Here’s a brief bio of Iran’s new Defense Minister. In case anyone was wondering what an Ahmadinejad administration was going to look like, or just why the idea of Iran having the bomb is more than a little worrisome, here it is.
Random threat chatter
Debka report, so take with a grain of salt. The basic gist seems possible, though – there may be an attack inside the US in the next month or so. It’s smelling like it.
Watch your collective asses, keep alert to possible threats in your area.
(Hey, it’s been a while since I wrote a post or letter like this; I guess that Iraq has been good at drawing fire, if nothing else.)
Middle Eastern Politics: Issues on the Israeli side
I spend a lot of time in this blog talking about Middle Eastern politics, often from the perspective of what terrorist group X is up to this week. A conversation with a friend of mine a few days ago reminded me that I’m really not giving enough attention to the (very severe) problems with Israeli activity as well. What’s particularly interesting about these is that they’re at least somewhat tractable, and many of these can be solved independently of solving the (much less tractable) problems on the Palestinian side.
Interesting event
I just got back from a talk given by a friend of mine who’s been out of the country for some time, being a peace activist in the West Bank. Now, those of you who have talked about politics with me know that I’m not exactly the easiest audience for a peace activist, but I left this event quite well-surprised. She gave a talk documenting events she had seen and been involved with while living there, and I found it both interesting and (very unusually for talks like these) without a single point that I would object to.
If some of you have free time this week and are interested in political issues regarding the Middle East, she’s giving talks in SF and Berkeley in the next few days, and I’d say this is well worth the time, since it gives both raw data and a perspective you don’t hear about much in the US – discussion of daily-life conditions in the territories.
Explosives
British investigators now say that the explosives used in the recent train and bus attacks were “military-grade” (i.e., a professional compound, not a fertilizer mix or some similar homebrew) The article includes much speculation on where they might have gotten it from, checking if anything is missing from quarries, and so on.
Nope, I’ve got no clue where someone could have gotten their hands on several hundred tonspounds of, say, RDX or HMX. I mean, that stuff is carefully guarded all over the world, and terrorists wouldn’t just be able to walk in to a military depot and take it…
Edit: (In response to a comment that should probably stay screened) Oh yes, there are definitely far too many ways to get one’s hands on that. I’m just amused (morbidly) that everyone seems to have publicly forgotten about huge volumes of missing HE, and is now remembering that about 60lbs total is enough to wreak pretty extraordinary havoc.
Tick tock
Back in one piece. Lots of photos; I’ll post those, and some attempt at a coherent narrative, once I’m less jet-lagged.
Also coming up in the future, some notes from the recent trip to Jordan.
However, there have been some very important political developments in the Middle East in the past few days that AFAIK the American press hasn’t really picked up on, so they probably bear note here. The short version is that we may be on the near verge of a serious civil war among the Palestinians, and the upcoming Israeli pullout from Gaza may trigger even more complications. Things should be coming to a head over the next two months. Even at the best, the peace process is likely to completely fail in the absence of any central Palestinian “side” which can meaningfully participate in negotiations.
Back from the desert
The desert and Petra were amazing. Stories and pictures to follow, at some point when I’m more conscious. Lots of Bedouins, lots of sand, lots of steep mountains, good tea. Plus some notes on the country.
Homosexuals to Desecrate Jerusalem
So say a coalition of Jerusalem’s religious leaders, in a rare show of unity.
Our military has gone mad.
The US military has decided not to prosecute 17 soldiers in charges related to 28 prisoner deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, against the recommendations of military investigators. Now, some little gems from this:
In one case, an Iraqi LCOL was killed in custody at a US base in Al Asad, principally as a result of blunt trauma and asphyxia from being lifted to his feet by a baton held to his throat. Special Forces Command determined that this force was lawful “in response to repeated aggression and misconduct by the detainee.”
An Army Special Forces case that was dropped involved the shooting death of a prisoner in Afghanistan, dropped because “the soldier involved was not well-informed of the rules of engagement.” (I am certain there is some sort of confusion that might make a soldier believe that the shooting death of a prisoner, whom I presume was not armed, was within RoE. I’m not sure what this confusion might be, but I’m sure there’s a really good explanation here)
But apparently things are OK, according to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Jeremy Martin: Apparently the prisoners who died represent only a tiny fraction of the 70,000 detainees held by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Well, that makes me feel better.
So it looks like the unsurprising is happening: Rather than risk a blow to morale from actually prosecuting soldiers for criminal offenses ranging from dereliction of duty to murder, this one is going to get papered over, all the way down to the people on the ground. The officers responsible for these incidents, of course, aren’t even being mentioned – and, I’m suspecting, are in line for promotions.
Not good, guys; I appreciate the need to get information as much as anybody else, but this is a pervasive climate of torture and murder. The signal that this is OK so long as it’s for a good reason is not an acceptable one to be giving to our enlisted personnel and our officers – and even less so to our enemies, who are watching this case with great interest.
Yonatan Zunger’s Blog 