IPS correspondents bring you independent perspectives on what is happening in Iran, Iraq and across the Middle East.
In Gaza, It’s Darkness At Noon
Mohammed Omer
GAZA CITY – It gets dark, and cold, and people are getting hungry. Israel closed border crossings Friday, not allowing even UN humanitarian aid trucks carrying basic food. Crossings have been closed frequently since October 2007.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40883
MIDEAST: No Rights, Little Mercy
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40863
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Christian Zionists Feel “Betrayed” by Bush’s Road Map
Bill Berkowitz*
OAKLAND – President George W. Bush returned home from his trip to the Middle East optimistic about the possibility of a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians before he leaves office in January of next year.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40874
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U.S. Contractor Abuses Rarely Punished, Groups Say
Ali Gharib
WASHINGTON – Out of the dozens upon dozens of reports of abuses by private contractors as part of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, only one prosecution of a contractor has taken place.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40865
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IRAQ: Police and Army Getting Sidelined
Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail*
BAQUBA – New military operations in Diyala province north of Baghdad have exacerbated a growing conflict between U.S.-backed Sunni fighters on the one hand and Iraqi army and police forces on the other.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40862
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TURKEY: Restoration Plan Over Bumpy Road
Analysis by Jacques N. Couvas
ANKARA – A day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy expounded on his plan for 2008 and coined the term “policy of civilisation”, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented his road map for the new year, which he baptised the “national restoration plan”.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40860
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Internal Problems Worry Iranians More
Kimia Sanati
TEHRAN – While Iranians have legitimate worries that their country may suffer a military attack by the United States or become a victim of more sanctions for its nuclear policies, analysts say that the real dangers in 2008 are internally generated ones.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40853
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LEBANON: For Iraqis, Treatment for Trauma is Luxury
Rebecca Murray
BEIRUT – The young woman was walking with her husband along a Baghdad street when she was abducted, held captive and raped repeatedly by five militia men for several days.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40841
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IRAN: Gov’t “Leading by Fear”, Activists Say
Omid Memarian*
BERKELEY – Iran’s recent use of extreme punishments such as amputations and public executions has deepened concerns about the situation of human rights amid the strict enforcement of Islamic law, which has worsened since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hardliner government came to power in June 2005.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40827
For more IPS reporting on the Middle East – www.ipsnews.net/middle.asp
Iraq: Beyond the Green Zone – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iraq/index.asp
Iran: The Parthian Shot – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iran/index.asp
Holy Land/Unholy War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/israel_palestina/index.asp
Afghan Divide – www.ipsnews.net/afghanistan/index.asp
View From the U.S.: Bush at War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/warII/index.asp
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