International Features

UNDER THEIR THUMB I awake this morning in much the same state as I did the morning after June 8, 1967, the day Israel attacked my ship USS LIBERTY and killed 34 of my fellow crewmates–tense and jittery. No, I am not hung over, nor do I have a drug problem. Rather, its just my sixth-sense, kept on a hair-trigger as …

By refusing to make any real concessions to achieve peace, Israel is digging its own grave. Israelis exist in a state of low-key fear of obliteration that has become absorbed into their psyche. They’re so used to it that it has become part of who they are. The Jewish state may call itself a democracy but in fact it’s a …

After the collapse of the faux Middle East peace talks Israel's growing isolation in the world is not entirely unexpected. A side-effect is that America has discovered that it cannot force the rest of the international community to embrace the Frankenstein monster it has nurtured. With the exception of Egypt, and in the absence of financial or military inducements given …

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly sessions last month, many world leaders, including President Mahinda Rajapaksa, expressed hope there would be a Palestinian state by this time next year. The United States President Barack Obama, who is spearheading the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, was more guarded. Though he was optimistic, his optimism was couched in words that would not cause alarm …

A company hired by the state of Pennsylvania has spied on left-wing, antiwar and student groups.   The US peace group "Peace of the Action" has discovered documents showing that it and many other organisations have been under surveillance for many months by a private agency called the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR). Founded by antiwar activist Cindy …

"We need to make clear to people that the cancer is in Pakistan," US President Barack Obama declared at an Oval Office meeting in November last year. This presidential remark was mentioned in award-winning journalist Bob Woodward's latest book 'Obama's Wars'. The remark comes as no surprise. After all, Obama during his campaign for the White House had said that …