gas attacks," he said. "The damage and grief caused will not be rapidly, if ever, forgotten. What's more, the dossier contains very strong indications that the suspect calmly continued with the deliveries of ingredients after the gas attack on Halabja on March 16 1988.""Seven Hurt After Beirut Explosion" (AP/Yahoo! News, 2005/03/19)
"BEIRUT, Lebanon - A car bomb rocked a predominantly Christian neighborhood in northern Beirut early Saturday, destroying part of a building and wounding at least seven people, police said.
The explosive left a seven-foot-deep crater in the roadway and shattered windows for several blocks in the New Jdeideh neighborhood.
The target of the attack wasn't immediately clear but it came amid political turmoil in Lebanon in the wake of the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops to east Lebanon and Syria. ...
At least seven people were treated for injuries as ambulances and fire trucks converged on the scene.
Witnesses said the car attempted to stop in front of a bingo hall, but security guards asked its driver to move along. The driver then parked the car a short way down the road. Minutes later it exploded."
Friday,
March 18, 2005
News and
commentary:
"A poster of Syrian President Bashar Assad..."
(Kevin Frayer, AP, 2005/03/17)
"A poster of Syrian President Bashar Assad is seen defaced on a wall in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 17, 2005. Syria's army and intelligence agents on Thursday completed the first phase of their pullback to eastern Lebanon and Syria.""'Mein Kampf' becomes Turkey bestseller, raising the question: Why?" (AP/The Jerusalem Post, 2005/03/18)
"New paperback versions of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" have suddenly become top sellers in Turkey, raising questions about whether the sales reflect growing anti-Semitism and anti-American sentiment in this Muslim country, or if it's just curiosity and a cheap read. ...
Tens of thousands of copies of the book have sold in Turkey in recent months since at least two cheap paperback versions were released. ...
Lina Filiba, executive vice president of Turkey's Jewish Community, called the popularity of Hitler's book "disturbing" but said price and curiosity due to prominent media attention were major factors.
She added the sales were part of a "worrying trend" with anti-Semitic publications - such as the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," a 19th-century anti-Semitic tract - even on sale in bustling department stores.
"I think there's an increase in anti-Semitic, anti-American, and anti-foreigner feeling that have paralleled (the) December 17" decision by the European Union to open membership talks with Turkey, Filiba said.
The country's top seller, "Metal Storm," is a novel about a fictional war between Turkey and the United States. Conspiracy theory books are popular sellers and the press is extremely critical of the United States and Israel." (See also: "The Sick Man of Europe - Again" (Robert L. Pollock, The Wall Street Journal, 2005/02/16))"'Little Eichmanns' and 'Digital Brownshirts': Deconstructing the Hitlerian slur" (Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, 2005/03/18)
"In fact, what do Linda Ronstadt, Harold Pinter, Scott Ritter, Ted Rall, and George Soros all have in common? The same thing that unites Fidel Castro, the European street, the Iranians, and North Koreans: an evocation of some aspects of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany to deprecate President Bush in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...
But something has gone terribly wrong with a mainstream Left that tolerates a climate where the next logical slur easily devolves into Hitlerian invective. The problem is not just the usual excesses of pundits and celebrities (e.g., Jonathan Chait’s embarrassing rant in the New Republic on why “I hate George W. Bush” or Garrison Keillor’s infantile slurs about Bush’s Republicans: “brown shirts in pinstripes”), but also supposedly responsible officials of the opposition such as former Sen. John Glenn, who said of the Bush agenda: “It’s the old Hitler business.” ...
The final irony? The president who is most slandered as Hitler will probably prove to be the most zealous advocate of democratic government abroad, the staunchest friend of beleaguered Israel, and the greatest promoter of global individual freedom in our recent memory. In turn, too many of the Left who used to talk about idealism and morality have so often shown themselves mean-spirited, cynical, and without faith in the spiritual power of democracy.
What an eerie — and depressing — age we live in.""Arrests at Saudi 'gay wedding'" (Brian Whitaker, The Guardian, 2005/03/18)
"The Saudi Arabian security forces have arrested 110 men at a "gay wedding" party in Jeddah, according to a Saudi online newspaper.
Al-Wifaq, which has connections with the interior ministry, said the authorities had raided a wedding hall on Monday night after a tip-off and found the men - all Saudis - dancing and "behaving like women".
Eighty men were later released, but 30 appeared in a Jeddah court on Wednesday to face charges, the paper said.
Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and is punished by flogging, jail or death.
The raid was made a day after two men described as gay lovers were executed at Arar, in the north of the kingdom, for allegedly murdering a Pakistani who had found out about their relationship.""Sharon's terror masters" (Caroline Glick, The Jerusalem Post, 2005/03/18)
"During the course of his negotiations with Damascus-based Palestinian terror masters in Cairo this week, PA chieftain Mahmoud Abbas made two revealing statements. First, on Tuesday, Abbas said that upon receiving security control of Jericho, he would release from custody all of the Palestinian terrorists who have been incarcerated there since May 2002.
Those terrorists, who were transferred to Jericho from Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters as part of a British and US deal with Israel, include the assassins of tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi in October 2001 and Fuad Shubaki, the PA's chief arms purchaser who oversaw the Karine A terror weapons ship purchase from Iran that was intercepted by Israeli commandos on the Red Sea in January 2002.
On Wednesday, Abbas went a step further. He told the terror masters who are now based in Damascus that after the exit of Israeli forces and civilians from Gaza and the transfer of control over the international border with Egypt to the PLO, they would all be invited to move their headquarters to the Gaza Strip.
That is, Abbas said that in the aftermath of the implementation of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to forcibly expel 8,000 Jews from their homes and end all IDF counterterror operations inside Gaza, Abbas will respond by transforming it into a base for global terrorism.""What's Left? Shame." (Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, 2005/03/18)
"When a Le Monde editorial titled "Arab Spring" acknowledges "the merit of George W. Bush," when the cover headline of London's The Independent is "Was Bush Right After All?" and when a column in Der Spiegel asks "Could George W. Bush Be Right?" you know that something radical has happened.
It is not just that the ramparts of Euro-snobbery have been breached. Iraq and, more broadly, the Bush doctrine were always more than a purely intellectual matter. The left's patronizing, quasi-colonialist view of the benighted Arabs was not just analytically incorrect. It was morally bankrupt, too.
After all, going back at least to the Spanish Civil War, the left has always prided itself on being the great international champion of freedom and human rights. And yet, when America proposed to remove the man responsible for torturing, gassing and killing tens of thousands of Iraqis, the left suddenly turned into a champion of Westphalian sovereign inviolability. ...
The international left's concern for human rights turns out to be nothing more than a useful weapon for its anti-Americanism. ... Now that the real Arab street has risen to claim rights that the West takes for granted, the left takes note. It is forced to acknowledge that those brutish Americans led by their simpleton cowboy might have been right. It has no choice. It is shamed. A Lebanese, amid a sea of a million other Lebanese, raises a placard reading "Thank you, George W. Bush," and all that Euro-pretense, moral and intellectual, collapses.""A Haircut in Iraq Can Be the Death of the Barber" (Robert F. Worth, The New York Times, 2005/03/18)
"BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 17 - It was almost closing time in Sadiq Abdul Hussein's barbershop when a man in a black mask walked in, pulled out a pistol, and began spinning it on his finger, cowboy style.
The gunman was not after government officials or American collaborators. He had come because of the way Mr. Hussein cut hair.
Within seconds, the masked man opened fire, fatally wounding Mr. Hussein, 23, who lived long enough to describe the attack. The gunman also killed his partner and a customer.
In southern Baghdad, the hazards of life have come to this: gangs of militant Islamists are warning barbers that it is haram - forbidden - to shave men's beards or do Western-style haircuts. As many as 12 barbers have been killed, Iraqi officials say, including five in one day in late January. With little hope of police protection, most now refuse to offer the offending cuts, and have placed prominent signs in their front windows saying so.""Italian troops to stay, after all" (Richard Owen, The Times, 2005/03/18)
"TO BITING criticism from the Italian Opposition and the press, Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, backtracked yesterday over his announcement that Italian troops would start withdrawing from Iraq in September, claiming that this had only ever been a “hope” rather than a commitment. ...
Yesterday, however, Italian newspapers carried a “clarification” from Signor Berlusconi’s office stating that after a “long and cordial” conversation with President Bush the Italian leader wished to make it clear that there was “no fixed date” for withdrawal, which could only take place “in consultation with our allies”.
Signor Berlusconi said that the media had misinterpreted his words and built “castles in the air”.
La Repubblica retaliated with a front-page cartoon showing the Prime Minister declaring: “I never said what I said, and if I did say it, I misrepresented myself.”
The cartoon in Corriere della Sera had Signor Berlusconi dictating a statement reading: 'I have agreed with Bush on an immediate withdrawal — that is, the immediate withdrawal of what I said on television.'" (See also: "Italy Says Will Start Withdrawing Troops from Iraq" (Francesca Piscioneri, Reuters, 2005/03/16))"Janjaweed onslaught forces UN to quit Darfur" (David Blair, The Daily Telegraph, 2005/03/18)
"Threats of violence forced the United Nations to evacuate large areas of war-torn Darfur yesterday, underlining Sudan's failure to curb the notorious janjaweed militia.
UN aid workers helping desperate refugees were withdrawn from outlying areas of Western Darfur province and brought to the safety of the local capital, El Geneina. ...
"The janjaweed militia have said that they will now target all foreigners and all UN humanitarian convoys, so we have withdrawn all people to El Geneina," said Jan Pronk, the UN's envoy in Sudan.
Some 44 staff have been moved so far and will now stay in El Geneina, the only area of Western Darfur considered safe, until further notice.""Palestinians and Israelis take new step on peace path" (Inigo Gilmore, The Daily Telegraph, 2005/03/18)
"The fledgling administration of the new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas passed a crucial test yesterday when it secured a pledge by militant groups to extend their unofficial ceasefire until the end of the year.
After three days of talks in Cairo, leading Palestinian factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad agreed to an informal truce under which they will rein in their gunmen in return for the further release of prisoners from Israeli jails and a commitment that Israeli forces will not target their members.
While the agreement is far from a formal ceasefire, it was granted a cautious welcome by the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon.""'Something was going to happen – it was going to be me or him'" (Nicholas Blanford et al., The Times, 2005/03/18)
"An investigation by The Times finds clear evidence that Syria assassinated Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese politician":
Syria has repeatedly protested its innocence and no irrefutable evidence of its involvement has yet emerged. But a reconstruction of events leading to Mr Hariri’s murder, and interviews with at least a dozen Western, Lebanese and even Syrian officials, leave not the slightest doubt that the plot was hatched in Damascus.
The Times has learnt that Mr Hariri had enraged the Syrians by inspiring a UN resolution demanding that Syria stop interfering in Lebanon. US and UN officials repeatedly warned Syria not to harm Mr Hariri in the months before his death.
In mid-January, under pressure from Damascus, the Lebanese Government withdrew his 70-strong security detail, and immediately after his death the scene of the bombing was swept to remove any evidence of Syrian complicity.
“There does seem to be no other scenario,” a senior Western diplomat said."
Thursday,
March 17, 2005
News and
commentary:
"Destroyed statue of Assad in Lebanon"
(AFP/YnetNews, 2005/03/17)"'Syria will not relinquish Lebanon'" (Yitzhak Benhorin, YnetNews, 2005/03/17)
"Syria would not relinquish its control over Lebanon, Farid N. Ghadry, the president of the Reform Party of Syria, said in an exclusive interview with Ynet’s Yitzhak Benhorin in Washington this week.":
"The Reform Party of Syria is a U.S. based opposition party of pro-democracy Syrians.
When asked whether the Syrians are serious about leaving Lebanon , Ghadry said they would not give up control of their neighboring country.
“It’s their last wall of defense, they are planning to create chaos and civil war,” he said. ...
Ghadry told Ynet’s correspondent that Damascus has been secretly dispatching dozens of Palestinian youths to Lebanon during the past two weeks, alongside the apparent withdrawal of Syrian forces from the country.
“The youths underwent training by Syrian security services, designed to incite and disrupt Lebanese opposition,” he said.
“Our sources in Syria revealed that two weeks ago some 70-80 Palestinian youngsters aged 18-20 left the Neirab refugee camp, the largest refugee camp in Syria, on their way to Lebanon. “
Ghadry said the youngsters were taken to a training camp and told their Palestinian brothers in Lebanon were about to be massacred and needed their help. He added he expects hundreds of additional Palestinians to be dispatched to Lebanon after undergoing Syrian training." (Hat tip: Rochi Ebner.)"Where's the outrage on torture?" (Jeff Jacoby, The Boston Globe, 2005/03/17)
"Of course the United States must hunt down terrorists and find out what they know. Better intelligence means more lives saved, more atrocities prevented, and a more likely victory in the war against radical Islamist fascism. Those are crucial ends, and they justify tough means. But they don't justify means that betray core American values. Interrogation techniques that flirt with torture -- to say nothing of those that end in death -- cross the moral line that separates us from the enemy we are trying to defeat.
The Bush administration and the military insist that any abuse of detainees is a violation of policy and that abusers are being punished. If so, why does it refuse to allow a genuinely independent commission to investigate without fear or favor? Why do Republican leaders on Capitol Hill refuse to launch a proper congressional investigation? And why do my fellow conservatives -- those who support the war for all the right reasons -- continue to keep silent about a scandal that should have them up in arms?" (See also: "U.S. Military Says 26 Inmate Deaths May Be Homicide" (Douglas Jehl and Eric Schmitt, The New York Times, 2005/03/16))"Even the bombs couldn't spoil this day" (Boris Johnson, The Daily Telegraph, 2005/03/17)
"Something very remarkable is happening in Baghdad, and whatever the rights and wrongs of the war, those of us who were involved in it should stay until this nascent democracy is safe.
As I poked through one of Saddam's bunkers yesterday morning, I came across a reminder of how much has been achieved, and why it was right to do it. It was a fantastic bunker, built by the Germans, with three-ton steel doors supplied by the Swiss. There were map rooms and war rooms and huge untouched generators, machines built by Siemens of Germany and Bobinindus of Belgium, so colossal that they had defeated even the looters. There were emergency operating rooms, and places where corpses were allegedly stored.
But as we poked around with our torches, the spookiest detail we discovered concerned the security system. Saddam cared so much about his bunker, and so little about the loss of human life, that he had installed a system to combat fire. As soon as there was the risk of losing the premises, they were automatically programmed to fill with halon gas, suppressing oxygen - and killing any human being left in his creepy passages. That is the kind of man he was, and the kind of regime he ran: where people could not only be tortured and killed, but where the safety of his employees counted for nothing.
And why did they count for nothing? Because they could not vote to punish him for his madness."
Wednesday,
March 16, 2005
News and
commentary:
"A Lebanese opposition supporter flashes the v-sign..."
(Kevin Frayer, AP, 2005/03/16)
"A Lebanese opposition supporter flashes the v-sign as he stands in an guard post outside the building used as the headquarters of the Syrian military intelligence shortly after its evacuation in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 16, 2005. Syrian militaryintelligence agents abandoned their head office in Beirut Wednesday, boarding buses and driving out of the Lebanese capital in line with demands by the United States and the Lebanese opposition.""87 Percent Saudis Back Women’s Participation in Elections" (P.K. Abdul Ghafour & Abeer Mishkhas, Arab News, 2005/03/16)
JEDDAH, 16 March 2005 — A survey conducted by an independent agency in Jeddah showed 87 percent Saudis backing women’s participation in elections. It also reflected the greater role of media in educating the public on the polls.
“Eighty-seven percent of 240 Saudis who took part in the survey called for women’s participation in the next round of elections,” said Dr. Muhammad Fashetan, chairman of the SAS Center for Opinion Survey and Consultancy in Jeddah.
He said the survey’s participants included 50 teachers, 20 businessmen, six university students, 40 government employees, 20 retired military officers, 20 media persons and 30 retired civilian officials. ...
Nawal Hamed, a physician, said that the number mentioned in the survey, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, is not representative of the Saudi population. 'I have my doubts on the significance of this number and I think the people polled belong to a certain educated class, that is why they seem supportive of women voting.'""Blasts Mar First Iraq Assembly Meeting" (Rawya Rageh, AP/Yahoo! News, 2005/03/16)
"BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's first freely elected parliament in half a century began its opening session Wednesday after a series of explosions targeted the gathering. The opening marked a major milestone on the road to forming a new government in a country still beset by violence.
The parliament's 275 members, elected during Jan. 30 elections, convened in an auditorium amid tight security in the heavily guarded Green Zone with U.S. helicopter gunships hovering overhead.
Minutes before convening, at least a half dozen explosions detonated a few hundred yards away. The U.S. military said two mortar rounds landed inside the zone but caused no injuries.
The lawmakers opened with a reading of verses from the Quran. Iraqi Chief Justice Medhat al Mahmoud then administered the oath to the assembled deputies.
"It is a great day in Iraqi history that its elected representatives meet," said Fuad Masoum, a Kurdish delegate. "This day coincides with a painful memory that has many meanings. ... Today, on this occasion, we celebrate the inauguration of parliament after the fall of this regime."
Wednesday marked the anniversary of the Saddam Hussein-ordered chemical attack in 1988 on the northern Kurdish town of Halabja, an attack that killed 5,000 people.""Anti-War Moonbats on Parade" (Michelle Malkin, The National Ledger, 2005/03/16)
"With freedom on the move across the Middle East and beyond, aggrieved anti-war protesters here in the United States have nothing better to do this weekend than what they have always done: stand in the way.
The most unhinged of left-wing activists, from breast-exposing pacifists to the conspiracy-mongers of MoveOn.org, will descend on New York, Washington and other major media markets to "mark the two-year anniversary of the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq. ...
In New York, the "Troops Out Now Coalition" plans to march on Saturday from Harlem to Central Park to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's home to demonstrate against the "occupation." Their solution for helping the Iraqi people and demonstrating American leadership: Cut and run. Now! ...
By lunchtime, the protest mob will convene at Central Park to take in stirring sermons from New York City councilman Charles ("You know, some days I get so frustrated I just want to go up to the closest white person and say, 'You can't understand this, it's a black thing,' and then slap him, just for my mental health.") Barron; convicted terrorist conspirator Lynne Stewart; and Saddam Hussein sympathizer and pro bono legal counsel to thugs worldwide, Ramsey Clark.
Organizers will also broadcast a taped message from convicted cop-killer and America-basher, Mumia Abu-Jamal. Death row diatribes are de rigueur." (See also: "The London and Paris 'street' is still roiling'" (Amir Taheri, The Jerusalem Post, 2005/03/09))"Most Iraqis say future looks brighter" (Barbara Slavin, USA Today, 2005/03/16)
"WASHINGTON — More Iraqis believe their country is headed in the right direction and fewer think it's going wrong than at any time since the U.S. invasion two years ago, according to a new poll.
The poll, by the International Republican Institute (IRI), due to be made public Wednesday, also found that nearly half of Iraqis believe that religion has a special role to play in government.
The survey of 1,967 Iraqis was conducted Feb. 27-March 5, after Iraq held its first free elections in half a century in January. According to the poll, 62% say the country is headed in the right direction and 23% say it is headed in the wrong direction. ...
The poll showed that Iraqis are almost evenly split over the role of religion in government, with 48% favoring a "special role" for religion, but 44% saying religion and government should remain separate. A plurality of 47% say religious leaders should have the greatest input in writing the constitution.
Krusell said that is not surprising since Iraq is predominantly Muslim but that "it doesn't translate into support for Sharia," or strict Islamic law. Of those polled, 22% say the constitution should ensure "the Muslim identity of Iraq" but only 4% say Sharia should be the most important element." (See also the poll [PowerPoint]: "Survey of Iraqi Public Opinion, February 25 – March 7, 2005" (IRI, 2005/03/16))"180,000 die from hunger in Darfur" (Jeevan Vasagar and Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, 2005/03/16)
"More than 180,000 people have died from hunger and disease during the last 18 months of the Darfur conflict, the United Nations said yesterday, as negotiations continued at its New York headquarters to break the deadlock on a new security council resolution to impose sanctions on the Sudanese government.
Brian Grogan, a spokesman for Jan Egeland, the UN emergency relief coordinator, said an average 10,000 Sudanese civilians were dying a month, much higher than earlier estimates. They were victims mainly of starvation or of disease in refugee camps after being driven from their villages by Sudanese soldiers and government-backed Janjaweed militiamen. The estimates exclude those killed in the fighting. ...
Nearly 2 million black Africans have been driven from their homes in Darfur since the war began, and a further 200,000 have crossed into Chad.
Two years of war have transformed Darfur into a landscape of refugee camps, swaths of ghostly, deserted villages and roving armed bands.""U.S. Military Says 26 Inmate Deaths May Be Homicide" (Douglas Jehl and Eric Schmitt, The New York Times, 2005/03/16)
"At least 26 prisoners have died in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 in what Army and Navy investigators have concluded or suspect were acts of criminal homicide, according to military officials.
The number of confirmed or suspected cases is much higher than any accounting the military has previously reported. A Pentagon report sent to Congress last week cited only six prisoner deaths caused by abuse, but that partial tally was limited to what the author, Vice Adm. Albert T. Church III of the Navy, called "closed, substantiated abuse cases" as of last September. ...
Army officials said the killings took place both inside and outside detention areas, including at the point of capture in often violent battlefield conditions. ...
In his report last week, Admiral Church concluded that the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan had been the result primarily of a breakdown of discipline, not flawed policies or misguided direction from commanders or Pentagon officials.""Italy Says Will Start Withdrawing Troops from Iraq" (Francesca Piscioneri, Reuters, 2005/03/16)
"ROME (Reuters) - Leading U.S. ally Italy said on Tuesday it would start withdrawing its soldiers from Iraq in September, in a fresh blow to President Bush's shrinking coalition.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of Bush's most vocal supporters, said he was in talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair about a total exit strategy from Iraq, adding people in both countries wanted their troops to return home.
"We will begin to reduce our contingent even before the end of the year, starting in September, in agreement with our allies," said Berlusconi, who faces an election next year and went against public opinion to deploy troops in Iraq.
Asked on RAI state television when a total withdrawal would take place, Berlusconi said: 'It will depend on the capacity of the Iraqi government to provide adequate security.'"
Tuesday,
March 15, 2005
News and
commentary:
"In the Middle East, a New World" (Karl Zinsmeister, The American Enterprise, from the April/May 2005 issue)
"In general, however, the U.S. can be very proud of the "cultural imperialism" it has practiced in the Middle East over the last three years. We have brought political freedom to places that had never tasted such in 10,000 years of local history. "It is outrageous and amazing that the first free and general elections in the history of the Arab nation are to take place in Iraq, under the auspices of the American occupation, and in Palestine, under the auspices of the Israeli occupation," commented Salameh Nematt in the Arabic daily Dar Al-Hayat.
Of course the elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, and all that has followed in Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere, didn't just happen. They required enormous acts of American will. Anyone who thinks these breakthroughs would have occurred under a Commander in Chief less bold and stubborn than George W. Bush is mad.
The fresh hope now pulsing through the Middle East is not the result of diplomacy, or U.N. programs, or foreign aid, or expanded trade, or carrots offered by Europeans, or multilateral negotiations, or visits from Sean Penn. It is the fruit of fierce U.S. military strength, real toughness on the part of the middle American public, and a tremendous hardness in the person of our President and his staff.
As I write this, amidst a beautiful March blizzard, I am gulping tea from a mug emblazoned with the shield of one of the U.S. military units I spent time with in Iraq, the 1st Battalion of the 5th Marines. Their motto reads: "MAKE PEACE, OR DIE." Since 9/11, that is exactly the offer we've extended to thousands of terrorists and a handful of governments. And it has worked. Sometimes America's message needs to be just that simple.""Union escort for protesting Paris students" (Expatica, 2005/03/15)
"PARIS, March 15 (AFP) - Thousands of French high-school students who demonstrated against the government in central Paris Tuesday were protected by an extensive security detail after violence and muggings that marred a similar march a week ago.":
"Hundreds of young rioters from poor Paris suburbs disrupted the demonstration on March 8, beating teenagers to the ground and stealing mobile telephones and cameras. ...
Le Monde newspaper carried disturbing interviews with attackers and victims in last week's trouble - both sides agreeing that the violence was exclusively carried out on white boys and girls by black and Arab teenagers.
"If I went, it was not to demonstrate but to take telephones and beat people up. There were groups of people running about stirring things up, and in the middle these idiots - these little French people just asking for it," an 18-year-old of Tunisian origin called Heikel said.
"We came to demonstrate against inequalities and we got beaten up. It's as if they thought that we - the "white Parisians " - had plenty of money, that we could buy a new mobile phone tomorrow," said Tristan Goldbronn, 16, who was badly hurt.
Police estimated that between 700 and 1,000 youngsters came into the city centre to spoil the March 8 demonstration, most of them from the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the northern suburbs.
Heikel, who attends a secondary school in the area, told Le Monde that the mainly white Parisian students who took part in the march - known in street parlance as "bolos" - were seen as spoilt and privileged, and therefore fair game.
"A bolo - he's a sitting duck, a victim," he said." (Hat tip: Tim Blair.)"Belgium Breeding Ground for Terrorists" (Het Volk/Free Republic, 2005/03/15)
"The municipality of Brussels Sint-Jans-Molenbeek is a breeding-ground for a complete generation of Muslim extremists. Some of the Brussel’s Imams also recruit active jihad fighters who are prepared to give their life for the holy war. Attacks in Belgium have not been planned sofar because Belgium is considered an ideal operating base.
Investigation journalist Hind Fraihi, a faithful Moslem woman, lived two months disguised as a sociology student in the heart of Molenbeek.
“I am astonished about what I discovered. I wrongly thought that many rumours about extreme Moslems were based on tall stories. Yet I found that many Brussels Moslems do not show the slightest intention to integrate. They look upon the Belgians as infidels and do not have any affection with our country. They consider Molenbeek not as a part of Belgium anymore but as an Islamic enclave where they make the rules as in an Islamic state and where Belgians are not welcome. Instead of integration there is an ongoing radicalisation.”
Hundreds of young adults study for years the “pure” Koran. They form a breeding-ground for hundreds of jihad fighters who are prepared to carry out attacks and to fight the holy ware against the infidels.""This Was Not Looting" (Christopher Hitchens, Slate, 2005/03/15)
Missing WMD II: "My first question is this: How can it be that, on every page of every other edition for months now, the New York Times has been stating categorically that Iraq harbored no weapons of mass destruction? And there can hardly be a comedy-club third-rater or MoveOn.org activist in the entire country who hasn't stated with sarcastic certainty that the whole WMD fuss was a way of lying the American people into war. So now what? Maybe we should have taken Saddam's propaganda seriously, when his newspaper proudly described Iraq's physicists as "our nuclear mujahideen."
My second question is: What's all this about "looting"? The word is used throughout the long report, but here's what it's used to describe. "In four weeks from mid-April to mid-May of 2003 … teams with flatbed trucks and other heavy equipment moved systematically from site to site. … 'The first wave came for the machines,' Dr Araji said. 'The second wave, cables and cranes.' " Perhaps hedging the bet, the Times authors at this point refer to "organized looting."
But obviously, what we are reading about is a carefully planned military operation. The participants were not panicked or greedy civilians helping themselves — which is the customary definition of a "looter," especially in wartime. They were mechanized and mobile and under orders, and acting in a concerted fashion. Thus, if the story is factually correct — which we have no reason at all to doubt — then Saddam's Iraq was a fairly highly-evolved WMD state, with a contingency plan for further concealment and distribution of the weaponry in case of attack or discovery.""Those missing WMD, again" (Melanie Phillips, melaniephillips.com, 2005/03/15)
Missing WMD I: "A significant article in the New York Times yesterday acknowledges a fact that goes some way towards explaining the non-discovery of Saddam's WMD programme -- that the evidence for it was systematically looted after the fall of Baghdad. The claim has been made by Sami al-Araji, the Iraqi deputy minister of industry:'Dr. Araji said equipment capable of making parts for missiles as well as chemical, biological and nuclear arms was missing from 8 or 10 sites that were the heart of Iraq's dormant program on unconventional weapons. After the invasion, occupation forces found no unconventional arms, and C.I.A. inspectors concluded that the effort had been largely abandoned after the Persian Gulf war in 1991. Dr. Araji said he had no evidence regarding where the equipment had gone. But his account raises the possibility that the specialized machinery from the arms establishment that the war was aimed at neutralizing had made its way to the black market or was in the hands of foreign governments...The United Nations, worried that the material could be used in clandestine bomb production, has been hunting for it, largely unsuccessfully, across the Middle East. In one case, investigators searching through scrap yards in Jordan last June found specialized vats for highly corrosive chemicals that had been tagged and monitored as part of the international effort to keep watch on the Iraqi arms program. The vessels could be used for harmless industrial processes or for making chemical weapons.'
The Americans have come up with some lame excuse about not having had enough troops to guard these sites. The fact is, however, that the looting of this material was one of the gravest and most disastrous errors made by the US throughout the whole Iraq episode." (See also: "Looting at Iraqi Weapons Plants Was Systematic, Official Says" (James Glanz and William J. Broad, The New York Times, 2005/03/13))
"Another kind of Islam" (Barry Rubin, The Jerusalem Post, 2005/03/15)
"A Saudi mother, a college professor, recently wrote about a remarkable experience. Shortly after September 11, 2001, her son came home from fifth grade and sang the praises of Osama bin Laden, repeating what his teacher had told the class. Three years later, that same teacher was one of the Islamist terrorists who attacked the Saudi Interior Ministry.
It is quite clear that terrorists in the Arab world are often the direct product of what they were taught in school about Islam. And even if the graduates make good, pro-regime citizens they are also inoculated against supporting political reform, democracy or moderate Islam.
That is why a recent article by Latif Lakhdar in the March issue of MERIA Journal – and in an earlier Arabic version published in Middle East Transparent Web site – is so important. For Lakhdar shows how this vicious circle can be broken, and is in fact already being broken in one Arab country.
Lakhdar, a Tunisian liberal who lives in Paris, contrasts how Islam is taught in his native country with what is done in places like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In those places, he explains, Islamic education "instills in the younger generation a religious fanaticism which entails a phobia toward dissimilarity and a rejection of the other, even to the extent of killing." Any debate about religious precepts is an unacceptable deviation that must be punished." (See also: "Moving From Salafi to Rationalist Education" (Lafif Lakhdar, MERIA, from the March 2005 issue). Also: "Saudi University Lecturer: My Son's Teacher Was a Terrorist" (MEMRI, Special Dispatch Series - No. 877, 2005/03/11))"Hezbollah's deadly record" (Joel Himelfarb, The Washington Times, 2005/03/15)
"Hezbollah's connections with al Qaeda and Iraqi jihadist Abu Musab Zarqawi also bear watching. In September 2003, the Treasury Department listed Zarqawi and several of his associates as Specially Designated Global Terrorist entities. At the time, Treasury mentioned that plans were in place for meetings between Zarqawi and Hezbollah. Although the September 11 commission found no evidence that Hezbollah had advance knowledge of the attacks on America, it also noted the longstanding contacts between Hezbollah and Iranian security officials and al Qaeda agents, and the ease with which at least eight of the hijackers were able to travel through Iran prior to September 11.
It is of course possible that with the right combination of political and financial inducements, Hezbollah could at some point jettison terrorism and evolve into a purely Lebanese political entity. But it would be dangerous for Western policy-makers to ignore the reality that Hezbollah has been consistent in its hostility toward Western democracies and its support of terrorism and violence to achieve its goals.""Million Lebanese Stage Massive Retort to Terrorists" (Claudia Rosett, New York Sun, 2005/03/15)
Beirut III: "Flags fluttering, horns honking, and fingers flashing V for victory, Lebanon's opposition converged on downtown Beirut yesterday in the biggest democratic protest in the history of the modern Middle East.
Their numbers - about a million strong - were a retort to the rival protests staged last week by the terrorist group Hezbollah, and a message to each other and the world that the Lebanese people are serious in their demands for - as the crowd chanted over and over - "Freedom, Sovereignty, Independence." ...
Unlike the Hezbollah demonstrators with their chants of "Death to America," many in the crowd were friendly to Americans. "Thank's Free World," (sic) said one poster, held high by a woman in a bright red jacket, Rawya Okal, who told me: "We thank Mr. Bush for his position." Overhearing this in the throng, a middle-aged man in a green baseball cap, Louis Nahanna, leaned over to say, "We love the American people" - adding, "Please don't let Bush forget us. Your support is very important."
Asking more people what they thought of Americans turned up the same refrain. From a young driver, Fadi Mrad, came the message: "We want to change. We need freedom. Please don't let Bush forget us." From a group of young men came not only the message "Our hope is America," and "We believe in democracy in the Middle East," but also praise for Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. There was also an invitation from one of them, young Edgard Baradhy, for his heroine, Ms. Rice, to come to Beirut 'and I am ready to take her for coffee.'""Rallies Highlight Rifts in Lebanon" (Scott Wilson, The Washington Post, 2005/03/15)
Beirut II: "Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese rallied at the grave of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri on Monday to mark the one-month anniversary of his assassination and to intensify pressure on Syria to immediately withdraw its troops from a country that appears split into two rival political camps. ...
Women with Louis Vuitton backpacks chanted anti-Syrian slogans next to college students in Che Guevara T-shirts, and men in pinstriped suits draped themselves with lengths of red-and-white cloth, the colors of the Lebanese flag. Some demonstrators carried signs that read "Thank You, George W. Bush," referring to calls by the United States for Syria to pull out and Hezbollah to withdraw.""Huge Demonstration in Lebanon Demands End to Syrian Control" (Neil MacFarquhar, The New York Times, 2005/03/15)
Beirut I: "Lebanon's anti-Syria opposition regained the momentum on Monday as hundreds of thousands of Lebanese jammed Beirut's central square to demand the end to Syrian control of their country.
Seemingly every available space in the heart of the city overflowed with people waving the red-and-white Lebanese flag, in a showing that easily rivaled a pro-Syria rally last Tuesday organized by the radical Shiite party Hezbollah.
"We don't want Syrian spies and secret police; we don't want any foreign intervention," said Noha Dahir, a veiled 18-year-old Sunni Muslim student who came by bus from the northern city of Tripoli. "Those Lebanese who want the Syrians to stay can go live in Syria. There are plenty of Lebanese here to fill the country."
The most notable element in the demonstration in Martyrs' Square was that it represented an exceedingly rare moment in which a broad cross section of Lebanese from every main sect - Christian, Druse, Shiite and Sunni Muslims - were all rubbing shoulders in the same space."
Monday,
March 14, 2005
News and
commentary:
"Lebanese soldier looks through his binocular..."
(Hussein Malla, AP, 2005/03/14)
"Lebanese soldier looks through his binocular viewing Lebanese opposition protestors who gather during a demonstration in Beirut Martyrs square, Lebanon, Monday March 14, 2005.""Thousands March Against Syria in Beirut" (Sam F. Ghattas, AP/Yahoo! News, 2005/03/14)
Beirut II: "Monday's protest easily surpassed a pro-government rally of hundreds of thousands of people last week by the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah. That show of strength forced the opposition to try to regain its momentum.
While there were no official estimates of the size of the crowd, police officers privately estimated it at about 1 million people. The officers refused to speak publicly because it was an opposition rally. An Associated Press estimate by reporters on the scene put the number at much higher than the approximately 500,000 who attended the March 8 pro-Syrian rally. ...
"Syria out, no half measures," read a banner, borrowing from President Bush's description of Damascus' gradual withdrawal from this country of 3.5 million.
In addition to packing Martyrs' Square, thousands of other protesters spilled into the nearby Riad Solh Square and outlying streets.""Hundreds of Thousands in Lebanon Protest Syria" (Nadim Ladki, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2005/03/14)
Beirut I: "Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in central Beirut on Monday in the largest anti-Syrian protest in Lebanon since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri exactly a month ago.
Flag-waving crowds from across Lebanon gathered in Martyrs' Square in central Beirut, just meters away from Hariri's grave, to demand an international inquiry into his killing, the sacking of Syrian-backed security chiefs and a total Syrian pullout.
Unlike previous anti-Syrian opposition protests since a bomb blast killed Hariri on Feb. 14, many Sunni Muslims joined Druze and Christians in taking to the streets. Hariri was a Sunni. ...
It could be the last of a series of demonstrations used by each side of Lebanon's political divide to show their strength.
Political sources said fears were growing that protests and rallies, though peaceful so far, could spill into violence amid deep political divisions over Syria's role since Hariri's death.
They said the authorities were pondering a ban on future demonstrations to be enforced by the Lebanese army.""The Muslim Brotherhood's Conquest of Europe" (Lorenzo Vidino, The Middle East Quarterly, from the Winter 2005 issue)
"Europe has become an incubator for Islamist thought and political development. Since the early 1960s, Muslim Brotherhood members and sympathizers have moved to Europe and slowly but steadily established a wide and well-organized network of mosques, charities, and Islamic organizations. Unlike the larger Islamic community, the Muslim Brotherhood's ultimate goal may not be simply "to help Muslims be the best citizens they can be," but rather to extend Islamic law throughout Europe and the United States. ...
These organizations represent themselves as mainstream, even as they continue to embrace the Brotherhood's radical views and maintain links to terrorists. With moderate rhetoric and well-spoken German, Dutch, and French, they have gained acceptance among European governments and media alike. Politicians across the political spectrum rush to engage them whenever an issue involving Muslims arises or, more parochially, when they seek the vote of the burgeoning Muslim community.
But, speaking Arabic or Turkish before their fellows Muslims, they drop their facade and embrace radicalism. While their representatives speak about interfaith dialogue and integration on television, their mosques preach hate and warn worshippers about the evils of Western society. While they publicly condemn the murder of commuters in Madrid and school children in Russia, they continue to raise money for Hamas and other terrorist organizations. Europeans, eager to create a dialogue with their increasingly disaffected Muslim minority, overlook this duplicity.""Syria must get its act together before it is too late" (Anton La Guardia, The Daily Telegraph, 2005/03/14)
"The murder of Lebanon's prime minister, Rafik al-Hariri, has precipitated a crisis that has been building for more than two years, in which Syria has earned America's wrath for sponsoring Iraqi insurgents, Palestinian suicide bombers and Lebanon's Hizbollah movement. Unless he changes course, Assad faces diplomatic opprobrium, sanctions and military reprisals by America or Israel.
Assad has belatedly realised his predicament and, telling an American interviewer that "I am not Saddam Hussein, I want to co-operate", he has begun to do the unthinkable: for the past week, Syrian forces have been rumbling back across the Syrian border and Western diplomats have started to believe it is not just a show.
The withdrawal is a huge concession from a regime that has long considered Lebanon to be an integral part of Syria. Yet Assad has acted so late that his actions earn him little credit, and merely set up the next set of demands: hand over Iraqi insurgent leaders sheltering in Syria, expel Palestinian militant leaders, stop supporting Hizbollah. "Our cards are being taken away. It is like having our fingernails pulled out," said one Syrian academic.""'It's not just a woman who has been raped, but a nation'" (Declan Walsh, The Guardian, 2005/03/14)
"Three years ago, a young Pakistani woman was gang-raped on the orders of her village elders. But her nightmare is far from over. Declan Walsh talks to Mukhtaran Bibi":
"On March 3, the tables dramatically turned again. A bench of appeal-court judges overturned the original verdict, citing contradictory witness statements and flawed evidence in the original prosecution. Five of the six men were set free; a sixth had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
Two days later, Mukhtaran still feels crushed. "Why are they changing their minds now?" she says. "The whole world knows that I told the truth. But the court seems to think differently." Her outrage is widely shared. The decision was a "national tragedy", wrote the Daily Times newspaper in a front-page editorial: "This is not a case in which a woman has been raped. This is a case in which a nation has been raped." ...
It will take much more than one woman to turn back the tide of sexual violence in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) recently reported 670 rapes for the first 10 months of 2004. This represents a fraction of the total - an estimated 80% of Pakistani women suffer some form of violence, according to the HRCP.'" (See also: "Pakistani Court Acquits Five Gang-Rape Convicts" (Reuters/Yahoo! News, 2005/03/03))Added in archive:
"The vanishing Jews of the Arab world: Baghdad native tells the story of being a Middle East refugee" (Semha Alwaya, San Fransisco Chronicle, 2005/03/06)
See the archive for earlier news and commentary.
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