Mission & Justice

Osama Al Sharif, 29/6/08

The demolition by North Korea of the 60-foot cooling tower of its main reactor complex in Yongbyon on Friday represents an important breakthrough in dismantling its nuclear programme. It has come after more than five years of international diplomatic efforts aimed at persuading the North Koreans to shelve its nuclear ambitions. Two years ago, the world shuddered when Pyongyang successfully tested a nuclear bomb. A combination of threats, such as sanctions and even the use of force, in addition to rewards and incentives finally persuaded the North Korean regime to embark on a plan to shut down its nuclear facility.

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Yiota Kamaratos; 19/6/08

A group of some 300 ordinary, yet extraordinary women, from 28 countries cycled 370 kilometers (230 miles) through Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan into Palestine last May, calling for peace and empowering women and youth in the Middle East. The idea began in 2003 when a handful of like-minded female youth workers in the European Union’s Youth Program formed Follow the Women (FTW) to cycle through the Middle East as a means of supporting Palestinians who were restricted in taking part in Euro-Med activities due to living under Israeli occupation. FTW has had four annual peace rides, each aimed at showing solidarity toward the women and youth of the region, increasing intercultural understanding and providing participants with the chance to experience first-hand the plight of Palestinians living in the occupied territories and in exile in refugee camps.

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Editorial: 8/6/08

George W. Bush brought death and chaos to Iraq on the basis of lies. Now, as he staggers through the last months of his failed presidency, he is trying one more bit of trickery — forcing the Nuri Al-Maliki government to legitimize a long-term military occupation of Iraq in a treaty, which will make that sovereign country an American colony. The treaty would permit the maintenance of up to 50 American bases from which US forces could operate against perceived threats to their interests, and at no point would US military personnel nor contractors be answerable to Iraqis. Vice President Dick Cheney has reportedly been leading the negotiations on this agreement — characterized euphemistically as “ a strategic alliance” and has been bullying the Al-Maliki administration to agree to the deal before the end of this month. It is hard to think of a more effective way of demonstrating so clearly that whatever specious nonsense the Bush administration may have spouted about liberating the Iraqi people from dictatorship and bringing them the blessings of democracy, the real truth all along was that the invasion was all about Washington’s desire to control a major oil-producing country.

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Francis Matthew; 5/6/08

A lot of positive developments seem to be happening in the Middle East at the moment, but they are all happening on their own, with no combined sense of overall direction, so all the goodwill that is flying around at the moment will probably eventually lead to nothing. The intricate web of disputes in the Middle East means that each separate issue impacts on the others, and to try to move ahead to solve one problem without moving on the others will lead to eventual failure. The Middle East needs a comprehensive peace initiative, based on the plan adopted by the Arab League when offered by then-Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, which comes down to the Arabs offering complete peace with Israel in return for the total return of all land occupied.

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