Category: Israel
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The Rage
It has been bothering me for over a month…. The words of Trump – that the Palestinians holding the hostages in tunnels were inhuman “ not a word – no humanity, nothing. There was no warmth, a little word of encouragement. A lot of bad things . Hamas have said they are going to use the…
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The miracle of Lebanon
The miracle of Lebanon is that it did not de-generate into the mess of the 1970s and 1980s. The Lebanese security forces have managed a crisis through extraordinary diplomacy even though it has been starved of funding by a political class that has been driven by infighting. Parliament has managed to elect a new government,…
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Witness of war….killed
The argument that you can assassinate a journalist without evidence, challenges all journalists in war zones. Israel is yet to provide evidence that Anas al-Sharif, a journalist for Al Jazeera was a Hamas mole. The idea that voices are being lost in this war is also an act that closes down independent voices from media…
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At first it was denials, then admittance – the excuses…. Is the Tony Blair foundation above criticism
The Neenah Cherry song 7 seconds, is about starvation, war, pestilence and disease. Bob Geldoff got onto the phone to his mates and pushed to save the millions dying in Ethiopia, but the originator of the war in the Middle East – Tony Blair took advice and argued that $9,000 would cut the population of…
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Intelligence and the move towards realising the hole Iran is in
Apart from the decision to think Israel was bluffing, the Iranians have made a catalogue of mistakes that have made its decisions to fight a war impossible. The concept that Ayatollah khamanei is threatening the United States falls into the bracket of not registering the reality of the states weakness. Trump may buy into the…
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Diplomacy or revenge
There was something that didn’t quite fit in with the news conference given by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The niceties of the press conference were mixed with a statement from the state that rambled on with threats and then on to international law. The elements that were most talked about were those of international law,…
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The failure of the Revolutionary Guard and Ayatollah Khamenei
There were no surprises when Israel attacked the nuclear facilities in Iran, what was a surprise was that the Iranians were not prepared to manage the attack last night. Trump had warned that Israel was going to attack Iran and its facilities, when he ordered the removal of all non essential personnel from the diplomatic…
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Whack a mole
Its a game of whack-a-mole, as the hammer goes down on one hole, then a mole pops up from another hole. That is Israel’s problem, it is fighting a continual battle to suppress the voices of the Palestinians, whether you agree with the analogy or not, Israel is playing a game that it cannot win.…
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Syria….twelve years on
Its not easy assessing the situation in Syria, but the facts are very easy to manage if you are cynical. The idea that Aleppo, Hama and possibly Homs have fallen is a significant factor in the analysis of the war. But the question is what has happened to the Syrian army that it capitulated so…
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There are options
The Arab people are seething about the conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza, they want more than their autocratic governments are willing to give. But there is also a realisation that the peace treaties that were set are keeping. The idea that Jordan, Egypt, Syria or the Gulf states would willingly join the war that Iran…
Current Affairs 