O.I.L. Media Roundup (24 August)

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Aug 24, 2014 Iraq
[Police in Ferguson, Missouri use tear gas against civilians. Image by Wikimedia Commons User \"Loavesofbread.\"] [Police in Ferguson, Missouri use tear gas against civilians. Image by Wikimedia Commons User \"Loavesofbread.\"]

O.I.L. Media Roundup (24 August)

By : O.I.L Editors

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Occupation, Intervention and Law and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the O.I.L. Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each biweekly roundup to OIL@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every other week.]

Palestine-Israel / United States

The Shortest Distance Between Palestine and Ferguson, Jaime Omar Yassin
Yassin draws a parallel between police brutality in Ferguson, Missouri and Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.  

Palestinians Express "Solidarity with the People of Ferguson" in Mike Brown Statement, Rana Baker
Electronic Intifada publishes a statement of released by Palestinian groups and individuals in solidarity with Ferguson, Missouri teenager Mike Brown and those protesting his death.

Globetrotting Warriors, Treated Inconsistently, Ahmed Tharwat
Tharwat, writing for the Star Tribune, criticizes the lack of US government oversight of Americans traveling to Israel to participate in IDF operations, as compared with relatively frequent FBI investigations of Americans traveling to fight in Syria or Somalia. 

German Magazine Reports Israel Spied on Kerry Last Year, Reuters
German magazine Der Spiegel has reported that Israel and one other unidentified intelligence agencies listened in on US Secretary of State John Kerry`s phone conversations during Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Gaza Crisis: Israel Outflanks the White House on Strategy, Adam Entous
The Wall Street Journal covers the recent Obama Administration decision to tighten control of arms transfers to Israel, in response to revelations that the Israeli military had been transferred ammunition from the Pentagon without White House or State Department approval.

University of Illinois Faced Growing Boycott Over Firing of Palestinian American Professor, Ali Abunimah
Abunimah provides an overview to the backlash against the University of Illinois` decision to fire newly-hired professor Steven Salaita, a decision allegedly taken by the university because of his vocal criticism of Israel on Twitter and elsewhere.

Hillary Clinton`s Foreign Policy is Already Terrifying, Matt Taylor
Taylor finds a defense of Israeli aggression in Gaza made by Hillary Clinton in a recent interview with Jeffrey Goldberg a troubling preview of Clinton`s foreign policy should she run for president in 2016.

Return of the Blacklist?, David Palumbo-Liu
The firing of Steven Salaita is an attempt to silence criticism of Israel and attack on academic freedom, writes Palumbo-Liu in Salon.

Israel`s Most Important Source of Capital: California, Darwin Bond-Graham 
Writing in Counterpunch Bond-Graham summarizes the economic links which tie together investments in Israel and investors in California, as well as the high-technology nexus between the two.


Law and the "War on Terror"

American Muslims Sue for Being Watchlisted Without Due Process, Julianne Hing
Colorlines reports on a lawsuit filed by five American Muslims alleging they were added to a federal watch lists of terror suspects without due process.

Judge Demands Answers on Guantanamo Force-Feeding, Michael Doyle
US District Judge Gladys Kessler has issued a five-page order of questions regarding the force-feeding of Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Abu Wa`el Dhiab, ordering Guantanamo commander Col. John Bogdan and other authorities to justify the safety of the force-feedings, among other questions.

Alleged 9/11 Plotters Don Palestinian Attire in Courtroom Gaza Protest, Carol Rosenberg
The Miami Herald reports on a silent protest waged by the defendants in the 9/11 trial, as well as allegations from the defense that FBI agents have secretly questioned their staff.

Al Qaeda Begs for American Hostage Swap, John Santucci, James Gordon Meek, Ali Weinberg
ABC News covers a public plea from al Qa’ida urging the family of American hostage Warren Weinstein to "pressure [the US] government" for his release.

Libyan Assembly Asks for UN Help as Militias Clash, Associated Press
The Libyan parliament has asked the United Nations for an "international intervention" to help the country curb militia violence 
 

Palestine-Israel

The Anti-Zionism of Fools, Richard Seymour
An essay from Jacobin argues that while Zionists charge legitimate critiques of Israel with anti-Semitism, the left much challenge all anti-Semitism.

How Israel`s Shriveling Peace Camp Failed the Public, Avner Inbar
The Israeli peace movement failed to offer a clear narrative on Israeli aggression during Operation Brother`s Keeper and Protective Edge, writes Inbar in The Nation.

Palestinians Accuse Israel of Violating Gaza Truce, Nidal Al-Mughrabi
Reuters reports on a Palestinian-Israeli ceasefire passed 14 August 2014 and on Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza allegations that Israel soon violated the ceasefire.

How to Respond to Thoughtful People Who Can`t Help Saying "But Hamas," Donna Nevel
Nevel, writing for Mondoweiss, urges the Jewish community to situate criticism of Hamas in the "necessary context and historical perspective" regarding the Nakba, the 1967 occupation, and the more recent siege of Gaza. 

Regional Powers Enter the Fray as Palestinians Make Their Own Demands During Negotiations, Youssef Fares
Writing for Al-Akhbar Youssef Fares discusses the roles of regional actors in the negotiating process between the Palestinian resistance and Israel.


International Law

UN Nuclear Chief to Visit Iran before Investigation Deadline, Frederik Dahl
IAEA chief Yukiya Amano plans to visit Iran prior to the 25 August deadline for Iran to cooperate with an IAEA investigation of the "possible military dimensions" of Iran`s nuclear program.

Egypt Should be a Pariah State for its Bloody Crackdown on Dissent, The Washington Post Editorial Board
The Washington Post criticizes the Egyptian government for its massacre of demonstrators on 14 August, 2013, recently called the "world`s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history" by Human Rights Watch.

Attacks on Schools -- What About International Law?, Kristin Hausler, Robert McCorquodale
Hausler and McCorquodale critique the notion that Israeli air strikes on Palestinian schools are legitimate under international law, as Israel has claimed, given Hamas practices of storing weapons in schools.
 

Iraq

Iraq`s Maliki Finally Steps Aside, Paving Way for New Government, Raheem Salman, Michael Georgy
Nouri al-Maliki has stepped down as Prime Minister of Iraq amidst political pressure over his government`s handling of the Islamic State in northern Iraq.

US Team Lands on Iraqi Mountain where Yazidis are Trapped, Arshad Mohammed, Jeff Mason
US military and humanitarian personnel landed on Mount Sinjar in Iraq to assess the possibility of evacuating thousands of members of the Yazidi religious minority are under siege from Islamic State.

Islamists Sought to Turn Lebanon into Iraq, Samia Nakhoul, Laila Bassam
Reuters reports on fears in the Lebanese Army of Islamic State incursion into Lebanon.

The Alternatives to More War in Iraq, Tom Hayden
The idea of a "Long War" in the Middle East is an "actual doctrine promoting eighty years of unending war" that the Left must refute, rather than just argue the American public has "no appetite" for another war, writes Hayden.

Obama: No Iraq Rescue, Further Airdrops Unlikely, Robert Burns, Ken Dilanian
President Obama has promised to expand US humanitarian relief in Iraq but ruled out the possibility of armed combat. 

Another War in Iraq Won`t Fix the Disaster of the Last, Seumas Milne
Further military intervention in Iraq will largely bolster the groups like Islamic State it seeks to target, writes Milne for The Guardian.

 

 
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Israel Palestine

For Palestinians, This Week`s Deaths Highlight the Asymmetry of Power, Ahmad Samih Khalidi
The latest conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis speak to a deep Palestinian public concern about Palestinian "administrative detainees" in Israel.

Israel Bombs Gaza Sites Hours after Bodies of Israeli Teens Found, Reuters
Hours after the discovery of the bodies of three teenaged Israeli settlers, Israeli aircraft have bombed dozens of sites in the Gaza Strip while troops with the Israeli Defence Forces have taken to opening fire on Palestinians, killing one man in the West Bank. 

Why We Should Stop Calling for Restraint on Both Sides in Israel and Palestine, Yara Hawari
Were both sides in Israel and Palestine evenly matched in terms of political power and military capability, calls for restraint on both sides would make much more sense, writes Hawari for The Independent.

Our Wretched Jewish State, Gideon Levy
Haaretz publishes an editorial by Levy attacking nationalist and racist elements of the Israeli response to the killings of three teenaged Israeli settlers. 

Palestinian Teen`s Abduction, Killing Intensifies Tensions in the Mideast, Kareem Khadder, Greg Botelho, Josh Levs
CNN reports on the kidnapping and murder of Mohammad Abu Khedair, a Palestinian teenager, and responses of public anger in Palestine.

How the Public Was Manipulated into Believing the Teens Were Alive, Noam Sheizaf
Writing for 972+, Sheizaf suggests the Israeli government placed under gag order details suggesting abducted Israeli teenagers were murdered in order to legitimize its responding military operation in the West Bank.

Israelis Demand Blood after Youths` Bodies Found, Ali Abunimah
Abunimah reports on an "atmosphere of incitement" in Israeli society and politics following the discovery of the bodies of three Israeli teenagers.

People who Kill Children, Greg Shupak
Writing for Jacobin, Shupak compares the different ways Western media covers the deaths of Israeli and Palestinian youth.
 

Law

Final Round of Iran Nuclear Talks Starts in Vienna, BBC News
Iran has met in Vienna with the P5+1 group for the sixth and final round of nuclear negotiations.

Why the No-Fly List Was Declared Unconstitutional, Gail Sullivan
The Washington Post reports on an opinion by US District Court Judge Anna Brown declaring the US government`s no-fly list unconstitutional.

New UAE Anti-Terrorism Law to Include Fines of up to $27 million, Death Sentence, Neil Halligan
Halligan reports on a new law to be introduced by the UAE government carrying severe penalties for those found involved in acts of terrorism, including the financing or campaigning thereof.

Iraqi Wants Civilian Attorney at Guantanamo War Court to Navigate Afghanistan, Iraq, Carol Rosenberg
Rosenberg, writing for The Miami Herald, reports Ab al Hadi al Iraqi has requested a civilian lawyer to assist in him in gathering evidence.

Abbas convening Palestinian leaders to sign request to join ICC, Jack Khoury
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is reportedly convening Palestinian leaders to sign the documents which would allow Palestine to the join the International Criminal Court

Israel`s wall: 10 years justice denied, Rafeef Ziadah
Ziadah discusses the political landscape in the ten years after the International Court of Justice’s ruling on the apartheid wall.


Iraq

A Rogue State Along Two Rivers, Jeremy Ashkenas, Archie Tse, Derek Watkins, Karen Yourish
A series of infographics and maps outlines ISIS` presence in Iraq and Syria.

Sunnis, Kurds Shun Iraq Parliament, Raheem Salman, Oliver Holmes
Sunni and Kurd lawmakers walked out on the first session of a new Iraqi parliament following the failure of Shi`ites to name a replacement for Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

Iraq PM Maliki Rejects Emergency Salvation Government, BBC News
Nouri Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq, has rejected advocacy for an emergency unity government to address the offensive of ISIS and other groups in Northern Iraq.

Islamic State`s Caliph Lauds Iraq Rebellion, Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English reports on ISIS changing its name to "The Islamic State," naming a caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the first public appearance of al-Baghdadi, a sermon praising the establishment of a caliphate in Iraq.
 

Blackwater Trial

In a US Court, Iraqis Accuse Blackwater of Killings in 2007, Matt Apuzzo
The New York Times reports on more than four dozen Iraqis who have travelled to the United States to testify against Blackwater Worldwide employees in a murder trial. 

Before Shooting in Iraq, a Warning on Blackwater, James Risen
A 2007 inquiry investigating Blackwater Worldwide operations in Iraq was cancelled following a death threat from a top manager with Blackwater, reports Risen for The New York Times.


Armed Conflict

Syrian Rebel Groups Sending Children into War, Sylvia Westall
Reuters reports rebel groups in Syria and Iraq are recruiting children as young as fifteen, offering the promise of a free education.

Armed Drones Fly over Baghdad, Al Jazeera
The United States has flown drones over Baghdad to protect US advisers and operations and intelligence analysts among the three hundred advisers promised by US President Barack Obama.
 

BDS

On Israel-Palestine and BDS, Noam Chomsky
Linguist and political activist Chomsky cautions that the tactics of the BDS movement may do little to reverse international support for the Israeli narrative of its occupation of Palestine.

Chomsky and BDS, Tom Suarez
Suarez replies critically to the stance of Chomsky on BDS, calling his comparison of South African and Israeli apartheid flawedfinding that his discussion of international law vis-à-vis the right of return is flawed.


Drones

When Drones Fall From the Sky, Craig Whitlock
The Washington Post reports on the phenomenon of drone crashes, reporting nearly four hundred since 2001. 

Use of Drones for Killings Risks a War Without End, Panel Concludes in Report, Mark Mazzetti
A bipartisan panel of former military and intelligence officials has argued the use of drones in targeted killings presents a "slippery slope" towards perpetual war and sets a precedent other nations may adopt, reports The New York Times.