THE GUARDIAN: Al-Jazeera journalists jailed for seven years in Egypt: Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed of Al-Jazeera English sentenced on terrorism-related charges » | Patrick Kingsley in Cairo | Monday, June 23, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Egypt Finds Al Jazeera Journalists Guilty
THE GUARDIAN: Al-Jazeera journalists jailed for seven years in Egypt: Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed of Al-Jazeera English sentenced on terrorism-related charges » | Patrick Kingsley in Cairo | Monday, June 23, 2014
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Global Image of US under the Obama Administration
Friday, June 20, 2014
Iraq Crisis: British Student Identified as Recruiting Isis Jihadists
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| Abu Dujana al Hindi (left), Nasser Muthana from Cardiff (centre) and Abu Bara al Hindi (right) |
Nasser Muthana, 20, appeared in a propaganda video by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham [Isis] urging others to join him.
His father, Ahmed Muthana, told The Daily Telegraph last night that Nasser’s 17-year-old brother, Aseel, was fighting alongside him. He claimed his sons were “brainwashed” in Britain.
Mr Muthana said watching footage of his son had made him cry. "I wish I could hold him, hold his hand, ask him to come back," he said.
"As a father I give a message, not only to Nasser, to all the people that go from Britain to Syria to fight please stop. Come back home." » | Tom Whitehead, Claire Duffin, Philip Sherwell and Richard Spencer | Friday, June 20, 2014
Spain Moves to Protect Juan Carlos from Paternity Suits
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| Juan Carlos lost his immunity from prosecution when he passed the throne on to his son, Felipe |
Juan Carlos, 76, lost his immunity from prosecution after handing power to his son, Felipe, following a 39-year reign.
A senior politician said amendments would be added to a package of judicial reforms so that only Spain's Supreme Court can hear cases against him.
Two separate paternity suits were filed against Juan Carlos in 2012.
Alberto Sola Jimenez from Spain's Catalonia region and Ingrid Jeanne Satiau, a Belgian national, both claim to be the former king's children.
His legal immunity meant that the suits were not processed at the time but the cases could now be brought again in ordinary courts. » | Friday, June 20, 2014
Britons Fighting for Isis in Recruitment Video
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| The recruitment video broadcast by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham |
British jihadists are encouraged [sic] more young Muslims to head to Syria and Iraq to martyr themselves in a chilling new recruitment video for the terror group Isis.
The men urge their fellow countrymen to “answer the call” and to “fight for Allah”, while one claims “you are going to die anyway”.
Posted online on Thursday, they also claim they are about to cross the border from Syria in to [sic] Iraq to fight there – the clearest indication yet that Britons are involved in the renewed Iraqi civil conflict.
One even claims they are ready to take the fight to Jordan or Lebanon.
The professionally shot 13-minute video, entitled “There is no life without Jihad”, has been broadcast by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham and coincides with a fresh propaganda campaign by the violent fanatics. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Friday, June 20, 2014
Islamic Army of Iraq Founder: Isis and Sunni Islamists Will March on Baghdad
A top commander of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq has told The Telegraph how his men are fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham to take back Baghdad, even if it means pushing the country to civil war.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Dabash, 47, a founder of the Islamic Army of Iraq, who fought the allied invasion in 2003, has told how thousands of his men are participating in the Isis-led insurgency that swept across northern Iraq, and which now threatens the gates of the capital.
The Islamic Army, however, does not share the same extremist ideology of Isis, Mr Dabash said in an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, and raised the prospect of his faction one day turning its guns on their jihadist comrades.
“If Maliki [the Iraqi prime minister] does not step down, then there is no doubt that we are moving on Baghdad,” said Mr Dabash. “We will go all the way.” » | Ruth Sherlock, and Carol Malouf in Erbil | Friday, June 20, 2014
One in Seven BBC Presenters and Actors to Be Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority under New Lord Hall Pledge
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| Lord Hall, the BBC's director-general, wants to extend the £145.50 annual fee in response to the growing popularity of the iPlayer |
One in every seven BBC presenters and actors is to be black, Asian or minority ethnic within the next three years, it has been announced, as Lord Hall pledges to improve diversity.
Lord Hall, the director-general, has promised 15 per cent of on-air BBC staff will be black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) by 2017, along with one in ten managers.
Speaking at the BBC’s Elstree Studios, he announced a new action group to help advise on the changes, including comedian Lenny Henry, athlete Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, and broadcaster Baroness Floella Benjamin.
Lord Hall said: “The BBC gets much right on diversity, but the simple fact is that we need to do more. I am not content for the BBC to be merely good or above average.
“I want a new talent-led approach that will help set the pace in the media industry. I believe in this and want our record to be beyond reproach. » | Hannah Furness, Arts correspondent | Friday, June 20, 2014
Thursday, June 19, 2014
King Felipe VI Calls for 'New Spain' as He Is Sworn In
Earlier, King Felipe received the royal sash from his father, Juan Carlos, at the Zarzuela Palace near Madrid.
He acceded to the throne at the stroke of midnight after King Juan Carlos formally abdicated on Wednesday.
The proceedings have been kept low key, as many Spaniards are suffering economic hardship.
The swearing-in ceremony took the form of a proclamation rather than a coronation. It is the first royal transition in Spain since democracy was restored in the 1970s.
The new king, 46, swore an oath promising to uphold the constitution.
The speaker of the lower house of parliament, Jesus Posada, then proclaimed him king, declaring: "Long live Spain! Long live the king!"
In a speech to parliament, Felipe said he had "great hope" for the future of Spain and called for unity. » | Thursday, June 19, 2014
McCain: Obama Is Failing 'While Iraq Burns'
Dick and Liz Cheney on the Need for American Leadership
König Felipe VI. will seinem Land dienen
Felipe trat als jüngster König Europas die Nachfolge seines Vaters Juan Carlos an, der am Vortag nach fast vier Jahrzehnten auf dem Thron abgedankt hatte. "Ich werde immer das Allgemeininteresse im Auge haben", betonte Felipe in seiner Rede. Er werde loyal zur Verfassung stehen und bereit sein, zuzuhören, zu verstehen und Ratschläge zu geben, sagte der Monarch am Donnerstag. Als "Bürgerkönig" möchte er außerdem das angekratzte Image der spanischen Monarchie wieder aufbessern. » | AG/red | Donnerstag, 19. Juni 2014
König einer zerrissenen Nation
Pomp wäre fürchterlich falsch. Sogar das Lächeln will fein kalibriert sein. Jede Geste kommt unter die Lupe, jedes Wort auf die Goldwaage. Wenn der Bourbone Felipe VI. heute, 19. Juni 2014, mit 46 Jahren in einer nachtblauen Generalsuniform mit Schärpe und roter Bauchbinde Spaniens Thron besteigt, ist es genau das: ein mühseliges Besteigen. Begleitet von bürgerlichen Zweifeln an der Monarchie. Observiert von einem Volk, das in der schweren Wirtschaftskrise das Vertrauen in alle zentralen staatlichen Institutionen verloren hat. Das Zeremoniell für den Thronwechsel wurde aufs Minimum reduziert. Staatsgäste sind keine eingeladen. Nicht einmal der Königsvater wird dabei sein, wenn der Sohn im Madrider Congreso vor versammelten Abgeordneten und Senatoren den Eid auf die Verfassung ablegen wird. Das Protokoll sollte nicht überladen wirken. In Zeiten schmerzvoller Sparanstrengungen wäre Prunk schändlich. Vielleicht wäre er gar fatal. Doch das muss man Felipe nicht sagen. » | Oliver Meiler, Barcelona | Donnerstag, 19. Juni 2014
Saudi University Student Stabbed 16 Times in Fatal Attack
A Saudi Arabian student was stabbed 16 times in a "brutal and savage attack" as she walked to university, detectives have said, as police continue to investigate whether the woman was targeted because she was wearing traditional Islamic clothing.
Nahid Almanea, 31, was walking alone to Essex University when she was knifed to death by a killer who police fear may still be on the loose in Colchester. » | Josh Halliday | Thursday, June 19, 2014
Iraq Crisis: Britain and US Must Not Meddle in Iraq, Warns Saudi Arabia
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| Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia |
In an article for the Telegraph, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf al-Saud said the crisis in Saudi Arabia's northern neighbour should be sorted out between Iraqis alone as it was a product of the sectarian divisions in Iraq.
As Washington considers an Iraqi request to undertake air strikes against ISIS, which has seized a swathe of the north including Mosul, the second city, Prince Mohammed signalled that Saudi Arabia was implacably opposed to any new military intervention.
His comments can also be read as a firm statement against Iranian involvement in the Iraqi fightback. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's special forces, has been reported active in Iraq assisting Shia Muslim militias.
"We oppose all foreign intervention and interference. There must be no meddling in Iraq’s internal affairs, not by us or by the US, the UK or by any other government. This is Iraq’s problem and they must sort it out themselves," Prince Mohammed wrote.
"Any government that meddles in Iraq’s affairs runs the risk of escalating the situation, creating greater mistrust between the people of Iraq – both Sunni and Shia." » | Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, June 19, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Nigel Farage Joins Forces with Far-right Swedish and French MEPs
Nigel Farage has joined forces in the European parliament with a Swedish party that was founded by white supremacists, including a former member of the Waffen SS. In an apparent change of tack, after he pledged to avoid parties on the far right, the Ukip leader also invited a French MEP who was elected for Marine Le Pen's Front National last month to join his pan-European group in the parliament.
Ukip insisted last night that Farage had not broken his word because the two Sweden Democrat MEPs, Kristina Winberg and Peter Lundgren, were obliged to write a letter to the Ukip leader distancing themselves from their party's past.
Joëlle Bergeron, who left the FN two days after the European elections last month, also wrote to Emmanuel Bordez, the secretary general of Farage's Europe of Freedom and Democracy group, distancing herself from Le Pen's party.
But the Liberal Democrats last night attacked Farage's decision to allow such controversial figures into his group, which now has MEPs from seven EU member states – the minimum to form a group. A senior Lib Dem source said: "Regardless of your views on Europe, it is hard to see how British MEPs hanging around the European parliament with the dregs of the far right is going to be of any benefit to British jobs and growth." » | Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent | Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Roma Boy Attacked in Paris: The Picture That Will Shock France
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| Darius was found in a supermarket trolley |
It is the photo that will shock France.
Beaten to a pulp, dumped in a supermarket trolley and left for dead on the side of the road.
That was the fate of 16-year-old Darius, a Roma boy snatched from his family by a vigilante mob who accused him of burglary.
The teenager was in a medically induced coma on Wednesday in a Paris hospital, where doctors said it was not certain he would pull through after suffering multiple skull fractures.
But already this gruesome attack has sparked wide condemnation.
President François Hollande denounced it as an “unspeakable and unjustifiable attack on all the principles on which our republic was founded”. » | Rory Mulholland, Paris | Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Iraq Crisis: Cameron Says Islamist Threat Is 'UK Problem'
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| David Cameron announced extra humanitarian aid for Iraq during Prime Minister's Questions |
The prime minister told MPs that it would be wrong to think the crisis in Iraq was "nothing to do" with the UK.
Encouraging governments to be more inclusive and helping to "close down ungoverned spaces" would stop the conditions for terrorism flourishing.
Mr Cameron also announced extra humanitarian aid for Iraq.
The prime minister, who was chairing a meeting of the National Security Council on Wednesday, has ruled out military intervention in support of the government of Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, in response to attacks by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) fighters.
'Patient'
The fighting between ISIS and Iraqi security forces, who are supported by Shia militias, has focused around the city of Baquba, 60km (35 miles) from Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, while Iraq's largest oil refinery is also under attack.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron said it was up to the Iraqi security forces to "push back" ISIS fighters and also urged the government to do more to reconcile Shia, Sunni and Kurdish groups.
"I disagree with those people who think this is nothing to do with us and if they want to have some sort of extreme Islamist regime in the middle of Iraq it won't affect us. It will," he told the Commons.
"The people in that regime, as well as trying to take territory, are also planning to attack us here at home in the United Kingdom." » | Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Espagne : la dernière révérence de Juan Carlos
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| le roi d'Espagne Juan Carlos abdique au profit de son fils, Felipe VI. |
C'est la dernière loi qu'il signera. Après 39 ans de règne, le roi d'Espagne Juan Carlos autorise sa propre abdication. Il laisse la place à son fils Felipe, qui prêtera serment jeudi dans une capitale fleurie pour l'occasion, héritant du lourd mandat de redorer l'image d'une monarchie discréditée. Affaibli par les ennuis de santé et usé par les scandales, Juan Carlos, âgé de 76 ans, laisse place à son fils, qui deviendra à 46 ans, dès la publication de la loi au Journal officiel, à minuit, Felipe VI, nouveau roi d'Espagne. Devant quelque 160 invités, l'ambiance sera à la solennité dans l'imposante salle des Colonnes du palais royal de Madrid pour la dernière cérémonie officielle de Juan Carlos, prévue à 18 heures. Durant cet acte "très court, lors duquel aucune parole ne sera prononcée", selon la Maison royale, Juan Carlos, qui marche avec difficulté, appuyé sur une béquille, signera la loi d'abdication devant son épouse Sofia, son fils Felipe et sa belle-fille Letizia, qui devient, à 41 ans, la première reine d'Espagne à ne pas avoir de sang royal. » | Source AFP | mercredi 18 juin 2014
Couronnement: Felipe VI devient roi d’Espagne ce mercredi à minuit
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| Felipe de Bourbon, nouveau chef d'Etat et des Armées, recevra jeudi matin 19 juin, des mains de son père la ceinture de soie rouge de capitaine général des Armées. (18 juin 2014) |
Car son père, Juan Carlos, aura déjà signé la loi autorisant son abdication, votée successivement par les deux chambres du Parlement. Elle sera dans la foulée publiée au Journal officiel.
Quelques heures plus tôt, l'actuel roi aura promulgué cette loi, dans le décor solennel de la Salle des Colonnes du Palais royal de Madrid, lors d'une cérémonie en présence de 160 invités. » | afp/Newsnet | mercredi 18 juin 2014
Cameron Calls On European Leaders to Publicly Back His Battle against Juncker
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| Jean-Claude Juncker at the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies |
David Cameron has hit out at European leaders who have failed to support him publicly in his efforts to block Jean-Claude Juncker becoming president of the European Commission.
In an apparent rebuke to Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, Mr Cameron suggested that European leaders have expressed scepticism in private about Mr Juncker’s appointment but have failed to nail their colours to the mast in public.
Mrs Merkel is thought to be pressing for Mr Juncker's appointment to be confirmed at a meeting of the European Council at the end of next week.
Downing Street believes that Mr Juncker, an arch-federalist, will make it more difficult for Mr Cameron to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with Brussels before holding an in-out referendum in 2017. The Prime Minister has previously warned that he could increase the chances of Britain leaving the EU.
This morning the Prime Minister made an eleventh hour call to the Matteo Renzi, the Italian Prime Minister who’s support is key to Mr Cameron’s effort to gather a blocking minority in the Commission’s voting system.
However there are fears that the Italian Prime Minister will decide to support Mr Juncker in return for concessions from European heavyweights of France and Germany.
Britain’s allies - including Sweden, the Netherlands and Hungary - are too small to meet the veto threshold. » | Georgia Graham, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Kenya al-Shabaab Attack 'Was Led by White Man Speaking Fluent British English'
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| 60 people were killed in Sunday night's attack on the small coastal town of Mpeketoni |
A white man speaking "fluent British English" led suspected al-Shabaab commandos who ransacked towns in northern Kenya leaving 60 people dead, witnesses have said.
Several people in Mpeketoni, which was attacked by as many as 40 Islamist gunmen on Sunday, told The Telegraph that the gang's leader was pale-skinned and spoke English and Arabic.
One of the witnesses is a primary schoolteacher who speaks good English, unlike many people in the remote corner of Kenya near the Lamu archipelago that earlier this week became the country's latest terror target.
The accounts strengthened suggestions that the attackers were part of a well-trained team sent by al-Shabaab under the co-ordination of an experienced foreign jihadi now working with the Somali Islamists.
"I saw a white man who was speaking in fluent British English commanding the rest of the attackers," said Mary Gachoki, who lives in Mpeketoni. » | Mike Pflanz, Lamu | Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Inside Story: Who Is Behind Sri Lanka's Religious Violence?
Radikale Buddhisten in Sri Lanka greifen Muslime an »
A Country Implodes: ISIS Pushes Iraq to the Brink
Masoud Ali, a tall, friendly man with a beard and green eyes, was a taxi driver in Mosul until a few days ago. He likes the desert, and he loves his wife and his yellow Nissan. He never paid much attention to politics until now. "Inshallah," he says. Whatever happens is God's will. But then fighters with the "Islamic State in Iraq and Syria," or ISIS, overran the city of two million.
An evening curfew has been in force in Mosul since last Monday, says Ali. He and his family heard gunshots near their apartment on Tuesday, and when Ali looked outside, he saw a dead body lying on the street. Then the rumors began. "They've occupied all government buildings and the airport," said a friend. "The power station and the water works, too," a neighbor added. There were television reports of banks being robbed, the release of thousands of prisoners and the confiscation of oil wells. A day later, Masoud Ali loaded his family into his car and stepped on the gas. As they drove away, they could see police uniforms and abandoned military vehicles in the ditch. Government troops, most of them Sunnis, had surrendered to the Sunni ISIS fighters.
Ali, like most residents of Mosul, is also a Sunni. He had heard the mayor calling for the citizens of Mosul to defend themselves against ISIS. "But why should I have defended myself?" he asks. "For the Shiite government? For Prime Minister Maliki, who oppresses the Sunnis?" He shakes his head. "The conflict has escalated because people in Iraq don't like the government anymore." » | Dieter Bednarz, Ullrich Fichtner, Katrin Kuntz, Christoph Reuter and Mathieu von Rohr | Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Karl Rove Discusses the Iraq Blame Game
Britain a 'Petty' and 'Declining' Empire, Argues Chinese Paper
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| Chinese pundits have marvelled at how their "super salesman" prime minister Li Keqiang has scored an audience with the Queen, despite not being China's head of state |
Britain is an “eccentric” and “petty” empire in decline that criticises China in order to mask its own deficiencies, a Chinese newspaper claimed on Wednesday as Li Keqiang, the country’s prime minister, began day two of his UK tour.
One day after the Chinese premier was welcomed to Britain by David Cameron and the Queen, the Global Times, a prominent state-run tabloid, slammed the country hosting Mr Li as a fading power that refused to accept its dwindling global influence.
“Britain’s national strength cannot be placed in the same rank as China now, a truth difficult to accept for some Britons who want to stress their nobility,” argued the tabloid, which is affiliated to the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.
The British media “habitually” hyped charges of human rights abuses against China in order to hide this new reality, the editorial added. » | Tom Phillips, Shanghai | Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
UK to Re-open Iran Embassy Says Hague
BBC: Foreign Secretary William Hague has said plans to re-open the British Embassy in Tehran are an "important step forward" in relations with Iran.
Mr Hague said the "circumstances were right" following an improvement in bilateral relations in recent months.
Full diplomatic relations with Iran were suspended after attacks on the British embassy in Iran in 2011.
The election of a new Iranian president and a deal on Iran's nuclear programme has led to renewed contacts this year.
The move comes as Iraqi forces are engaged in heavy clashes with Sunni Islamist militants across the country and amid reports that Iran is providing military assistance to its historic rival. » | Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Iraq Warns of ‘A Thousand Bin Ladens’ in SOS Plea to World for Help Stopping Isis Advance
Comparing the threat to Iraq from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) with that to Afghanistan from al-Qa’ida, Lukman Faily has told a number of US media outlets that he wants to issue “an SOS, not just for us, but for the whole globe”.
The ambassador’s comments come as President Barack Obama considers the intervention options available to the US, from drone strikes to providing Special Forces training.
And while Mr Faily agreed that Iraq does not need to see the US put “boots on the ground”, the immediacy of the threat means there is not time for “long discussions” as to which measures will be taken. » | Adam Withnall | Tuesday, June 17, 2014
North Korea: Kim Jong-un's Number Two Kim Yong-nam Wishes Queen Happy Birthday
The birthday wishes were sent by Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme Assembly of North Korea and the country’s second most powerful person, the official KCNA news agency reports.
"The message wished the queen good health and happ[iness] and the British people well-being and prosperity," the report said.
The KCNA also said the British embassy in Pyongyang marked the occasion with a reception attended by officials including the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade. » | Heather Saul | Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Dinesh D'Souza on How Obama Has Transformed the US
Former Navy SEAL Weighs US Options in Iraq
Irak : les insurgés prennent un poste-frontière à la frontière syrienne
Des rebelles syriens ont pris mardi le contrôle d'al-Qaëm, un poste-frontière entre l'Irak et la Syrie, ont indiqué des officiers de l'armée irakienne. Selon ces officiers, les insurgés sont fidèles à l'Armée syrienne libre (ASL, rébellion) et au Front al-Nosra, la branche syrienne d'al-Qaida, qui contrôlent déjà le côté syrien de ce point de passage. Al-Qaëm est l'un des trois postes-frontières entre l'Irak et la Syrie. Celui de Rabia, plus au nord, a été abandonné la semaine dernière par les forces irakiennes lors d'une offensive des djihadistes dans la province de Ninive. Il se trouve actuellement contrôlé par les forces kurdes. » | Source AFP | mardi 17 juin 2014
Radikale Buddhisten in Sri Lanka greifen Muslime an
Alutgama - Seit einigen Tagen greifen radikale Buddhisten in Sri Lanka die muslimische Bevölkerung an. Trotz einer Ausgangssperre in der Nacht zu Dienstag wurden erneut Geschäfte und Wohnhäuser angezündet. Das berichteten Polizei und Anwohner. Bei einem Angriff auf eine Farm in Alutgama starb mindestens ein Wächter. Seit Sonntagabend wurden damit insgesamt vier Menschen getötet. » | vek/AFP/dpa | Dienstag, 17. Juni 2014
Spanien: König Juan Carlos nimmt Abschied
Madrid - Für den Monarchen und seine Frau ist es das letzte gemeinsame Bankett: Spaniens König Juan Carlos und Königin Sofía nehmen Abschied vom Thron. Das Königspaar, 76 und 75 Jahre alt, lud am Dienstag die Repräsentanten der wichtigsten Institutionen des Staates zu einem Abschiedsessen in den Zarzuela-Palast. » | kes/dpa | Dienstag, 17. Juni 2014
Iraq Crisis: Fighting Moves Closer to Baghdad as Iraq's Biggest Oil Refinery Shut Down – Live
Impeach Tony Blair: As Iraq Burns, Parliament Should Put This Deluded Liar On Trial, Writes Simon Heffer
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| Tony Blair appeared a self-serving fantasist with blood on his hands when he was interviewed on Sky News |
Obvious to everyone, that is, except the man who ordered it.
Seven years after leaving office, and 11 years after British troops flooded across the southern border, Tony Blair continues to cause outrage and bewilderment over Iraq.
Noting the eruption of the jihad there, Mr Blair professes that ‘we have to liberate ourselves from the notion that “we” have caused this. We haven't.'
Only a handful of American neo-conservatives, most of them discredited and seeking to protect their reputations, too, would agree with him. To most people, he appears a self-serving fantasist with blood on his hands.
Saddam Hussein was evil and vicious. However, the mixture of repression and corruption with which he governed meant Iraq was spared the Sunni-on-Shia violence that is tearing the country apart now, threatening the entire region and, with it, the security and prosperity of the West.
Some would question Mr Blair's sanity. Indeed, a former close friend, the novelist Robert Harris, did so only recently, suggesting he had a ‘messiah complex'.
It takes a rare politician to admit any error, let alone one based on a lie — the sexed-up ‘dodgy dossier' Mr Blair put before Parliament in March 2003 to support his contention that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction — which cost the lives of 173 British servicemen and six servicewomen. Read on and comment » | Simon Heffer | Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Tony Blair Is A 'Tragic' Narcissist With A Messiah Complex, Says Former Confidant And Author Robert Harris »
Monday, June 16, 2014
Governor George Clooney? Oscar Winner to Begin Political Career
Democrats want the suave actor to succeed incumbent Jerry Brown in the 2018 race and believe he could emulate Republican Reagan by eventually becoming president.
Clooney, 53, who is reportedly planning to marry British barrister Amal Alamuddin this summer, is said to be “fired up” at the prospect of a political career.
He is a huge contributor to the Democratic Party and has funded drone spying missions to investigate Syrian war atrocities. » | Mike Parker | Sunday, June 15, 2014
Iraq News: Tony Blair Airbrushing Role in Creating Isis in Iraq, Nick Clegg Says
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| Members of the Islam State of Iraq and Shaam (ISIS) with senior commander Abu Waheeb |
Tony Blair is attempting to “airbrush” his role in creating the violence engulfing Iraq, Nick Clegg has said.
The former Prime Minister is engaged in a “pointless academic exercise” to “pretend” the 2003 invasion of Iraq did not contribute to chaos and bloodshed consuming Iraq today.
Jihadist fighters from ISIS, an al-Qaeda aligned force, have entered from Syria and seized a string of Iraqi cities, committing massacres of Iraqi Army prisoners.
Britain will not provide “frontline” military support to the Iraqi government but will provide "passive assistance" to the United States in the case of airstrikes, Mr Clegg indicated.
Asked at his monthly press conference whether Britain would allow the United States to use airbases or airspace, Mr Clegg said: “We will not be providing active, frontline military resources to any action taken.
"But of course we will talk to America about what can be done. We are not going to stand in the way of military action that is well-judged and well-targeted to try and reassert some semblance of order in Iraq. I am certainly not suggesting we rule out passive assistance, even if we are not going to embark on active assistance.”
Only the United States has the military capacity to strike in Iraq and Britain should not “pretend” that it can, Mr Clegg said. » | Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent | Monday, June 16, 2014
Obama Administration Weighs ‘My Enemy’s Enemy’ Foreign Policy with Iran
The possibility of partnering with Iran to deal with a common foe -- a radical Sunni militant group bent on regional domination -- has immediately divided some of the Obama administration's toughest critics.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the idea of an alliance of convenience with Iran the "height of folly."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who typically is in lockstep with McCain on national security matters, on Sunday, though, likened it to the U.S. aligning with Stalin during World War II, because he "was not as bad as Hitler."
"The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure Baghdad doesn't fall," Graham said. » | FoxNews.com | Monday, June 16, 2014
Do Desperate Times in Iraq Call for Desperate Measures?
Gottesstaat wächst: ISIL eröffnet Terrorzelle in Jordanien
Laut den ISIL- Quellen ist der jordanische Ableger bereits am Freitag eingerichtet worden. Die Zelle "Islamischer Staat in Jordanien" (ISJ) solle logistisch bei Waffen- und Truppenverschiebungen zwischen dem Irak und Syrien dienen. Sie soll rund 200 Mitglieder haben.
Ein ISJ- Mitglied verbreitete, es seien zunächst keine militärischen Aktionen gegen die jordanische Armee geplant. Aber "mit der Zeit" werde "Jordanien egal auf welchem Wege ein Teil des islamischen Kalifats", das ISIL in der Region anstrebt. » | AG/red | Montag, 16. Juni 2014
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