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Obama Afghanistan Visit Marked by New Agreement, Followed by Violence
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US President Barack Obama’s surprise visit to Afghanistan on the anniversary of the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden was marked by the signing of a new cooperation agreement between Washington and Kabul. Termed a “strategic partnership act,” the agreement was touted as opening “a new season of equal relations” by Afghani President Hamad Karzai, whose relations with the American administration have become increasingly stormy. In his remarks, President Obama called attention to the Bin Laden mission as he has been doing on the campaign stump, and took credit for being “able to decimate the ranks of Al-Qa’ida,” a claim that critics said is premature at best given the on going violence throughout the country. In fact, the Taliban wasted no time in responding to the Obama visit by sending a suicide car bomber and gunmen into the capital where six were killed and many were wounded only six hours after the president left. The strategic partnership act is intended to send the message that Western assistance will still be available to Afghanistan after the final withdrawal of NATO combat forces, scheduled for 2014. President Obama also ratcheted-up sanctions on Iran and Syria by giving the Treasury Department greater ability to go after individuals and businesses that ignore efforts to isolate Tehran and Damascus.
Attackers Kill Five at Cairo Demonstration against Military Council
Attackers charged into a Cairo demonstration calling for the ruling military council to step down killing at least five protestors and injuring more than fifty on Wednesday morning. The incident took place near the military headquarters in the capital. The military council, which took control of the country when former President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, has been the subject of fierce criticism and accusations that its rule is no more democratic than Mubarak’s was. Even after parliamentary elections were held and campaigning for presidential elections is under way, the council seems intent on retaining significant power, prompting new demonstrations remarkably similar to those that led to Mubarak’s downfall. The demonstrators are followers of a Salafist/Islamist candidate whose candidacy was ruled out by the military council. A total of ten candidates were excluded by the election commission.
Alleged Plot by Iranians to Kill Saudi Ambassador in Cairo Revealed
Egyptian security sources are claiming a plot by Iranians to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Cairo was thwarted three months ago. Tehran denies the allegations. Arab-language newspapers are reporting that three Iranians were arrested and Egyptian officials told the Saudis what had happened, but the Riyadh put a gag on the story. What few details are known display striking similarity to American allegations last October when the US accused Tehran of trying to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington. Relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are shaky at the moment because of the arrest in Riyadh of an Egyptian human rights lawyer. On Saturday, the Saudis recalled their ambassador from Cairo following raucous demonstrations outside the Saudi Arabian embassy.
Palestinian Bureau of Statistics: Fewer Women, Earning Less
The latest statistics released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics indicates that the workforce is comprised of four-times the number of men than women, and that the women who do work receive lower pay than their male counterparts. Also featured in its annual statistical releases are comparisons between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where even fewer women work and earn even less than their male counterparts in Gaza and female counterparts in the West Bank. The statistics call attention to the ongoing political problem of Palestinians being employed by Israelis in both pre-1967 and post-1967 Israel. Technically, the 12,000 Palestinians who are employed by Israeli communities located on land Israel acquired in the 1967 war, land the Palestinians claim for their state, are violating Palestinian law. But because of the scarcity of jobs, Palestinian authorities have been unable to enforce the ban. 69,000 Palestinians hold jobs inside of Israel.
Lebanon Visit by US Delegation Underscores Differences in Policies toward Hamas, Hizbullah
[Analysis] The arrival in Beirut of US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and the presence of an American delegation that includes Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Ct.), underscores a marked difference in how US lawmakers treat the involvement of Hamas in a Palestinian government and Hizbullah’s control over the Lebanese government. Regarding the possibility of Hamas’ participation in a unity government, many US lawmakers warn that law precludes interaction or providing aid to a government that includes an entity that appears on the State Department list of terrorist organizations, as does Hamas. But relative to Lebanon, where 21 of 30 cabinet seats are controlled by Hizbullah, which is also on the terrorism list, no such pronouncements and admonitions are heard. The Lebanon situation is arguably graver in light of the vast arsenal and fighting force controlled by Hizbullah, which places Lebanon in violation UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, both of which forbid militias other than the official state military. But there, too, American lawmakers involved in foreign policy issues remain willing to respond to inquiries from The Media Line. [Ed.]
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