The Middle East Region

TFF monitors developments in the conflict between the West and Iran as well as that between Israel and its neighbours. In 2006 we published a lot about the Muhammad caricature crisis and the war in Lebanon.

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TFF Videoteques

Iraq

Iran

Middle Eastern region

Articles 2008

Richard Falk, BBC Hardtalk, May 2, 2008 - 3 videos
Hardtalk: Stephen Sackur talks to Professor Richard Falk, the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories , about his suggestion that Israel has "genocidal tendancies".

Jan Oberg, April 10
Israel denies visa to Richard Falk: Yet another Jewish fundamentalist clamp down on intellectual freedom.

Breaking April 9, 2008
Israel denies visa to TFF Associate Richard Falk, appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the Israeli-Palestinian human rights situation. Haaretz April 9, 2008. All articles by Falk here.

David Krieger, April 9, 2008
Accountability for the Iraq War

Yusra Moshtat, Göteborgs-Posten, 20:e mars 2008
Döden i Bagdad
I dag är det fem år sedan Irakkriget inleddes. Yusra Moshtat skriver om amerikanska presidenters löften och undrar hur vi ska kunna yvas över våra mänskliga fri- och rättigheter om miljoner människor i andra länder förvägras samma sak.

Richard Falk, March 5, 2008
What to expect from the next American president in the Middle East

Vicky Samantha Rossi, March 4, 2008
The forgotten camp.
In the West Bank with Operations Suppport
The aim of the trip was to confirm whether or not the residents of New Fahme were registered refugees who had somehow been overlooked by UNRWA and were in need of assistance.
A story about what it means to help in the midst of unspeakable human misery.

Important international Iraq Conference in Berlin, March 7-9
Alternatives to War & Occupation
Sponsored by TFF and with TFF Associates

Richard Falk, February 11, 2008
Interpreting US-Iran relations

TFF Board - January 28, 2008
Peace In and With Iraq - A 10-Point Plan
As long as there is no discussion about alternatives to the present occupation, it is likely to continue. TFF's plan is a constructive attempt to be pro-peace and not just anti-war. It's point of departure is: What must be done now to help the Iraqi people to live in peace, security and welfare in a decade from now?

Articles 2007

Francis Boyle, December 10, 2007
The illegalities of US foreign policy and wars
Boyle's 4-part Bertrand Russell Lectures at McMaster's University in Canada. Few can present the case better than this TFF Associate, with all details and references to the very international law framwork which the Bush administration deliberately and systematically undermines.

David Krieger and Walter Cronkite, Common Dreams - December 4, 2007
Our troops must leave Iraq
Congress must act. Although Congress never declared war, as required by the Constitution, they did give the president the authority to invade Iraq. Congress must now withdraw that authority and cease its funding of the war.

Vicky S. Rossi, December 2, 2007
Palestinian youth make documentary film
The year 2008 will mark 60 years since the flight of the first Palestine refugees. The marking of all tragic events is an important time to both remember what has been in the past and to envision anew paths towards a more vibrant future. Through art, craft and music, the Palestinian story and, as an integral part of that, the life of 1948 and 1967 refugees can be narrated in a creative and purposeful way. (November 29 is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People).

Vicky S. Rossi, December 2, 2007
Palestinian youth talk about the importance of land
“In our fight to prevent our land being confiscated we said to ourselves, ‘Why don’t we create new life out of this sad story of problems, restrictions and struggle?’” Evidently, as well as being a cause for despair when the connection between individual and territory is forcibly cut, the land can also be a source of healing and reconciliation.

Hisae Nakanishi, TFF Video Channel, YouTube
November 9, 2007
The US, Turkey and Iraq - Part 1 of 3
An interview by Jan Oberg with focus on the relations between these three countries and the wider Middle East.

Yusra Moshtat, Göteborgs-Posten, 4 nov 2007
Jag är tjejen från Bagdad
Jag vet vem jag är och var jag kommer ifrån. Jag vet att jag är "tjejen från Bagdad" och för mig är min eventuellt bristande svenskhet inget större problem, men vad händer med min son? Kommer han att betraktas som en "riktig" svensk? Kommer han någonsin att kunna gå genom passkontrollen utan att mötas av misstänksamhet?

Jan Oberg, OneWorld - October 1, 2007
Mistranslating, misinterpreting and demonising Ahmadinejad
About MIMAC, the Military-Industrial-Media-Academic Complex and its role in promoting war and manufacture threats that don't exist.

Farhang Jahanpour, September 30, 2007
Ahmadinezhad in New York
Imagine that some Western president had been treated this way. President Bollinger of Columbia Univeristy ought to be fired also because he was the one who relied on media deception and demonization. This is not the time to be irresponsible and promote more wars in the Middle East!

Richard Falk, September 26, 2007
Two models of democratization in the Middle East
The recent Turkish experience reinforces the important message of the Arab Human Development Report of 2004 that insisted that democracy was vital for the region, that it could only come about from within, and that among the main regional obstacles to democracy from within were the suppression of Palestinian rights of self-determination and the American occupation of Iraq.

Jørgen Johansen, 20:e september 2007
Bomba Iran? - Säg ifrån nu !

Yusra Moshtat, Göteborgs-Posten, 16:e september 2007
Ovissheten är det enda säkra
Hon hette Hyam al Kazali och hon dog ensam på en väg mellan Bagdad och den iranska gränsen. Hon rånades, skändades och sköts till döds av okända banditer när hon försökte skapa en ny framtid åt sig och sina barn i en fredligare del av världen. Jag träffade henne för fem månader sedan i Amman; hon drömde om en framtid för sig och sina barn i Europa.

Michel Chossudovsky, TFF Associate, GlobalResearch, ca, September 16, 2007
The Bush Administration war plans are directed against Iran
Diabolical statements about bombings come within a couple of weeks after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report. It confirms unequivocally that Iran's nuclear program is of a civilian nature and that Iran has neither the intention nor the capabilities to develop nuclear weapons. Thus the IAEA report is a slap in the face for Washington. And still the public outcry is nowhere to be found.

TFF' s 10 Point Plan for Peace in and with Iraq
Constructive, civilians in focus, comprehensive, offering hope & showing how much we must all do! This is how the occupiers can leave!

TFF's 10-Punkts plan for fred i og med Irak
Konstruktivt, civile i fokus, omfattende, gver håb og viser hvor meget vi alle må sætte ind på denne. Dette viser hvordan besættelsen kan ophøre!

Richard Falk, September 1, 2007
The real meaning of Turkey's elections

Richard Falk, August 31, 2007
Comments to the exchange of letter between Hans von Sponeck-Dennis Halliday and Louise Arbour, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
"..But even more disturbing, because it is ongoing, is Madame Arbour’s anodyne reassurances about the UN response to the dire circumstances that currently exist in Iraq." See Hans von Sponeck-Dennis Halliday letter to Louise Arbour and Louise Arbour's response to von Sponeck-Dennis Halliday.

Yusra Moshtat, Stockholms Fria Tidning, 25:e augusti, 2007
"Du kan väl inte vara från Sverige!"
Efter femton år i Sverige känner jag mig fortfarande som en främling men inte på samma sätt som förut och heller inte i alla situationer. Men hur blir det med min 13-årige son? Vad händer då när hans svenskhet blir ifrågasatt?

Jørgen Johansen, 2:e augusti 2007
Högt spel med dollar & vapen
George W Bush skall sälja och ge bort krigsmateriel för motsvarande 400 miljarder svenska kronor till Israel och arabiska stater. För de rika arabstaterna upphävs tidigare restriktioner och Israel, Egypten och Jordanien får vapnen i gåva.
Förslaget kan verka underligt, men det handlar om både amerikansk ekonomi och ”kriget mot terrorismen”.

Jan Øberg, 31. juli 2007
Danmarks tilbagetrækning fra Irak - en ny udenrigspolitisk skandale
Video på 1 min.

Richard Falk, July 17, 2007
Turkey's elections: An outsider's view
These elections are being intensely contested
and are viewed as crucial to the future of Turkey. I believe they are widely misinterpreted here and abroad as a contest between
Islam and secularism, whereas the real struggle going on is between two ideas of secularism.

Jørgen Johansen, 14:e juli 2007
Journalister i fångenskap
Det er skillnad på journalist och journalist i medierna. Johansen jämför mediebevakningen av Sami al-Haj i Guantanamo och BBC-journalisten Alan Johnston.

TFF Associates, July 12, 2007
Blair is the wrong man for the job
Mahdi Elmandjra, Richard Falk, Johan Galtung, Jan Hjarpe, Farhang Jahanpour, Jorgen Johansen, Annabel McGoldrick, Yusra Moshtat, Hisae Nakanishi, Jan Oberg, Jonathan Power, Annette Schiffmann, Soren Sommelius, Christina Spannar, and Hakan Wiberg express how appalled they are by the appointment of Tony Blair as Special Envoy for the UN, the US, the EU and Russia - The Quartet.

Sören Sommelius, 12: juli 2007
Recension av Robert Fisks "Det stora kriget för mänskligheten"
Det här är en av de viktigaste böcker jag läst på flera år, i några av samtidens avgörande och mest komplexa frågor.

Hisae Nakanishi, July 11, 2007
Another "unthinkable" war in Iraq?
What is going on in Northern Iraq and how does Turkey perceive the war across its border? Why has it reently deployed 140 000 troops in the border region?

Hans von Sponeck & Dennis Halliday
July 9, 2007
Open Letter to Madame Louise Arbour
On the deficient commitment of the various bodies of the UN to human rights violations in Iraq, during the sanctions years and today during the occupation. Mme Arbour is UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Richard Falk, June 29, 2007
Slouching toward a Palestinian Holocaust
It is especially painful for me, as an American Jew, to feel compelled to portray the ongoing and intensifying abuse of the Palestinian people by Israel through a reliance on such an inflammatory metaphor as ‘holocaust.’ 

Jan Oberg, OneWorld, June 28, 2007
Blair "our" envoy: The poverty of the UN and the West

Vicky Samantha Rossi, June 27, 2007
Entities don't have consciousness or humanity
About the importance of keeping the political focus on the individual. Men and women of civil society embrace their individual responsibility as human beings in order to break out of prevailing structures and destructive stereotypes. A lasting transformation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to come from within, but it can be assisted by support from outside.

Yusra Moshtat, Aftonbladet, 27:e juni 2007
När ska Blair be om ursäkt?
Han tror på Gud. Han har också barn. Tänker han någon gång på de tusentals barn vars död han är direkt eller indirekt skyldig till? Tycker han fortfarande att kriget är värt det ohyggliga pris som de och miljoner andra irakier har fått betala, och till vilken nytta?

Michel Chossudovsky, June 24, 2007
Bush Directive for a "Catastrophic Emergency" in America: Building a Justification for Waging War on Iran?
In the words of President Bush, "Against this kind of enemy, there is only one effective response: We must go on the offense, stay on the offense, and take the fight to them."

Jan Hjärpe, Sydsvenska Dagbladet, 24:e juni 2007
Det är kört för den här gången i Mellersta Östern
Enstatslösning, tvåstatslösning, trestatslösning? Ett grundläggande fel i de bedömningar och i de politiska beslut som görs är att man utgår från att ”stater” är de väsentliga aktörerna i skeendet. I ett mycket långt perspektiv skulle kanske någon sorts federativ ordning kunna skapas som omfattar hela Mellanöstern, ett Mellanösterns EU. Men fredsprocesser mellan ”stater” – det är kört.

Yusra Moshtat, Göteborgs Fria, May 21, 2007
"I weave my memories and my hopes for Iraq"
See how Yusra Moshtat weaves the symbols of peace and beauty into her huge carpets about Iraq.

Jan Hjärpe, Sydsvenskan, 14:e juni 2007
Ingen politik, ingen fred
Om hur Israel, USA och tyvärr också EU har bidragit till att våldet förblir permanent i Gaza länge. Nu måste vi räkna med att våldet blir permanent för lång tid framåt, och att ingen fred kan åstadkommas, inte i Gaza, och inte heller Israel–Palestina.

Trine Pertou Mach og Mahmoud Issa,
Politiken 30, maj 2007
Palæstina - en forsvunden stat
Israels besættelse af palæstinensiske områder har nu varet 40 år – og den palæstinensiske flygtninge-tragedie har været uløst i 60 år. Er der ingen løsning?

Farhang Jahanpour, 31. maj 2007
Islam og menneskerettighederne
Hvilke (vrang)forestillinger har Vesten og Islam af hinanden? Hvad siger Koranen egentlig om menneskets rettigheder i samfundet? Hvad kan der gøres for at bedre forståelsen - når vi nu véd fra historien at de to kan leve side om side og ikke behøve at støde sammen?

Farhang Jahanpour, 30. maj 2007
Irans nukleare program og den regionale sikkerhed
Hvad siger Ikkespredningsaftalen og hvordan er den blevet krænket og af hvem? Hvordan bør man ikke behandle Iran og hvilke er de mulige løsninger. En autoritativ analyse, der skærer igennem propagandaen og spindoktoriet og helt konstruktivt anviser løsninger på konflikten med Iran.

Yusra Moshtat, Göteborgs Fria, 26:e maj 2007
Allt kan tas ifrån mig, även mitt minne
En människa kan skrapas ren in på bara benknotorna. För första gången under mina år i Sverige känner jag mig hemlös. Är det krigets slutliga triumf, ondskans seger över det goda?

Yusra Moshtat, Göteborgs-Posten, 23:e maj 2007
Drömmen om ett Schengenvisum
Jordanien har tagit emot cirka en miljon irakiska flyktingar sedan 2003. Yusra Moshtat
reser från Göteborg till Amman och minns sin flykt till Sverige 1991. Hon träffar landsmän som lämnat allt i Irak och lever på drömmen om ett visum till Schengen.

Farhang Jahanpour, May 9, 2007
Iran's nuclear programme and regional security
What does the NPT say, how has it been violated, how should Iran not be treated and what are the possible solutions?
An authoritative analysis that cuts through all the propaganda and biased medialized views.

Farhang Jahanpour, April 12, 20007
Islam and human rights
A most learned and concise analysis of the perceptions of human rights in Islam and Christianity, their difference and similarities and, consequently, their contributions to a better world.

Jan Oberg, OneWorld US, April 2007
The UK-Iran dispute: Appealing to cooler heads

Francis A. Boyle, March 30, 2007
For Iran and the U.K. - Invoke the 1899 Hague Convention for the Pacific Settlement now

Hans von Sponeck, Voltaire Net, March 25 2007
United Nations implications in war crimes
The Security Council must follow the UN Charter and it must not forget the Convention on the rights of the child and the general implications of these conventions. Moreover, if the Security Council knows that conditions in Iraq are inhuman and it decides not to act, then the Security Council must be blamed for the very strong increase in the mortality rates in Iraq.

Sören Sommelius, 22:a mars 2007
Irak är inte Vietnam
Reflektioner kring Chomsky's och Achcar's bok "Perilous Power".

Yusra Moshtat & Jan Oberg, March 19-20, 2007
Support peaceful plan so the U.S. can leave Iraq
Let’s stop shouting only “The US out of Iraq”. Unless combined with a vision of a decent, respectful and helpful international mission in Iraq and a better policy plan for the Middle East, that slogan plays into the hand of those who advocate ongoing occupation. It’s not a matter of leaving Iraq, it’s a matter of being there in a completely different way. Dennis Kucinich's plan deserves worldwide support.

Yusra Moshtat & Jan Öberg
Göteborgs-Posten, 16:e mars 2007
Stöd fredlig plan för att USA ska lämna Irak
Det finns bara ett sätt att få stopp på den pågående och accelererande konflikten i Irak: De USA-stödda trupperna måste lämna landet. Först då kan en folklig fredsprocess inledas och den bör bland annat bygga på den demokratiske presidentkandidaten, Dennis Kucinich's visionära plan, skriver Yusra Moshtat och Jan Öberg apropå fyraårsdagen sedan kriget startade.

Farhang Jahanpour, March 10, 2007
Voices of aggression: Exploring Israeli-Iran rhetoric
What did president Ahmadinejad really say? Did he deny the Holocaust? What is said on the Israeli side? - that we hear much less about in the Western media. Dr. Jahanpour places the two opponents' rhetoric in a larger domestic and international, even historic, context and reminds us of the remarkable Jewish-Persian co-existence and tolerance over centuries.

Farhang Jahanpour, March 10, 2007
Western encounters with Persian Sufi literature
A 10-year old article with an important message for the present Western conflict with Iran: One of the major contributions of Sufism to inter-religious dialogue, which has not been much commented upon, has been to serve as a bridge between Islam and other religions. On the one hand, it has softened the attitude of the followers of other religions towards mystical Islam and, on the other hand, it has made the Muslims much more open and receptive towards other religions.

Per Gahrton, Svenska Dagbladet, 4:e mars 2007
Bildts chans – offensiv för Palestina
Hur kommer det sig att en utrikesminister som beslagits med att ha stött USA-kriget i Irak är föremål för något som liknar en kampanj från stora delar av just de grupper som hyllat USA-invasionen och knappast gjort sig kända för att protestera mot förtryck som drabbar araber och muslimer? Kanske faller Carl Bildt även om han går ut och markerar en Israel-kritisk linje. Men då faller han på en tydlig politisk konfliktfråga.

Yusra Moshtat & Jan Öberg
Svenska Dagbladet 27:e februari 2007
Bildt tiger om USA:s krigsbrott
Även som Sveriges utrikesminister har han försvarat USA:s folkrättsliga brott. Inte ett enda kritiskt ord har utrikesministern formulerat mot detta vidriga krig, som skördar minst 100 människoliv varje dag.
Artikeln åstadkom hundratals blog-inlägg...

Farhang Jahanpour, February 21, 2007
Bush's missed opportunity
U.S. foreign policy has gone totally beserk.The Neoconservatives that pushed America towards perhaps the worst disaster in her history, namely the illegal war in Iraq, are likely to push her towards an even more disastrous decision if they can manufacture an American invasion of Iran. The first time many Americans were fooled by their false intelligence and extensive propaganda...

Kaj Brand-Jakobsen, February 14, 2007
Iran-US-UK: Proposals and Steps for Peace
Forty-two proposals: "This is not a wish list. These are practical things that can be done. Some of them may seem more difficult, which means they might take more effort. In dealing with many of these situations governments and others often lack practical politics, effective peacebuilding measures, and imagination not constrained by dogma."
 

Michel Chossudovsky, GlobalResearch, February 14, 2007
Planned US-Israeli attack on Iran
At the outset of Bush's second term, Vice President Dick Cheney dropped a bombshell. He hinted that Iran was "right at the top of the list" of the rogue enemies of America, and that Israel would "be doing the bombing for us". A good background read from 2005

David Krieger, Richard Falk, Francis Boyle and others, January 21, 2007
Citizens' hearing on the legality of U.S. actions in Iraq: The case of Lt. Ehren Watada

Michel Chossudovsky, 10 January 2007
The "Demonization" of Muslims and the battle for oil
The oil lies in Muslim lands. Vilification of the enemy is part and parcel of Eurasia energy geopolitics. It is a direct function of the geographic distribution of the World's oil and gas reserves. If the oil were in countries occupied predominantly by Buddhists or Hindus, one would expect that US foreign policy would be directed against Buddhists and Hindus, who would also be the object of vilification.. 

Hans von Sponeck and Dennis Halliday,
January 5, 2007
Appeal for the release of Tariq Aziz in Iraq

Richard Falk, January 3, 2007
What future for the Palestinians?

Richard Falk, January 1, 2007
The flawed execution of Saddam Hussein

Articles July-December 2006

Richard Falk, December 4, 2006
An American fiasco, an Iraqi tragedy
The Middle East is at a tipping-point: either allow the lethal drift continue or acknowledge urgency by undertaking a drastic change of course. One way out that is still possible would be a major regional conference. Waiting for Washington appears to be waiting for Godot!

Farhang Jahanpour, December 2, 2006
Lessons of Suez and Iraq
November marked the 50th anniversary of the Suez crisis, when Britain, France and Israel decided to attack Egypt and unseat Gamal Abdel-Nasser. Dr. Jahanpour analyses the remarkable similarities with the Iraq occupation and predicts much worse long-term consequences.

Jake Lynch, December 1, 2006
Iran in British media - a peace journalism perspective
The left-of-centre Guardian, for instance, comes out as markedly more War Journalistic - more likely to reproduce dominant readings of war propaganda - than some of its rivals. The right-wing Spectator shows a far higher proportion of Peace Journalism than its left-wing counterpart, the New Statesman. Peace Journalism, it is argued, produces findings of material relevance to conflict understanding as well as highlights appropriate steps editors and reporters could take to ensure accuracy and balance in their coverage.

November 29, 2006
Palestine, the olives, identity and peace
Vicky Rossi interview with Daoud Nasar, Tent of Nations, Bethlehem
"The olive tree is connected to our struggle for peace, justice and freedom because we, in the same way as the olive tree, have our roots here. So the Palestinians have a deep connection both to the land and to the olive trees.”

November 29, 2006
The U.N. Dag Hammarskjöld Library marks...
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestine People
The background, the UN and other links, the literature - a treasure of info and knowledge about the Middle East conflict.

Vicky Rossi, November 28, 2006
Blog on "Visions of Peace and Reconciliation"
See this TFF Associate's remarkable interviews and reflections from her in-the-field experience. There is also her special page on this homepage.

Per Gahrton, Svenska Dagbladet, 23:e november 2006
Bildt begriper Mellanöstern
Bildt har flera gånger uttryckt hoppingivande insikter om Palestinakonfliktens karaktär, en kvalitet som kan uppväga en hel del andra brister hos honom.

Kamran Mofid, November 16, 2006
The persistent Middle East Crisis: The path to an enduring peace is through economics of hope and justice for the Common Good
I believe that, there will be no path to peace in the Middle East without engaging the religious traditions of the region and in turn enabling the faith communities to get behind the process of economic and business development. Many people in the Middle-East and around the world express their highest hopes and aspirations for what it means to be human through religion.

Francis A. Boyle, November 15, 2006
Palestine Independence Day
An appropriate day to remind the world that when the Palestine National Council in 1988 declared Palestine an independent state, it explicitly accepted a two-state solution. As a former legal adviser to that Council, Boyle states "unequivocally that if there had been good faith on the part of the governments of Israel and the United States back in 1991, there could have been negotiated a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement."

Richard Falk, November 6, 2006
The Saddam Hussein death sentence
The American stage-managing of this judicial process has been evident to observers all along. It always seemed legally dubious to initiate a criminal trial against Saddam Hussein while the American occupation was encountering such strong resistance by Saddam loyalists. By now, even naïve America no longer listens when Washington claims that another milestone establishes progress in the war. As the milestones pile up, so do the bodies!

Trine Pertou Mach, TFF Associeret, 31. oktober 2006, Nyhedsmagasinet Ræson
Karikaturkrisens rigtige ét-årsdag
Den utilgivelige fejlvurdering bestod i, at han efterlod dansk udenrigspolitik uden egentlige manøvremuligheder. Uagtet indholdet af Ambassadørernes brev, så skulle mødet have fundet sted - dét er essensen i diplomati.

Trine Pertou Mach, TFF Associeret, 31. oktober 2006, Nyhedsmagasinet Ræson
Religiøs dialog kan ikke løse politiske problemer
Det kan sagtens være sympatisk og almennyttigt, når USA faciliterer religiøse topmøder, men det er og forbliver alene symptombehandling. Roden til de konflikter og terroren skal findes et helt andet sted. Det er kun løsningen af de grundlæggende problemer, der kan skabe fred. I dag er der i Mellemøsten tre konflikter, der udgør centrale barrierer for opretholdelsen af en international retsorden: Irak, Vestbredden og Gaza, Libanon. Her udleves alle Vestens dobbeltstandarder for fuld skrue.

Hans von Sponeck, TFF Board, September 30, 2006
A Different Kind of War. The UN Sanction Regime in Iraq
An authoritative account of what happened by a person who was there and sensed the human catastrophe before most others. And left the UN because of it - Hans von Sponeck.

Jan Hjärpe, 9 september 2006 - Sydsvenska Dagbladet
Kampen om Islams hjärta
Kepels mål är att göra skeendet mellan 2001 och 2004 begripligt. Idéhistoria, politisk historia, ekonomiska intressen och sociala skeenden får belysa varför "kriget mot terrorn" misslyckats, och varför inte heller Usama bin Ladin och al-Qaida nått sina mål.

Richard Falk, August 31, 2006
World Order after the Lebanon War
We should take care not tooverlook the extent to which war is becoming dysfunctional. The Lebanon War is likely to be remembered not for the birth pains of 'a new Middle East' (Condoleezza Rice), but as the death throes of a system of world order that accepted war as the inevitable basis of stability and change in relations among sovereign states.

Per Gahrton, 16 augusti, 2006
Arabisk press efter Libanon-kriget
En mycket informativ genomgång av olika medier i regionen: Det känns befriande att läsa en artikel i al-Hayat som frågar: Vem är det som dödar araber och muslimer - och judar? Svar: De kristna i väst. Och så har det varit i tusen år minst, heter det, med början i korstågen. Olmert och Netanyahu, Nasrallah och Mubarak, Hamas-ledarna, de iranska mullorna och de saudiska prinsarna, arm i arm mot den gemensamma fienden i USA och EU! Nog är det en uppfriskande tanke. Nog skulle det skapa ett verkligt nytt Mellanöstern i alla fall! 

Farhang Jahanpour, August 16, 2006
Iran's nuclear threat. Exploring the politics
A thorough background to the present crisis, published by TFF's partner, the Oxford Research Group, ORG. Farhang Jahanpour explores the rhetoric of aggression developing between Iran and the USA and Israel, and asks if war is really inevitable? Published in June but even more relevant now with the Lebanon War as a possible prelude to the bombing of Iran. Remember to return to TFF when you've read it and see other works by this eminent TFF Associate!

Farhang Jahanpour, August 16, 2006
Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi in danger of arrest
Ebadi's human rights center has been declared illegal by the Iranian government. After having written an article on the unfair treatment of women in Iran (Iran Awakening?), I received an email message from a supporter of the Iranian regime, arguing that at a time when Iran is under serious threat of attack and invasion it is untimely to raise issues about human rights and freedom in Iran. Indeed, the reverse is the case. The persecution of an internationally respected Nobel Prize laureate and human rights lawyer is a clear example of the Iranian regime shooting itself in the foot.

PressInfo 241, August 15, 2006
Assessing the United Nations after the Lebanon War 2006
The UN has become in these situations, sadly, more of a geopolitical instrument than an instrument for the enforcement of international law. This regression betrays the vision that the guided the architects of the UN back in 1945, chief among whom were American diplomats. It is today incapable of protecting any state that is the victim of an aggressive war initiated by the United States or its close allies.
Sad as it is, this assessment should not lead to a cynical dismissal of the Organization. We need the UN - and there are three ways in which we can help it be what it was meant to be.

TFF Open Letter, August 14, 2006
Open Letter to Jan Eliasson, President of the UN General Assembly
Uniting for Peace: Strengthen the General Assembly.
The board of the Transnational Foundation, TFF sends an Open Letter that aims to stimulate a wider discussion about the preconditions for a genuine peace process also after UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Invigorate Uniting for Peace. Plan a comprehensive all-inclusive OSCE-like conference under UN leadership. Provide genuinely impartial mediation and conflict-resolution. Implement Security Council resolutions on the Middle East as a Nuclear-Free Zone. Involve civil society, push reconciliation. And give the UN a clear mandate and adequate resources. This - not bombs, extremism and hate - can help peace break out in the region.

Johan Galtung, August 4, 2006
The Middle East and the EU as a solution model
There are three building blocks - and not at all unrealistic. There are moderate and legitimate demands and extremist demands; the latter must be substituted on all sides. But most important: there is a model for a sustainable solution: that of the European Community or Union. Thus, we need a new comprehensive approach beyond today's rather naive proposals. The road to security for all goes through peace!

Michel Chossudovsky, August 1, 2006
The war on Lebanon and the battle for oil
Is there a relationship between the bombing of Lebanon and the inauguration of the world's largest strategic pipeline, which will channel more than a million barrels of oil a day to Western markets? The author thinks so: "Ultimately, this design is intended to weaken Russia's role in Central Asia and cut off China from Central Asian oil resources. It is also intended to isolate Iran. Meanwhile, Israel has emerged as a new powerful player in the global energy market."
Read this fascinatingly different perspective on Israel-Turkey-US energy co-operation and see a series of other articles by this TFF Associate on the connections between energy politics and the present drama.

Richard Falk, July 25, 2006
Lurching toward regional war in the Middle East
Israeli moves toward all out war in Gaza and Lebanon seem linked to wider dangers of a regional war with severe global consequences.
I fear that what we are witnessing is an extremely risky set of moves to shift the joint Israeli/American regional game plan in an overtly military direction. Neither the UN, world public opinion, nor regional opposition seem to have the will or capacity to halt this slide toward regional war.
We can only hope that prudence somehow mysteriously remains a restraining force, at least in Washington. Already there are signs of blowback, with Hizbollah emerging as the political winner, with Iran not far behind, given the degree to which a central cleavage in the Middle East is now shaping up as a contest between Iranian-led Shi'ias and Saudi-led Sunnis.

Richard Falk, July 25, 2006
Israel's war on Gaza
In a shocking display of disregard for the restraints of international law and morality, Israel has been resorting to a massive, flagrant, and cruel display of collective punishment inflicted on the essentially helpless and captive 1.2 million population of Gaza.
Almost as shocking has been the silence of the world community in the face of these criminal violations of the Geneva Conventions.
The truth about the Middle East is the reverse of what we are being told...

Michel Chossudovsky, February 22, 2006
Is the Bush Administration Planning a Nuclear Holocaust?
Will the US launch "Mini-nukes" against Iran in Retaliation for Tehran's "Non-compliance"?

 

Everything published about Iraq between 2002 and 2005

Archive
Everything published about Iraq between 2002 and 2005

 

Features
Quality articles - thought-provoking, informative, or "different"- written by people who are not TFF Associates. We recommend and share them with our readers.

TFF Videoteques
Iraq
Iran
Middle Eastern region

The TFF Middle East
Theme and Action Group, TAG
Hans von Sponeck, Coordinator
Farhang Jahanpour
Mahdi Elmandjra
Yusra Moshtat
Kishore Mandhyan
Jan Hjärpe
Christian Hårleman
Jan Oberg
Johan Galtung
Amin Al-Zubydi
Vicky Rossi
Trine Pertou Mach
Per Gahrton
Kamran Mofid
Richard Falk
Francis A. Boyle
Hisae Nakanishi

 

Will Iran Be Bombed ?

Collection 1
2004 onwards - basic sources

Collection 2
Autumn 2005

Collection 3
Autumn 2006

Collection 4
Summer-Autumn 2007

Collection 5
All year 2008

 

Photo galleries

Iraq's Faces and Surfaces



More than 20 unique photo series
by Jan Oberg. They are in large formats,
so please be patient when loading

 

Jan Oberg's book
Published in Denmark 2004
Forudsigelig Fiasko. Konflikten med Irak og Danmark som besættelsesmagt - Predictable Fiasco. The Conflict with Iraq and Denmark as an Occupying Power.

Vicky Samantha Rossi
All her articles and interviews from the Middle East here

 

Articles January-June 2006

Farhang Jahanpour, June 28, 2006
Iran Awakening?
Review of Shirin Ebadi's memoirs with the same title. The author places it in the larger context of the Iranian women's situation and movement and sees it in the perspective the country's vibrant cultural life. Says Jahanpour, "In Iran, books, plays, films and poems have had an impact on society that goes beyond anything one is accustomed to in the West." Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4, September 18-22.

Mahdi Elmandjra, June 26, 2006
Premiere Guerre Civilisationelle
TFF Associate Elmandjra wrote this book in the wake of the Irak-Kuwait-US war 15 years ago, He termed it the first civilizational war, years before Huntington and others had thought about it. Now it is out in its 3rd edition. It's a much needed perspective on today's news flows from the region.

Yusra Moshtat, 23:e juni, 2006
Mitt Irak är i spillror
Mitt hemland Irak var en välfärdsstat med gratis sjukvård och utbildning. Om vi höll tyst kunde vi leva våra liv i fred. Visst ville vi ha demokrati, men inte till vilket pris som helst, skriver miljöinspektör Yusra Moshtat, Göteborg, i en kritisk analys av ockupationsmaktens framfart.

Per Gahrton, 22:e juni 2006
Idioti eller islamofobi. Om ny statlig islampolitik
Nu tänker riksdagen fatta beslut om "relationerna mellan väst och den muslimska världen". Redan beteckningarna i utrikesutskottets skrivning, "väst" (geografi) kontra "den muslimska världen" (religion), antyder något skumt. Man refererar till Edward Saids kritik av västlig orientalism, men levererar sedan ett skolexempel på den. (Aftonbladet 17 mars 2006).

Johan Galtung, June 21, 2006
USA & UK versus Iran: A Transcend perspective
Diagnosis, prognosis and therapy: "The keys to acceptable and sustainable ways out of this conflict are in the subtexts, not in the texts. Why is the obvious road toward a solution not even discussed?

Jan Hjärpe Special - 15:e maj 2006
Islamologen Jan Hjärpe är ny TFF Associate. Läs om honom här.
Här är några av hans senaste artiklar

Svenska Dagbladet 14 maj 2006
Om Ahmadinejads brev till George Bush: 1-0 på poäng. Brevet återges här på svenska.

Svenska Dagbladet 2 februari 2006
Enkla muslimer mår illa

Svenska Dagbladet 14 juli 2005
Den som behandlas som terrorist blir det

Sydsvenska Dagbladet 1 februari 2006
Om Muhammedkarikatyrerna

Kyrkans Tidning, Nr 38 - 2002
När religion används som vapen

PressInfo 240, May 10, 2006
Time for substantive Iran-US talks
A most insightful and fair analysis of the background to the US-Iran crisis and to President Ahmadinezhad's letter as well as a convincing argument for a negotiated solution.
Professor Jahanpour is a British national of Iranian origin educated in languages and with a PhD in oriental studies and has been BBC Editor for the Middle East and North Africa for 18 years.
We are proud to present this most eminent scholar as new TFF Associate. See more about him and read his other articles here.

Gunnar Westberg, April 29, 2006
Atombomber mot Iran?
Presidenten för Internationella Läkare Mot Kärnvapen, IPPNW, använder sina erfarenheter inför Irak-kriget. Kommer Iran att provocera amerikanska "intressen" i Irak? Kommer amerikanerna att tro på "svampmolnet över Manhattan"? Föreställer vi oss vilka oerhörda konsekvenser kärnvapenanvändning i området skulle få också långt utanför Iran?

> When you access an older document below, do not use its top menu when you have read it. Return to this page and use its left menu.

From Global Issues April 6, 2006
The Iraq Crisis - the Effects of Sanctions
An incredible collection of all the relevant documents by a leading website on international affairs. We link to it here because the cruel sanctions that killed around 1 million Iraqis (and destroyed so much in former Yugoslavia too) must not be forgotten and because there is talk again about sanctions, this time against Iran. Sanctions is a Weapon of Mass Destruction and, as such, should never be used!

Mahdi Elmandjra, April 6, 2006
What future for Islam in Europe? - pdf
Moroccan culture and future researcher offers facts and macro perspectives on the conflict between the two civilisations, in stark contrast to Huntington's clash hypothesis. He ends with a perspective of future peace-making. The author has just been awarded the honour of "Leading Educator of the World 2006" by the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, the U.K. More here about Elmandjra, one of the most impressive global visionaries of our time.

Michel Chossudovsky, April 6, 2006
Is the Bush administration planning a nuclear holocaust?
Will the U.S. launch mini-nukes against Iran in retaliation for Tehran's "non-compliance"? Nuclear and conventional weapons are being integrated, the defensive/offensive distinction being blurred. What plans are there for bombing Iran? What about Israel, what about Europe's role? Essential issues...when did you last see them covered by your local media??

Michel Chossudovsky, April 6, 2006
The dangers of a Middle East nuclear war
There is a new Pentagon doctrine: that mini-nukes are "safe for the surrounding civil population." The preemptive nuclear doctrine, which applies to Iran and North Korea calls for "offensive and defensive integration". It explicitly allows the preemptive use of thermonuclear weapons in conventional war theaters. The Pentagon has blurred the distinction between conventional battlefield weapons and nuclear bombs. It's perverse...

PressInfo 235, 2:a april, 2006
Muhamad-karikatyrerne (3): Grandet och bjälken: Vi måste lära oss att se vår egen kulturblindhet
Den ena sidan av globaliseringens mynt visar naturligtvis hur vi ser på oss själva. Men den andra visar - oavsett om vi kan förstå det eller tycker om det - hur de andra ser på oss. I detta globaliseringens tidevarv går det inte för någon, stark eller svag, att ignorera denna andra sidan. Varje försök att med makt eller våld påtvinga andra våra egna värden och synpunkter som om de vore universella kommer att fungera som ett recept på global förstörelse, allas kamp emot alla. Vare sig mer eller mindre.
Artikeln avslutas med en lång rad "kanske kunde vi lära oss att..."

PressInfo 238, March 29, 2006
India, Iran and U.S. nuclear hypocrisy
The Bush administration seeks to reward India for noncooperation with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and for developing a nuclear weapons arsenal, while Iran is threatened with punishment for being part of the treaty and seeking to exercise its rights under the treaty. This approach is likely to lead to a major breakdown of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the international regime that supports it. By David Krieger.

PressInfo 237, March 28, 2006
Israel, Iran, and the future of the Middle East
One of the leading world order analysts links the issue of nuclear weapons, Iran, Israel, Turkey, the Middle East and their complex relations and warns that a devastating war could break out if no one takes steps to head it off soon. He also asks why we should accept the global nuclear apartheid thinking that this whole affair is imbued with. By Richard Falk.

PressInfo 236, March 28, 2006
Iran, international law and nuclear disarmament
In a soft, matter-of-fact voice David Krieger debunks the main Western arguments against Iran. He then tells what must be done. "The only safe number of nuclear weapons in the world is zero." So to stop nuclear proliferation, the nuclear powers must show the way and live up to their obligations under international law and scrap theirs. Unrealistic? Everything else, says Krieger, will be more unrealistic.

PressInfo 235, March 22, 2006
Muhammed-karikaturerne (3): Splinten og bjælken: Vi må lære at se vores egen kulturelle blindhed
Den ene side af globaliseringens mønt er naturligvis hvordan vi ser på os selv. Men den anden er - uanset om vi kan forstå eller synes om det - hvordan de andre ser på os. I denne globaliseringstid vil ingen, hverken stærk eller svag, slippe godt fra at ignorere denne anden side af mønten. Ethvert forsøg på med magt og vold at påtvinge andre vores egne værdier og synspunkter vil før eller siden forvandles til en opskrift på global ødelæggelse, alles kamp mod alle. Intet mindre.
Artiklen afsluttes med en lang række "måske kunne vi lære at..."

PressInfo 235, March 17, 2006
The Muhammad caricatures (3): The speck and the log. We must learn to see our own cultural blindness
One side of the coin is what we in the West think of ourselves. The other side is what they think of us. No one, strong or weak, can afford anymore to ignore the other side of the coin, the coin of globalisation. And forcing people to share our view of ourselves is a recipe for world destruction, no less. End with a series of "perhaps we could..." learn something important.

Evelin Lindner, March 1, 2006
"The Cartoon War" of humiliation versus humiliation: What should be done? (Pdf format)
I began my research on humiliation by asking myself: "What is the strongest obstacle to peace and to willingness to cooperate in our interdependent world? What is the strongest force that fuels destructive conflict?" Feelings of humiliation, is my answer.
What to do after these cartoons? 1. Cool down! 2. Avoid the pitfalls of victimhood! 3. Learn moderation and 4. Avoid bias and become aware of our commonalities by defining ourselves as one family of humankind.

Jørgen Johansen, February 19, 2006
Reparera karikatyr-skadan nu - från ord till handling
I länder där en minoritet är invandrare med muslimsk bakgrund, vilar det ett större ansvar och krav på hänsynstagande på den starkare parten, dvs på majoriteten. Det finns mycket man kan göra för framtida försoning - här ett förslag för Göteborgs del.

PressInfo 233, 11 februari, 2006
Mohamedkarikatyrerna (2): Det finns ju ett sammanhang !
Om ett större sammanhang rättas till, skulle Danmark - dess regering och folk - tvingas ställa frågan: Vad har vi gjort fel i så mångas ögon under de senaste 10-15 åren? Detta skulle öppna för någon sorts lärdom och långsiktig försoning med dem som uppfattas som fiender. Hittills har den danska regeringen och de danska massmedierna - jodå, det finns naturligtvis några undantag - hållit sig på den senare, sammanhangslösa vägen. Det bådar illa. Det kommer det att väcka ilska hos ännu fler av världens medborgare.

PressInfo 233, February 9, 2006
The Muhammad caricatures (2): But there is a context!
There is a context to the Muhammad caricatures. If that context is addressed, Denmark - its government and people - would have to ask: What have we done wrong in the eyes of so many during the last 10-15 years? That would open for some kind of learning and long- term reconciliation with the perceived enemies.
But if that context is ignored, Denmark will react only with self-pity, feeling misunderstood and sink deeper into it cultural insensitivity and institutionalized lack of self-criticism and empathy. This means more conflict in Denmark and more conflict between Denmark and the Muslim world.

PressInfo 233, 9. februar, 2006
Muhammed-karikaturerne (2): Men der er jo en større sammanhæng !
Hvis man tager denne større sammenhæng med i betragtningerne over det der sker i disse uger så må Danmark, regering og befolkning, udfordre sig selv og spørge: Hvad er det vi synes at have gjort så forkert i så manges øjne de sidste 10-15 år? En ærlig diskussion ville givetvis bidrage til at skabe ny kundskab og åbne døren for en mere forsonende, mindre kulturblind, måde at forholde sig til resten af verden på.
Men hvis man fortsætter med i politik og medier at stirre sig blind på disse tegninger og droppe den større sammenhængen så vil den danske reaktion forblive selvmedlidende. Og som "offer" kommer man at synke dybere ned i kulturel ufølsomhed.

PressInfo 232, 9. februari, 2006
Mohamedkarikatyrerna (1): Förtrycksfrihet
I dessa dagar fruktar jag att den västliga civilisation i snabbt ökande grad framstår som helt befriat från inlevelse och medkänsla, för öppen debatt och för den civilcourage som behövs för att be om ursäkt.
Det här rör sig inte om huruvida somliga ser för negativt på Danmark - det gör de säkert. Det helt centrala är att den aktuella danska politiken är huvudorsaken till att mlijoner har en så negativ bild av landet.
Det kan mycket väl tänkas att vi nu bevittnar början til en utveckling, som kommer att sluta i en katastrof för oss alla.

PressInfo 232, 8. februar, 2006
Muhammed-karikaturerne (1): Undertrykkelsesfrihed
I disse dage frygter jeg at den vestlige civilisation i stigende grad opfattes af andre som blottet for indlevelse og medfølelse, for egentlig åben debat og for den civilcourage der er brug for når man skal sige "Undskyld, vi skulle have håndteret det hér lidt anderledes."
Det hér drejer sig ikke om hvorvidt nogle mennesker dømmer Danmark som helhed for hårdt - og det gør de såmænd nok. Det helt centrale er at den aktuelle danske politik er hovedårsagen til at millioner har fået dette billede af Danmark og danskerne.
Det kan meget vel tænkes at vi nu er vidner til begyndelse af en udvikling, der efterhånden vil ende i en katastrofe for os alle.

PressInfo 232, February 7, 2006
The Muhammad caricatures (1): Freedom of suppression
These days I fear that Western culture increasingly comes across as lacking both empathy, self-critical debate and the courage to say, We are sorry! My native country is now a rogue state in the eyes of millions of fellow human beings. Whether or not this is a fair judgment of Denmark is not the issue. The issue is that Danish politics is a prime reason that those millions hold that image.
We could well be witnessing the beginning of a drift towards unparalleled catastrophe, writes TFF director Jan Oberg who is a Danish citizen.

Hans von Sponeck & Dennis Halliday, February 5, 2006
Appeal for proper treatment of Tarek Azziz in Iraq
The two former UN Humanitarian Coordinators in Iraq make a strong appeal for the humane treatment of the former foreign minister and deputy prime minister who recently suffered a stroke and may have short time left to live.

Jørgen Johansen, February 5, 2006
The Intifada of the elections
Having just visited the area, Johansen interprets the election results, present his own views and argues how important it is for all peace-oriented people to met with Hamas and exchange views.