Last Saturday, March 26th, a woman burst into the dining room of the Rixos hotel, one of the two Tripoli luxury hotels where foreign journalists are forced to stay. Libyan security guards had taken her, she said, and gang raped for two days. Within minutes of her appearance, hotel staff and the ubiquitous government minders that frequent …
Conflict
Goldstone reconsiders his findings against Israel in Gaza war
In an op-ed shocker, the author of the Goldstone Report withdraws his harshest conclusions against Israel for its conduct in the three-week Gaza War that ended in January 2009. Richard Goldstone uses an opinion piece in the Washington Post to credit the Jewish state for investigating many of the incidents that led his U.N. fact-finding …
Inside Gaddafi’s Compound
At nine pm the announcement went out over the hotel PA system: “All Journalists, there will be a trip planned to Baab al-Aziziya after dinner. Please gather in the lobby.” We duly trudged to the waiting busses, newcomers such as my self curious to see Gaddaffi’s compound, and veterans hoping against expectations that the man …
India Defeats Pakistan in an Epic Cricket World Cup Showdown
In case you were not among the billion-plus people watching today’s Cricket World Cup semi-final, India has just won. It was a tough, close match with both sides getting a chance to show off their bowling. That’s not this Indian team’s strength, but they were in good form today and overpowered the Pakistani batsmen, who started strong …
Anatomy of a War Crime: Behind the Enabling of the ‘Kill Team’
The story has been remarkable for two reasons. First, for the pure depravity of the alleged crimes. According to Army prosecutors, a small group of soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division who were deployed to Afghanistan in 2009-10 went spectacularly, murderously rogue. According to prosecutors, they engaged in …
What’s at Stake at the London Meeting on Libya?
The following is a guest post by TIME‘s Vivienne Walt, who is attending the meeting in London over the future of Libya.
Ten days after French and U.S. jets launched Operation Odyssey Dawn in an effort to halt Muammar Gaddafi’s advance on Libyan rebels, the 37 countries involved in the sprawling military coalition converged in London …
Israeli Historian Reckons Syria’s Assad Will Fight to the End
Moshe Ma’oz has spent his adult life studying Syria. He advised Israeli Prime Ministers Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin on how best to make peace with the regime headed Hafez Assad, the father of the current president, Bashar Assad, who faces protests across the country. The rebellion is clearly triggered by the revolts known …
After Libya, the Ivory Coast: Should the U.N. Sanction Military Intervention?
Yesterday, TIME’s Monica Mark reported from Abidjan of the spiraling crisis in the Ivory Coast:
The erstwhile beacon of prosperity and stability in West Africa has been held hostage for five months by incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing a November runoff presidential election. Instead, he has
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With the Fate of Libya in the Balance, Coalition Leaders Start to Squabble
Just days ago, the U.N. Security Council passed a landmark resolution mandating intervention in Libya, backed by what seemed like tacit international consensus on the intolerable behavior of the Gaddafi regime. U.S., French and British aircraft commenced strikes on Libyan military positions, reversing the advance of pro-government forces …
FIFA’s Blatter and Yemen’s Saleh: Which International Strongman Will Fall First?
An embattled leader — who has maintained his grip on power for years, is constantly dogged by allegations of corruption, and is well versed in the dark arts of politics — announced to much relief Tuesday a date by which he would finally step down. And in other news, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said much the same.
Uprisings …
Did Gaddafi Really Finance Sarkozy’s Presidential Victory? (Probably Not.)
Stop the presses–or, better yet, don’t.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi—the no-longer-as-credible-as-once-hoped son of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi—is claiming his family financed the victorious 2007 campaign of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and now wants that money back. And if the Frenchman doesn’t pay up, the younger Gaddafi …
Gaddafi Warns Benghazi Rebels: We Are Coming, And There’ll Be No Mercy
In a recently concluded address broadcast on Libyan state radio, Muammar Gaddafi offered a grim warning to residents of Benghazi, the center of the rebellion seeking to topple the Gaddafi regime: “We are coming tonight, and there will be no mercy.”
The past week has seen troops loyal to Gaddafi march closer to Benghazi, Libya’s second …
Stability at What Price? Why Bahrain Needs Reforms Too
It’s the question that always makes me cringe. “Where are you from?” asks the taxi driver/shopkeeper/doorman/interviewee. I don’t lie, but in Pakistan or the Middle East I know that answering “American” can sometimes be met with a fusillade of angry observations about the evils of America’s foreign policy. Until recently, …