On the web: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/newsroom/index.html
Summary: U.S. It is now accepted among experts and 60 percent of Americans that the decision to invade Iraq has increased the threat of terrorism, notes JFP President Mark Weisbrot in a column published in 15 newspapers. To reduce the threat of real terrorism we have to stop making so many enemies. The war on terror will be won at home, by changing our foreign policy. The alternative is an endless cycle in which our government's militarism generates more terrorist attacks which are used to justify further military actions – further eroding our civil liberties, living standards, and the moral fabric of our society.
The notion that Muslims hate the West for its way of life is simply wrong, notes Juan Cole in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Most Muslims endorse democracy. The one area where Muslim publics admit to a difference with US culture is standards of sexual conduct, where they agree with American conservatives and evangelicals.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller says the Bush administration fooled the nation into believing Saddam Hussein was a legitimate threat. "Iraq had no WMD, Iraq did not have ties to al-Qaeda, and Iraq had no intention of attacking the US," he said."Plain and simple, the Iraq war has undermined the real war on terror and made us less safe."
Iran It is ridiculous to think that Iran is supporting or supplying radical or neo-Baathist Sunnis to blow up Iraqi Shiites, notes Juan Cole in his blog.
Iran's response to a proposal over its nuclear program offered negotiations to resolve the standoff, but only if proceedings against Iran in the U.N. Security Council were stopped. The response was made public on a Web site Monday.
Iraq A group of Iraqi lawmakers sought approval Tuesday of a resolution setting a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops, AP reports. The resolution gathered 104 signatures among 275 members before it was shelved by being sent to a committee for review.
Prime Minister al-Maliki Maliki met with President Ahmadinejad and declared that "in security issues, there is no barrier in the way of cooperation." Ahmadinejad said, "Iran will give its assistance to establish complete security in Iraq, because Iraq's security is Iran's security." Maliki's visit occurred against increasing accusations from American ambassador Khalilzad and American military commanders that elements in Iran are stoking the violence in Iraq.
The speaker of the Iraqi parliament said a controversial plan to partition the country into three autonomous regions is politically dead.
The U.S. commander in western Iraq said he agrees with the findings of a pessimistic classified report recently filed by his top intelligence officer but "tremendous progress" is being made in that part of the country.
Palestine The paralysis of the Palestinian Authority under Israeli and international sanctions has convinced many Hamas party activists that running the Authority is worthless, the Washington Post reports. "The situation we face is proof that the Palestinian Authority under the occupation is an illusion," said Sari Orabi, editor of Hamas's weekly newspaper. "What is the reason behind this authority? A majority now says it is all a big lie."
Afghanistan Soldiers deployed in Helmand province told the The Independent in Britain that the sheer ferocity of the fighting in the Sangin valley, and privations faced by the troops, are far worse than generally known.
World Bank Underfunding Tuberculosis in Africa The World Bank is spending far less on proven methods to combat tuberculosis in Africa, than in India, China and Russia, according to a Results International report, though a third of the world's TB deaths occur in Africa.
Landmine Casualties Up Casualties caused by landmines worldwide rose 11 percent last year to 7,328, with almost all the victims civilians, many of them children, a report said Wednesday.
Contents: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/newsroom/index.html
-------- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org
Just Foreign Policy is a membership organization devoted to reforming U.S. foreign policy so that it reflects the values and interests of the majority of Americans.