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 …
Human rights
Gandhi, Lelyveld and the Great Indian Tamasha
A few words today on the tempest brewed up this week in the social-media teacup over Joseph Lelyveld’s new biography of Mohandas K. Gandhi. The controversy is over reports that the book depicts Gandhi as bisexual, particularly in its description of the Mahatma’s relationship with a German architect. Lelyveld he had treated the …
Carter in Cuba: The Long Road to Freeing a U.S. Prisoner – and Thawing U.S.-Cuba Relations
Question: If former U.S. President Jimmy Carter didn’t go to Cuba this week to win the freedom of jailed U.S. contractor Alan Gross, what was he there for? Answer: To win the freedom of jailed U.S. contractor Alan Gross – but down the road. And that road could be a long one.
Gross, 61, a Maryland lawyer, was arrested in Cuba in …
In Cairo, Revolutionary Zeal Turns Into Revolutionary Tchotchkes
The following post is by reporter and videojournalist Jesse Hardman
Egypt’s Jan. 25 uprising might have freed the country politically, but it also significantly disrupted the local economy. Around Cairo, with tourism dead and business in general down, people are looking for ways to stay afloat financially. Many have turned to the …
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 …
China’s ‘Jasmine Revolution’ Crackdown Shows No Sign of Easing
More than a month after an online call for anti-government protests in major Chinese cities, a crackdown on dissent continues. On Friday writer Ran Yunfei, who has been in police custody since February 19, was formally arrested on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power,” the advocacy group Human Rights in China …
Why Burma’s Sanctions Debate Doesn’t Really Matter
The Burma sanctions debate in the West is made largely immaterial by the investment currently flooding the country, mostly from Asian nations that have few moral reservations about enriching the Burmese ruling generals. Chief among the eager investors are China, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and India. Their target? Burma’s rich …
6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Burma: How Will the Generals Respond?
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit eastern Burma on Thursday night, its epicenter close to the border with Thailand and Laos. Sustained tremors were felt in Bangkok, more than 500 km to the south of the epicenter, and even as far as Hanoi, capital of Vietnam. So far, only one fatality has been reported — that of a 53-year-old woman in …
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 …
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 …
Not Coming to Theaters Near You: The China Menace
To be clear, I’d be the last person to endorse anything that whips up fear of the proverbial “Other.” But MGM’s recent about-face on a remake of Red Dawn, a 1984 film pitting the agents of a Soviet takeover against a gang of plucky American teens (led by Patrick Swayze and a 19-year-old Charlie Sheen), smacks of cowardice. As my …