Pictures from Bint Jbeil, Qana

It looks like the war will be lasting for another two weeks from what Israeli officials are saying, and the Bush administration’s line has not fundamentally changed since, since they are unwilling to impose a ceasefire. And this current trend seems to be leading nowhere, with even the Brookings people now critical.

Meanwhile, the pictures of carnage continue to stream in from Lebanon. Here is a set from Bint Jbail, and one from Qana and the south. Editor of as-Safir Hanady Salman, who collected the pictures, writes:

So July is over. Now it’s Beirut, August 2006.

I don’t know if any of you are reporters who covered wars in their homeland. But it’s really weird, somehow “funny”.

Editors crying while reading their reporters’ stories, photographers breaking down, colleagues calling their kids in the middle of the night after seeing pictures from the south, weird sounds during editorial meetings ( you know how men like to hide their tears and emotions) , women wearing black as a “natural reflex”, men growing the beards, even our publisher doesn’t wear suits anymore.

People are sleeping here, somewhere in the basement. Women sleep in the nearby furnished apartment building.

Continue reading Pictures from Bint Jbeil, Qana

Castro and the Middle East

Since Fidel Castro may be on his last throes, it might be worth wondering what impact his death could have on the Middle East. For instance, Castro was a major supporter of Sahrawi independence and many Polisario Front members have trained there (and continue to do so.) Like the Western Sahara conflict itself, it’s partly a holdover of the Cold War whereby Soviet proxy Cuba would back the Polisario against the Moroccan monarchy, a US client with very, very close ties to the CIA. (Read about the Safari Club if you ever get the chance — it was a French-US–Israeli-Saudi-Egyptian-Moroccan-Iranian (pre-1979) outfit that fought communism in Africa through special ops; a lot of the muscle used was Moroccan, much like in Al Qaeda today.)

I can’t claim to offer any particular insight here, but a more pro-US bent to Cuban foreign policy post-Castro could signal a change in a lot of other policies, including towards the Polisario. Currently the pro-Morocco lobby in the US Congress essentially consists of anti-Castro Republicans and pro-Israel Democrats. Post-Castro, would the former really care anymore about Morocco’s forgotten conflict?

Also, there might be other Castro-Middle East links I’m forgetting about. Can anyone think of any?

Iraqi kolkhoz hits production targets

Another day, another carnage in Iraq — the civil war too predictably gruesome to interest people anymore. With the ideological battles firmly anchored in the Israeli-Arab conflict and the current Israeli assaults on Lebanon and Gaza, we tend to forget that things are really falling apart over there:

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Bombings and shootings across Iraq killed at least 52 people Tuesday, including 24 people in a bus destroyed by a roadside bomb. The attacks further damage the U.S.-backed government’s efforts to establish control over the country.

The bus, carrying many Iraqi soldiers, was struck in the northern industrial city of Beiji, killing everyone on board, said Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari.

. . .

U.S. officials estimate an average of 30-40 people are kidnapped each day in Iraq, although the real figure may be higher because few families contact the police. Security officials believe most of the ransoms end up in the hands of insurgent and militia groups.

Many abductions are believed to be tied to the ongoing violence between Sunni and Shiite extremists who target civilians of the rival Muslim communities.

On Monday, the government said that since February, 30,359 families — or about 182,000 people — had fled their homes due to sectarian violence and intimidation. That represented an increase of about 20,000 people from the number reported July 20.

But, I wouldn’t want to be accused of being a pessimistic liberal nihilist who’s going to lose this war for the US, oh no. So I’ll do my bit and highlight the good news:

U.S. agriculture secretary hails Iraq’s farming potential
AP 01.08.06 | 11h50

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns arrived in Iraq Tuesday for a meeting with Iraqi officials and farmers, saying the sector holds great potential for strengthening the country’s economy. Johanns is scheduled to participate in several meetings with «high-level Iraqi officials as well as Iraqi agricultural producers,» said a statement by the U.S. Embassy. It did not say how long Johanns, who is accompanied by representatives from the private sector and academia, will stay in Baghdad. «Many people are surprised to learn how important the agriculture sector is in Iraq and how much potential it holds,» Johanns was quoted as saying by the embassy statement. «I am eager to meet face to face with Iraqi ministers and agricultural producers to strengthen our relationship and intensify our collaboration,» he said. The agriculture sector is the second largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product in Iraq after the petroleum sector, and employs 25 percent of the work force.

Can’t wait to have an Iraqi potato and chew on the earthy taste of freedom. (And is it just me or does this stuff remind you of the Soviet Union c. 1960s? Or Al Ahram now?)

Egypt’s Christians, pro-Hizbullah?

According to an IslamOnline article:

CAIRO — Egypt’s Copts have hailed the Lebanese resistance movement Hizbullah and its chief Hassan Nasrallah as a source of pride to Muslims and the Arab world, and launched a fund-raising campaign to help the Lebanese people in their current trial.

“All Arabs must be proud of Hizbullah’s gallantry,” Bishop Rafiq Gris, the spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic Church, told IslamOnline.net Monday, July 31.

“No matter what the results will be, Hizbullah has proved that the ‘invincible’ Israeli army is too weak and shown that a Frankenstein created by the Arab rulers was brought to his knees by a few number of fighters,” added Yuhana Qaltah, a writer and columnist.

Even Youssef Chahine can’t wait to meet Nasrallah!