Only in US media: THIS IS AN ACTUAL NEWS HEADLINE: UN nuclear watchdog agency chief hears Israel's concerns about Iran.

Iraq: A Mercenary's Paradise

So much for the official American theory of foreign fighters in Iraq: Only 90 of the more than 5,700 people in custody in Iraq as security risks are foreign fighters

This is US "liberation": Fifteen members of one Iraqi family died when US forces dropped two tons of bombs on what they claimed was a militant safehouse in Fallujah.

Pentagon Deputy's Probes in Iraq Weren't Authorized, Officials Say

U.N.: 5 Million Infected With HIV in 2003

Saddam Allawi (Iraqi prime minister/car bomber) will gain broad powers to impose martial law using Saddam's old powers. But Iraq has been liberated by Bush, lest you are confused.

THIS IS ZIONISM: Israelis kill professor and son, 16, in Nablus battle

News from "liberated" Iraq: I read this headline on p. 2 of the Iraqi newspaper Az-Zaman: "There Were No Sounds of Explosions in Mosul Today."

Not an advertisement for Middle East Airlines. Lebanese Airlines are still called Middle East Airlines, and that is false advertisement. The name comes from a time when Lebanese Airlines was truly a Middle East Airlines, but not anymore. Gulf region airlines are now among the best in the world. Emirates airlines (Amer tells me) is now the best rated worldwide. Qatar airways is pretty good too. Middle East Airlines is by far the worst airlines that you can ever take. They are also obnoxious. They insist on delivering every message to the passengers in Arabic, English, and French. So that triples the annoyance. And their very instructions in Arabic are grammatically incorrect. But if you like to be surrounded by vomiting kids, this airline is certainly for you. Also, if you really appreciate filthy bathrooms, then by all means make your reservations now. Once in the late 1980s, I was traveling to Beirut, and there was heavy fighting. We were not allowed to land as the airport was being shelled. So we were circling the skies hoping for the shelling to stop. Do you know what the highly trained MEA (male) flight attendant did: I kid you not. He, the one who is paid to keep control of the cabin and to keep everybody calm, started yelling: "We are not going to make it. We are all going to die. We are all going to die." Finally, the current CEO (Muhammad Al-Hut) fired hundreds of workers upon assuming the job, and once smiled after delivering the news of his latest firing. I could never forgive him for that. I knew him when he took a World Bank training course in the 1980s in DC, and did not like him. His colleague and my friend Yusuf (who also took that course): would suggest that he accompany us on our outing then, and every time I would refuse. I detested him back then. Conclusion: avoid Middle East Airlines, but if you are a vegetarian, you will particularly enjoy the unidentifiable peace of suspicious "thing" they put in your plate.

...while we are on the topic of Jordan. People I saw in Jordan stressed to me the overwhelming role of the mukhabarat (the intelligence apparatus). I am told that the mukhabarat is as strong as ever, and that its dominance is more pervasive today than during the days of King Husayn. Jordan is a police state that the US (and Thomas Friedman) presents to the world as a case study of success. Talk to the political prisoners.

People in US make fun of Yasir `Arafat for sending different messages in Arabic and in English. Do you know who is far more guilty of that hypocrisy and inconsistency? The buffoon king of Jordan. He gives one interview in English, and the opposite message in Arabic. And he never gives an interview in English without having his silly press office issue a statement in which he incredibly claims that the interview distorted what he had said. Who is he deceiving? And the Iraqi puppet prime minister/car bomber, Iyad Allawi, said in an interview on AlArabiyya that Iraqis cannot accept armies from neighboring countries because they are sensitive about that. Does that mean that Mr. puppet car bomber does not believe that the presence of 146,000 US troops (plus 38 brave soldiers from Macedonia) does not offend the sensitivity of Iraqis? On another matter, I can report to you that the US propaganda TV, Al-Hurra (the free one) (mockingly called Al-Dhurra (the 2nd wife) in Egypt--I have called it Al-Murra (the bitter one), is a colossal failure. Nobody watches it at all. People just do not program their TVs to receive it. I had to have my mother reprogram her TV for me to be able to watch some of it. At one point, there were breaking news from Iraq, and AlJazeera and Al-Arabiyya were providing live coverage from Baghdad, and Al-Hurra TV was reairing a recorded program (they often seem to have recorded (live) programs). They also reair US A & E style documentaries. The Egyptian Embassy in Cairo, according to a report in one Arabic newspaper, reported on the failure of AlHurra. But AlArabiyya has a new director: the pro-US, pro-House of Saud `Abdur-Rahman Al-Rashid (former editor of House of Saud mouthpiece Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat) and the imprint of Al-Rashid can be seen. Reports from Palestine are relegated to background news, and events from Iraq are reported through the mouths of the Iraqi puppets. Iraqi puppets are ever present on AlArabiyya. Many of its Lebanese reporters and anchors were previously active in Lebanese right-wing Christian causes.

Now this is Nir's article from New Yorker on Fallujah. (thanks Nir and Brenda). Interesting, but I believe that Nir over-stressed the "foreign fighters" presence. I do believe that there are foreign fighters but the number is much smaller than reported, and even the Americans report a miniscule percentage of foreign fighters among the more than 46,000 Iraqis arrested so far. Also, Nir reports that "his friends" who have been captured by Fallujah fighters recognized accents from Saudi Arabia, Syria, etc. Now unless the friends were Arabs, how could those people recognize the accents, I wonder. Maybe Nir can answer.

ABC of Opportunism: "Progressive" Latin American Leaders Support the Coup in Haiti

THIS IS ZIONISM: A Palestinian civilian has been shot dead by Israeli troops in occupied Gaza.

Turkey gets to grips with 'honour killings' (Let us hope that US starts addressing the problem of violence against women, no matter what these crimes are called in different countries and cultures).

Did one woman's obsession take America to war? No, I say but her kooky conspiracy theory influenced Cheney and others. She is the one who asserted that Saddam must be behind Sep. 11 because the event is too big and complex. Kid you not. (Mylroi is the one I debated in the last Frontpage debate)

Todd Gitlin, a former leftist turned advocate for empire.

Neruda was -- and continues to be -- a torchbearer

Robert Fisk reports some interesting stuff in his article yesterday in Independent. He says that Allawi (Iraqi puppet prime minister/car bomber) brags about receiving aid from 14 different foreign intelligence agencies. He also talks about Bremer's last two Ottoman decrees: he banned blowing your horn while driving, and made it illegal to drive with one hand only on the steering wheel. (One thing about Fisk, as much as I admire him: he sometimes reports interesting stuff without telling us his sources).

That mystery regarding who is behind the Iraq insurgency, has been resolved: it is Saddam's cousins. You can go to sleep now.

Trying to appease conservative male voters, Kerry shows his willingness to carry a gun and shoot. He also says that--if elected--he would enjoy watching Iraqis being shot at by US troops. Nader: keep going.

Trying to appease anti-abortion voters, Kerry declares his views on when life begins: He says that life begins the minute a man holds a woman's hand.

For those who believe that George W. Bush is a feminist: women in Afghanistan are still being threatened by Taliban fanatics (and by US-supported warlords and thugs).

From Thorsten Helmerichs: "A reputable German TV Magazine came out
with this news tonight: US soldiers have abused children as well. US soldiers in Iraqi prisons allegedly abused children and young people. The ARD (that's the oldest public broadcaster we have here) broadcasting corporation's magazine "report Mainz" reports with reference to statements from an NCO of the US military secret service:
Statements against US troops: According to information by "report Mainz" - in the prison Abu Ghraib in Baghdad a young Iraqi girl inside was pressed and abused by US soldiers. Specialists pressured a girl in her cell says informant. The military police intervened only when the 15 to 16 year old was partially undressed. In a further case a 16-year old boy was doused with water and then driven by the interrogators through cold weather. Afterwards they showed their victim "covered in mud" to his likewise arrested father, according to the NCO quoted by "report Mainz". The father "cried and promised to say everything he knew". The UN child welfare organization UNICEF and the international committee of the Red Cross (IKRK) confirmed that in Iraq persons under age are arrested. In an internal UNICEF report there is information on a new institute for the detention of children in Baghdad. Entry was so far refused to UNICEF by US-led troops." (thanks Thorsten)

American officials agreed to return five terrorism suspects to Saudi Arabia from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, last year as part of a secret three-way deal intended to satisfy important allies in the invasion of Iraq

Oh, really? It is being reported here in London in this newspaper that Salim Chalabi (the Likud Business partner and nephew of international embezzler Ahmad Chalabi, and the chief judge of Saddam's trial) is threatening to take Robert Fisk to court in Iraq for revealing the identity of the Iraqi judge who appeared in the preliminary court appearance of Saddam. He is the same anonymous judge who issued the court order for the arrest of Muqtada As-Sadr on murder charges a while back (whatever happened to that court order, by the way--interesting sign of the new Iraqi justice, how it bends with the swinging of the interests of the US occupation power?). The problem with the focus on Fisk is that Al-Hayat newspaper and at least two Iraqi newspaper had named the judge before Fisk did so in the Independent. Could it be that crook Chalabi has a score to settle with Fisk over other issues?

Pentagon Tried to Censor Saddam's Hearing, By ROBERT FISK

I will now be able catch up on updating the site. I could not believe how impossible it was for me provide significant (in size at least) updates from Lebanon. I simply did not have the time, and the internet connections in Lebanon (except from Rami's office at AUB) were painfully slow. You see: it even got worse. Internet use in Lebanon has gone up from something like 2 % to something like 23 % in a matter of few years. But one IP address is hooked to a whole neighborhood. There is a lot of congestion and overload in the system. For those who care: as I had said, I never carry a camera and never keep pictures of myself, and avoid them. I also do not keep tapes of interviews with me. But I have received digital pictures of my appearance at the Burj AlBarajnah refugee camp. I may post some of them (NEAL! NEAL! NEAL! Where are you!)

Syrian TV had talked to me before arriving to Lebanon about doing a TV interview in Damascus, as I did last year. But as I was critical of the Syrian government in my talks and media appearances, the invitation was apparently canceled. I did not mind at all, of course. I do not want to be liked by any Middle East government; nay, I want to be detested by all Middle East governments. I was gratified when the Amir of Qatar told me in February (see my post from that month) that all Arab leaders complain about my AlJazeera appearances. People in Lebanon have asked me whether AlJazeera has been reluctant to put me on as of late. I do not know the answer to that. I only wish that the internet is as widely available in the Middle East as it is in US, so as to permit me to connect with as many people there. (PS: I do not mind being liked by the government in Cyprus). The sight of Kofi Annan and Powell in the Sudan left me dizzy. Those two, who endorsed--in silence and in action--all sorts of war crimes and human rights violations are really not credible when they talk about "the urgent need" to address the humanitarian situation in Sudan. Kofi Annan: the skulls and bones of the victims in Rwanda want a word with you.

Still in London: There is an article in today's Independent by Robert Fisk, the best foreign correspondent working in the Middle East. He talks about US domination of Iraq. Does anybody really think, aside from voters in Oklahoma and possibly Kansas, that Iraqis now control Iraq? Does anybody really think that the US really "transferred" authority, the appointment of the puppet prime minister/car bomber notwithstanding? There are now some 146,000 US troops in Iraq (not to mention the 38 Macedonian soldiers) and Iraq is supposed to be free? Fisk talks about US domination of the Saddam's trial, down to the control of the camera in the courtroom, and Iraq is supposed to be in Iraqi hands? If Iraqis control Iraq, Saddam would not have been kept alive. The trial show is certainly intended for the electoral campaign of that most ill-informed men (women are not allowed to occupy the office as of yet) to ever occupy the White House. I will write to you about an interview with one of the leaders of the Sunni resistance movements in Fallujah published in Ash-Shira` magazine. It was odd that the leader heaps scorns on Iran and implicitly on Shi`ism while heaping praise on Muqtada As-Sadr. He denies cooperation between Sunni organizations and Ba`thist fighters and leaders, but admits taking money from Saddam's Ba`thists. By all accounts, Muqtada As-Sadr's role may be expanding: he seems to be one of the few leaders who can rely on Sunni and Shi`ite support, especially in the fundamentalist camps. Secular and moderate Shi`ites will not look forward to living in Muqtada's republic. My impression after talking to people who have contacts in Iraq and who have close ties to Ayatollah Sistani is that Sistani may be closer to As-Sadr than what is being reported in US press. America has the biggest embassy in Baghdad, and that is supposed to signal the triumph of freedom ("let freedom reign" declared Bush in his typically silly and vapid slogans--would you not to watch Bush answer the simply question: "Define freedom?"), and tanks around the embassy compound are also freedom signifiers, to use Lacan's language. Nobody signifies freedom better than Bush, but in reverse.

U.S. accused of depleting Iraq fund: Money is intended for rebuilding use; international board plans to do audit

CIA Felt Pressure to Alter Iraq Data, Author Says

Is there anything more disgusting than those "sex tourists"? European paedophiles flock to Gambian 'Smiling Coast'

The Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript

from London: one of the highlights of my trip to Lebanon was meeting all those leftist activists, some of whom I have not seen since my highschool and college days. It was great to feel the leftist and secular energy still present in Lebanon. These are the men and women who have not been deceived or manipulated by the false promises of globalization; these are the people who are not affected by the fundamentalist tides sweeping through the world; these are the people standing up against the pro-rich agenda of the Lebanese prime minister; these are the people who do not believe that women should be invisible; these are the people who have not given up on the liberation of Palestine and do not raise religious slogans; these are the people who have broken with Stalinism and Leninism without abandoning their progressive agendas; these are the people who will never forget the grievances of the poor and needy.

I am worried about Sunni-Shi`ite conflict in the Arab world. I have said that before. I interviewed one of the leaders of Hizbullah last Friday and was told that Wahhabi fanatics are planning on taking their anti-Shi`ite agenda outside of Iraq, and that attacks against Shi`ites in the Arab world are being planned. Some people believe that the Saudi government is supporting Wahhabi fanatics in Iraq. I do not believe that. I believe that some factions within the royal family are supporting and financing some Wahhabi kooks inside and outside Iraq. I also asked people who know again about the Lebanese Bin Ladenite group Jund Ash-Sham (active in `Ayn Al-Hilwah camp), and was assured that it was a small group although there are apparently some other groups that may be more dangerous. I am glad that my book is coming out in a few days, as I do draw attention to the dangers of Wahhabiyyah. Several Saudis came up to me in Beirut and asked me about methods to obtain my book. Some told me that they had set up addresses in Bahrain and UAE to receive books and other illegal materials. And they are liberal reformers. The royal family has managed to alienate the liberal reformers and the religious extremists alike. The royal family may not stay in power for long, I believe. Prince Nayif may be the person who will bring down the "house."

Israeli interrogators 'in Iraq' (thanks Joseph). I have been receiving various forwards and articles for months about Israeli presence in Iraq. I first read about that in New York Times when it reported that Ahmad Chalabi's gangs and thugs invited Israeli spies and thugs to look through the Iraqi intelligence building (mereley looking for old copies of the Torah, reported the Times at the time). Now, with the New Yorker article and this one, we have solid proof of Israeli presence in Iraq. This however should not lead one to treat the Iraq war and occupation as an Isareli conspiracy, although an Israeli conspiracy--yes, I do believe in some real conspiracies as opposed to imagined conspiracies--was part of the US war and occupation plan. US rulers treat Israel as the real expert on Arabs, although Israel has been ruling over and killing Arabs for more than 50 years without making a dent in Arab attitudes toward Israel and Zionism. Arabs (count me in here) remain as opposed to Zionism as they were back in 1917.

Colonialists and thieves: GAO: Iraqi, Not U.S., Cash Spent on Rebuilding

I had just gone through security at Beirut International Airport when a Lebanese Army colonel (a Christian* from north of Beirut) walked toward me and said that there was something very important he wanted to discuss with me. He took me to the VIP Lounge and invited me for breakfast. He said that he is going to be promoted to `aqid (general?) in Lebanese Army and is working on a report in international relations that he has to submit. He wanted me to critically evaluate his thesis. He proceeded to tell me his thesis: that there is an international Jewish conspiracy behind world events in the 20th century. That a Jewish conspiracy was behind the Russian Revolution (and he asserted that he has the names of all the Jews behind Marxism and the end of Marxism, starting with Marx himself, all the way to Zbigniew Brezezinsky, who he thought was Jewish--he was shocked when I told him that he in fact is a Catholic), and that it was also behind the collapse of the Soviet Empire. He also believed that the Jewish conspiracy was behind the defeat of George Bush Sr in 1992. He also believes that George W. Bush will go against the Jewish conspiracy in his second term. I asked him what sources he is using for his "study." He mentioned some trashy conspiratorial authors and kooks. I told him that this was an absurd scenario and that his authors are kooks. He wanted to continue with his analysis of international affairs, but I excused myself. He asked if he could continue the "debate" on email. I left the meeting knowing less about world affairs than when it started. But I became more aware of the kind of challenges Arab military faces vis-a-vis Israel.
*I only mentioned that he was a Chrisitan to make a point for those who think that antiSemitic Middle East conspiracies are the exclusive product of Islam.

One newspaper here carried an article about an organization in the Philippines which works for the welfare of Philippino workers abroad. In the last three months, three Philippino domestic workers in Lebanon jumped to their deaths, in an attempt to flee the abuse of employers. None of the families of the three could afford funerals for the workers. Stories of abuse of domestic workers in Lebanon abound. The state is silent and negligent on that front; a few human rights organizations here have begun to take up the cause. Much is yet to be done. Next post will be from London, where I arrive tomorrow, and where I will have more time to express...anger.

A Trial for (some of) Saddam's Crimes Against Humanity
It is being noted here that the list of charges against Saddam EXCLUDES his invasion and war against Iran. Could that be because the US was on his side? Could that be because a trial that would cover his 8-year war against Iran would require an investigation of his alliance with the US? How convenient to include his invasion of Kuwait but not his war against Iran. I see that Kerry is doing what all US presidential candidates do best: to prove how unconditionally supportive he is of Zionist militancy and fanaticism. Bush will then outdo him on that front, and then Kerry would outdo Bush, and on and on and on. Such are the US presidential spectacles. Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are suffering from poverty, neglect, despair, leaderlessness, factionalisms, hopelessness, and high unemployment. UNRWA schools are now so badly run that students graduate without being able to read and write. Friends of mine are starting a new educational initiative to address this problem. Will report on that effort. If you need to know what Egyptian president Husni Mubarak had for breakfast, you need to tune in to Egyptian TV's Good Morning, Oh Egypt program. The program will also report on the time that he wakes up each morning. Those who wish to send Husni Mubarak muffins for breakfast may do so.

Fools relying on fools, who rely on fools, who rely on fools, etc.
I was in Tyre for most of the day yesterday, so I did not have a chance to watch Saddam's trial proceedings live. I was gratified to meet leftist activists (Palestinian and Lebanese) in the region of South Lebanon. There were people I have not seen in years. My aunt took my sister aside to tel her that people have told her that As`ad (that is me) must have made "billions of dollars" from his media appearances. People have also suggested to her that I must have been dying my hair (Never have,of course, and never will); but I explained to her that under TV lights my black hair shines). I was quite angry at the Saddam's spectacle. The criminal fools who executed the Iraq invasion and occupation seems to excel in selecting fools, crooks, and carbombers as their allies and clients. That judge was such a fool. Saddam dominated the court yesterday, and for that I can only blame the occupation and the idiot judge. Saddam the tyrant was allowed to dominate the courtroom because the fool-judge was intimidated by Saddam. How absurd. This show will play in Saddam's favor, especially outside of Iraq. Today, my friend Joseph Samaha (editor of As-Safir and the most sophisticated columnist in Arabic) wrote about the need to dismiss Salim Chalabi (a crook and nephew of Ahmad Chalabi) from the judgeship of Saddam's trial. Those who took their countries to war (Bush and Blair): should they not be sitting next to Saddam on that bench? Should they not be exposed to the questions of a less fool than that idiot judge selected by occupation (and nobody knows his name by the way)? And Saddam, that sexist, vuglarian tyrant: also engaged in demagogy: talking about Iraqi popular will, and even (very vulgarly) talked about saving Iraqi women's honor as a cause for his invasion of Kuwait. Why had he not mentioned that before, one wonders? This defense of his is as credible as Bush's speeches about the rights of women in Afghanistan. And I have such an aversion and contempt for those Arab "lawyers" rallying to volunteer to defend Saddam. Can they not find Arab political prisoners to defend? Laura: I shall post a detailed exposition about sexism in Beirut upon my return.

"[US] this year is spending close to $800 billion on defense - nearly half of it outside the Defense Department. Counting just the military's budget, the US still spends nearly the same amount on defense than the rest of the world combined. Iraq alone has cost the US about $126 billion so far, with up to $25 billion more expected to be spent through the end of 2004."

Shia militants stay loyal to radical cleric