Arab Writers Group Syndicate

Iraq war corruption cases go beyond simple “fraud”
By Ray Hanania – This week, a suburban Chicago man who once held a management position at a company that sub-contracted war-related services in Iraq through Halliburton, will finally face trial on charges of corruption. Halliburton and the sub-contractor, Kellogg Brown & Root Inc., (KBR), have seen a string of their managers and employees convicted on corruption charges over the past five years since the war began. But the judge overseeing the case has ruled the defendants will not be permitted to debate the Iraq War during the trial, fueling suspicions the Bush administration is manipulating the cases to protect its political and financial interests. Read more »

Arabs driven by biases that mirror Israeli biases
By Ray Hanania – Last month, Hamas terrorists fired rockets into Israel and killed an Israeli girl. The attack provoked a massive response from Israel which claimed to target Hamas militants but ended up killing dozens of Palestinian civilians. Palestinians, Muslims and Arabs roundly condemned the Israeli attacks, but made no mention of the murder of the Israeli girl. Israelis were no different, condemning the murder of the little girl and then excusing away the murder of scores of innocent Palestinian civilians. As the back and forth escalated, the partisanship increased with Palestinians ignoring their attacks against Israel and Israelis ignoring their attacks against Palestinians. And people wonder why peace has been elusive so far in the Middle East. Read more »

U.S. Presidents and the drive for Middle East peace
By Ray Hanania — What is it about Presidents who wait until the last minute to try and achieve peace in the Middle East? President George W. Bush is in Jerusalem meeting with Israelis and Palestinians to help nudge the latest generation of the “peace process” along. Why does this all sound so familiar? Read more »

Patience is the road to reconciliation with Iran
By Anisa Mehdi — Two weeks ago today I left Iran. I was sorry to leave after such a short visit – just one week. I was attending a conference and got to spent time with friends I hadn’t seen since my last trip to Iran, six years ago. The cabby that picked me up outside my friend’s apartment late that Friday night spoke better English than I spoke Farsi. Within the first five minutes of our hour-long trek to the glittery, new Imam Khomeini International Airport he managed to communicate something significant. “Khomeini, good,” he said bluntly. “Khamenei, bad.” Read more »

Language and war in the Middle East:
By Ali Alarabi – Last November 26,President Bush signed an agreement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Malki that will regulate the presence of US troops in Iraq as well as the presence of American military bases in that country. Signed through a secure video conferencing system the agreement or the “ declaration of principles” as it was termed, called for an “ enduring” US presence in Iraq. As to why the US administration used the term “ Enduring” is of no mystery. The word “ Enduring” which according to Oxford English dictionary means among other things “ Permanent” or “eternal,” or “forever” it is a pretty and seemingly harmless word comparing to the more politically charged words like “ permanent” which if used instead it would likely raise a firestorm among certain segments of the Iraqi people. For Bush and for others, the battle over words is apparently as important as the battle over nations. Read more »

Americans howl about injustice of others, but not their own
By Ray Hanania — The way Americans have been howling about the outrageous punishment of a Saudi Arabian woman who was gang raped and sentenced to 200 lashes, you would think that they care about how Arabs and Muslims are treated. Even President Bush expressed his anger when asked about the case. But the reality is that neither President Bush nor most Americans really care about the Saudi woman, nor do they care about her lawyer who is also being punished for defending her In reality, Americans do not really care about the fate of the young girl. The fact is the punishment is outrageous by American standards, although her rapists were all convicted and sentenced to jail time, too. For Americans, the girl only symbolizes an opportunity to bash Arabs and Muslims. They could care less about justice. How do I know that? Because right here in America are injustices that tower above the case of the Saudi girl, and they don’t care. Read more »

Sweet talk at Annapolis
By Ali Alarabi – Although the speakers meeting in Annapolis were optimistic and almost encouraging in their speeches regarding bringing lasting peace to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, a peace, in the words of president Bush should usher the establishment of a viable Palestinian state side by side with Israel.  President Bush speech, though was peppered with references to freedom of the Palestinian people and a “real” and “viable” Palestinian state, but in reality Israel is making every effort to undermine the freedom of the Palestinian people and making the “reality and viability” of any future Palestinian state a virtual impossibility. Read more »

Annapolis peace summit faces major challenges

By Ray Hanania – If Israel really wanted to torpedo the Annapolis Peace Summit, as some Arabs insist, it wouldn’t have to work very hard to do it. The Palestinians and most Arabs are already trashing the Summit, which promises only to define a framework in which Israelis and Palestinians can begin final status negotiations. But Palestinians and Israelis seem skeptical. Many Palestinians believe the stumbling block is that Israel does not want to surrender the land it has annexed after occupying the West Bank in 1967, while Israelis have doubts a peace accord will lead to an end to violence. Israelis respond by pointing to the fact that they did return the Gaza Strip. Israelis argue that the Hamas terrorist organization has turned the Gaza into a military threat and base from which they fire Kassam Rockets into Israel. Read more »

Demme Documentary on Carter offers insights into a great man

By Ray Hanania – Even before anyone realized that Jimmy Carter’s book “Palestine: Peace not Apartheid” would stir up controversy and a lively but sometimes vicious debate, filmmaker Jonathan Demme decided to follow the former president during his book tour. Demme has produced a powerful documentary, “Jimmy Carter: A Man from Plains,” now showing in limited distribution in major cities around the country. For me, it was one thing to read Carter’s book – most journalists and critics who trashed it and the author did not read it. But it is even more moving to witness Carter through Demme’s Hollywood lens as he travels from book stores, to media interviews to university speeches preaching peace, justice and principle. Read more »

Musharraf, Mubarak, the same old sad story: America  should make the choice between military dictators or Democracy

By Aladdin Elaasar – General Musharraf has imposed emergency rule on Pakistan after months of unrest. He refuses to step down as head of the military or share power with former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He has put judges and opposition leaders, who contest his authority, under house arrest. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the situation as deeply disappointing. Historically, the military in Pakistan have moved against civilian governments and took over. Musharraf himself came to power in 1999 overthrowing prime Minster Nawaz Sharif, after ten years of democratic rule. Read more »