October 25, 2005
More Posts Later Today
Editor's Note: Look for more posts later today. I will resume the schedule of multiple posts of news from around world now that I'm a bit rested.
Sincerely,
Munir Umrani, editor and publisher
Posted by Munir Umrani at 07:37 AM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2005
Look for Diplomatic Times Posts Tonight
Editor's Note: There will be no Diplomatic Times Review updates until later today or tonight. I have to concentrate on discovery in a major personal injury case I'm working on. See you then.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)
June 02, 2005
The 'Bolton Blunder'
The Toledo (Ohio) Blade opined in a June 2, 2005 editorial: "Thank goodness the Senate has put President Bush's controversial nomination of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on hold at least until next week." See "Bolton blunder" for the entire editorial.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 06:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 31, 2005
The Stench From Gitmo is Getting Stronger
The stench from human rights abuses at Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay is getting stronger as reports of abuse of Muslim prisoners of war on the Bush Administration's watch continues to become public. President George W. Bush is trying to put a positive spin on it but it's not working. See Deep Blade Journal's post headlined Bush is the Dissembler.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 09:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Oxblog And 'A Defense of the Leg Man'
I read "A Defense of the Leg Man" at Oxblog and found it quite interesting. It was written in response to Oxblog proprietor David Adesnik's "praise of the airborne soldier as the best of the best." Here's the post.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 08:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 30, 2005
Mitch Albom: 'If You Criticize U.S., You Must Criticize Them
Detroit Free Press Columnist Mitch Albom, who embarrassed himself in April 2005 by publishing a column that said that Mateen Cleaves and Jason Richardson had flown to St. Louis to attend college basketball's Final Four to root for Michigan State when they had not, has a May 29, 2005 column headlined: "If you criticize U.S., you must criticize them," meaning those who resist and criticize U.S. efforts to subdue and control Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's more. I think he should stick to sports writing.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 05:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 26, 2005
A Japanese Diplomat's Remarks
The Korea Times opined May 26, 2005: "It is not rare for a Japanese politician to hurt the feelings of neighboring countries with controversial comments on historical or territorial issues. This time, however, Japan's top career diplomat is creating a stir with remarks criticizing Korea's diplomatic relations with the U.S., possibly driving a wedge between Seoul and Washington. True or not, these comments are not only incontinent, but also threatening to the maintenance of a tight alliance so crucial to resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis. Tokyo needs to explain itself, if necessary, apologize.
The Korea Times continued: "Japan can't help but hesitate to share information with Korea, as the U.S. does not seem to have confidence in Seoul." So said Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi- in a meeting with visiting Korean parliamentarians on May 11. If this is true, it is as if Tokyo, and even Washington, is impairing tripartite cooperation. Even if it is not true, by triggering suspicions among allies the damage has been done. In any case, he raised unnecessary controversy." Here's more of the editorial.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 07:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 25, 2005
The Japan Times 'Stop the Torture and Abuse
The Japan Times opines in a May 25, 2005 editorial that:The steady drip of revelations about the abuse of prisoners in the global war against terror is doing serious damage to the U.S. image and efforts to win that battle. Contrary to official claims, the instances of misbehavior are not episodic or exaggerated; they appear to be serious, widespread and systematic. The United States must move quickly to remedy this ugly and disturbing situation. A credible and public assessment of the abuse must occur and all those responsible -- not just the soldiers at the bottom of the chain of command -- punished.
The publication said, "an unequivocal condemnation of the worst techniques should come from the highest levels of the U.S. government. Only then will the United States begin to repair the damage that has been done." Read the entire editorial.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 05:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Comments by International Herald Tribune Readers
The May 25, 2005 edition of the International Herald Tribune has interesting commentary from readers around the world on The New York Times May 20, 2005 report on torture of Afghan prisoners at Bagram Airbase, the War in Iraq, the Newsweek Qur'an desecration story, etc.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 04:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
'There's a War Going on and Americans are Dying'
Ed Naha offers an interesting commentary in a May 24, 2005 article at uruknet.info on how the mainstream media in the U.S. reports the deaths and injuries of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and how Americans are responding to the deaths. He said As I write this, 1,636 American troops have died in Iraq, 49 this month alone, and over 12,000 have been injured. And how is America responding to this? With a big yawn. Last week, "The Los Angeles Times," printed the results of a study it conducted, tracking six newspapers and two news magazines on their coverage of the Iraq invasion from the period of September 1, 2004 to February 28 of this year. Just how many photos of American casualties had been shown to our fellow citizens during that time period? Newsweek: 0. Time: 0. Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 0. Los Angeles Times: 0. New York Times: 0. St. Louis Post-Dispatch: 0. Washington Post: 0. Seattle Times: 1.1,636 American men and women killed in action. Almost no photographic coverage. I guess the MSM has followed the lead of Barbara Bush who, back in '03, said: "Why should we hear about body bags and deaths...? Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"
Mr. Naha added: "Now, I'm not suggesting that print and video news outfits transform themselves into an Iraqi house of horrors, showing gore-laden scenes of dead Americans 24/7, but that old adage "out of sight, out of mind," seems to come into play here. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters are dying and this country's reaction is silence, save for the occasional patriotic political bromide; this country's reaction is inaction, save for flag waving and sticking a "Support Our Troops" bumper sticker on the ass of an SUV." Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 04:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 23, 2005
India, Pakistan and the Siachen Glacier
Karl F. Inderfurth in the May 23, 2005 edition of The Christian Science Monitor: "Imagine waging a miniwar at 21,000 feet, where temperatures touch minus 40 degrees, and where altitude sickness and frostbite have caused as many casualties as bullets and artillery rounds. That's what India and Pakistan have been doing for the past two decades in a remote area of disputed Kashmir known as the Siachen Glacier, the world's largest outside the polar regions." Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 07:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 22, 2005
Zakaria: 'Can Humanity be Saved from American Fundamentalism?'
Yamin Zakaria of London, in an article published in Al-Jazeerah.Info, not to be confused with Al-Jazeera.Net, asked us to: Imagine if there were reports of Muslim soldiers flushing a copy of the Bible down the toilet in order to torment Christian prisoners. The Western media would have gone into a frenzy employing words like fundamentalists, fanatics, extremists even before fully verifying the facts. This is a fair prediction based on past incidences like the media coverage given after the Oklahoma bombings; the Muslims were immediately blamed and the media employed the most vicious anti-Islamic diatribe at the time.
Mr. Zakaria said, "Since the current allegations are against the U.S. interrogators in Camp X-Ray desecrating the Qur'an, caution is exercised by the media. They do not probe into the source of such hatred and fanaticism exhibited by the U.S. interrogators. Like the torturers of Abu-Ghraib, the interrogators of Camp X-Ray are at most supposed to represent a few bad apples and we only came to know about these bad apples after their photos were embarrassingly catapulted into the public domain." See "Can Humanity be Saved from American Fundamentalism?" for more of Mr. Zakaria's commentary.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 07:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 21, 2005
Is U.S. Public Confidence on Iraq Plummeting?
Juan Cole at Informed Comment reports that, "a new Harris Interactive poll shows that US public confidence in the Iraq venture is falling rapidly." Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 03:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Crooked Timber: 'Revenge of the Snit'
Kieran Healey at Crooked Timber: "So when Newsweek publishes a story about the Koran being flushed away, its held responsible for riots in Afghanistan and Rumsfeld tells the press to watch what they say. When someone-- presumably a soldier or other coalition official-- leaks photos of Saddam in his underpants to the Sun, the President is confident that the photos will do nothing to provoke any backlash from insurgents. Now that's a flexible theory of media influence."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 03:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Fields Report: How Safe is U.S. with Saddam in Custody?
The Fields Report,, May 21, 2005: "Remember back during the 2004 election campaign when Howard Dean delivered a speech before the Pacific Council and said that the U.S. wasn't any safer despite the recent capture of Saddam Hussein? He was roundly vilified by conservatives and even Democrats weren't so eager to embrace what he said. I wrote Dean was speaking the obvious truth and that terrorism experts seemed to agree with him. How far we've come since then. Iraq isn't even safer with Saddam in custody." Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 03:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sometimes You Have to Burn a Source
Why didn't Newsweek's Michael Isikoff and John Barry burn "the sources" that told them "interrogators, in an attempt to rattle suspects [at Guantanamo Bay prisoner of war camp] flushed a Qur'an down a toilet and led a detainee around with a collar and dog leash"?
As most Americans probably know by now, demonstrations erupted in some Muslim nations--police trying to quell the demonstrations reportedly killed 17--and a political firestorm erupted in Washington, D.C. after the claims were published. Newsweek's sources suddenly weren't so sure that they got the facts right. Newsweek retracted its article, or did it? Then it succumbed to Bush Administration demands that it apologize. I wonder will Isikoff and Barry's source or sources for the article be able to look them in the eye again.
Finally, if I had reported the story based on anonymous sources, and later came under attack for it, while the sources remained under the radar, I would have published their names, ranks and work locations. Of course many sources would probably no longer talk to me. But that's the point. Maybe it's time to end the anonymous source rule. How would you have handled it?
Posted by Munir Umrani at 10:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Danger of Politicizing Media Mistakes
The Register-Guard newspaper of Eugene, Oregon says Newsweek's "high-profile retraction" of its assertion that a military report will confirm "interrogators [at Guantanamo Bay prisoner of war camp] flushed a Qur'an down a toilet and led a detainee around with a collar and dog leash," "has conservatives polishing their dancing shoes for a jig on what they hope is liberal journalism's grave. It's inevitable in a sharply divided nation that political hay is made by both sides whenever possible, but there is danger in the fashionable rush to politicize mistakes by the media," the paper said in a May 20, 2005 editorial. "People of all ideological persuasions need to be very careful what they wish for here." I agree. Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 09:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 16, 2005
Shireen M. Mazari: Have We Come to This?
Shireen M. Mazari, a Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan, opined in a May 11, 2005 article in the Jang Group of Newspapers that, The desecration of the Holy Qu'ran in Guantanamo Bay simply to cause psychological torment to the incarcerated Muslims, with no thought to the sensitivity of innocent Muslims across the globe, certainly makes it clear how the US administration views Muslims. Add to this The Washington Times' portrayal of Pakistan as a pet dog obeying the commands of the US, in the wake of the arrest by Pakistan of al-Qaeda's Abu Farraj Al Libbi, clearly reflects the abuse the US media feels it can dish out to Pakistan at will. The cartoonist's explanation is absolute drivel and he should recall the British reaction to George Michael's video, "Wag The Dog".
She said, "Incidentally, on such a blatant abuse of Pakistan, why was it left to the Deputy Chief of Mission to take up the issue at the level of our embassy in Washington? Surely our ambassador should have made the public protest. Despite this continuous insult of Pakistan and Islam, we continue to live under the illusion that we are being seen as a partner in the war on terrorism!" Here's more of Mazari's column.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 07:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 15, 2005
PEJ: 'Newsweek Dives on Koran Desecration Story'
Chris Cook, a contributing editor at Peace, Earth & Justice News, said this about Newsweek's backtracking on its May 9, 2005 article headlined Gitmo: Southcom Showdown: Rattled perhaps by the outrage reverberating around the Muslim world, the editors of Newsweek have thrown into doubt the veracity of a story they published last week detailing desecration of the Holy Koran as a tool to make reluctant prisoners talk.
Mr. Cook raises interesting points. Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 10:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What Went Wrong Between Hariri and al-Asad?
Joshua Landis at Syria Comment.Com wrote in a May 14, 2005 post that, "The most interesting and important article on Lebanese - Syrian relations has been published in two parts by al-Hayat in Arabic. It is an interview with Nihad al-Mashnouq, [the assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik] Hariri's advisor on relations with Syria. As one Lebanese friend wrote me: Mashnouq was indeed in the "inner core" of the Hariri pantheon, and he has a score to settle with the army and [Emile] Lahoud, who forced him into exile, accusing him in a smear campaign, as I recall, of homosexuality. Whether there is any truth there, I don't know, but it was one of those accusations designed to blacken him, with no evidence.
Mr. Landis said his Lebanese friend "explains what went wrong, and why relations between Hariri and al-Asad collapsed well before the Lahoud extension. Already by 2000, "the door closed" between Hariri and [Syrian President Bashar] al-Asad, he writes, because the Syrians did not want Hariri to become Prime Minister again." Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 01:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 13, 2005
Can a Decisive Bolton Confirmation End Republican Disarray?
William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, comments in the publication's May 25, 2005 issue that, "The way for the [U.S.] administration and the Republican Congress to deal with disarray is by winning a quick and decisive victory in the fight for John Bolton." Read "Bolton to the Rescue" for Mr. Kristol's thoughts on how Mr. Bolton winning confirmation as President George W. Bush's next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. will help the administration.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 08:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 08, 2005
Australian Correspondent Asks Important Questions About Iraq
Nicolas Rothwell, Middle East correspondent for The Australian, contend in a May 7, 2005 article that, "the seizure of Australian hostage Douglas Wood, neatly marking the second anniversary of the U.S. takeover of Iraq, not only strips away the remaining shreds of innocence from Australia's Middle Eastern military support adventure, it also drives home the plight of the West's grand exercise in nation-rebuilding on the banks of the Tigris. He added: Two years on, a Western contractor engaged in reconstruction projects can be snatched from his home and held by insurgents without coalition intelligence officers or Iraqi police having a clue as to his initial disappearance or his present whereabouts.
Two years on, after democratic elections held under conditions of surreal threat and background violence, it has taken three full months for an interim government to agree on a partial ministry.
Two years on, a splendid, Egyptian-provided mobile phone network covers much of the capital, but the US military is not able even to provide a reliable electric power supply.
Two years on, terrorists still roam freely and can devastate a national guard office in the heart of tranquil Kurdish Erbil, killing 50 would-be recruits in the back yard of new President Jalal Talabani. Since the swearing-in this week of the new Government, 250 Iraqis have died in violence. He said, "This balance sheet seems bleak. The events of the past five days compel even the most enthusiastic supporter of the new Iraq to assess the state of progress. A place where Wood can be captured and where scores of less headline-worthy Iraqis with ransom funds are kidnapped monthly is not a functioning civil society. What, then, is it?" Read the full article here.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 02:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
