Moslem wins National Award

Starting a new page, the other one was getting too crowded. Israelis ram a relief boat that is also carrying a former US Representative. One Palestinian family loses five daughters in the same night after a mosque is targeted. If I’ve done the math right, according to the article 16% of all victims are confirmed civilians – that’s using the UN’s numbers. (h/t MJ Rosenberg) Compare to the total of 4 Israelis who have been killed. Can we just call it even and stop now? No, because that’s not the way the cycle of violence works. I have little hope…

I have been going back and forth on making a personal assessment about who is ultimately responsible for the abuse at Abu Gharib. Do I blame the soldiers, the military, the civilian masters of the Pentagon, the President or the American People? President Bush – below makes the arguement (in Al Arabiya that this is not a reflection of America: Q Mr. President, thank you for giving us this chance here in Al Arabiya. Regarding the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners, six U.S. soldiers are being reprimanded. Do you think that’s enough? THE PRESIDENT: First, I want to tell the…

I was watching CNN last night and came across a Lou Dobbs interview with Fouad Ajami, Director, Middle East Studies Program, John Hopkins University. Dr. Ajami made a lot of sense to me. To get a sense of where he is coming from, here is a list of articles by or about Dr. Ajami: Iraq and the Arabs Future Rude Arab Awakening What the Arab World Is Watching [critique of Al-Jezeera] Lebanon Star [critique of Ajami’s attack on Al-Jezerra] During the interview, in which he was speaking about the Abu Ghuraib scandal and the brutal beheading of Nick Berg, Ajami…