War in Context

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• Obama mustn’t waste the opportunity he has been handed by the Iranian people
• Israeli hostility towards Iran undiminished after election result
• How Iran’s Supreme Leader paved the way for Rouhani’s victory
• Noam Chomsky interview: Sykes-Picot is failing
• Video: Tom Friedman on the power of the Israel lobby in U.S. politics
• Secret court ruling put tech companies in data bind
• The NSA’s PRISM creates smaller haystacks — it can’t find needles
• Iran’s new president hails ‘victory of moderation’

Obama mustn’t waste the opportunity he has been handed by the Iranian people Posted: 16 Jun 2013 11:30 AM PDT Vali Nasr writes: Rowhani was widely excoriated in Iran for ostensibly betraying the national interest in 2003, when, as the country’s nuclear negotiator, he signed on to a voluntary suspension of uranium enrichment. That concession was meant as a confidence-building measure to build momentum for a broader nuclear deal, but the reformist hope turned into [...]

Israeli hostility towards Iran undiminished after election result Posted: 16 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT The Independent reports: The Israeli government greeted the election of Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, with a mixture of scepticism and cynicism today, as senior politicians said that the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear programme had not diminished. Speaking before Israel’s weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made Iran his priority since [...]

How Iran’s Supreme Leader paved the way for Rouhani’s victory Posted: 16 Jun 2013 11:20 AM PDT Al-Monitor: Two days before Iranians voted for who would succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of the Islamic Republic, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered a rhetorical olive branch to the country’s opposition. He said that even those who “do not support the Islamic system” should come out and vote. Khamenei’s message was a direct and [...]

Noam Chomsky interview: Sykes-Picot is failing Posted: 16 Jun 2013 11:15 AM PDT Al-Akhbar English: Maha Zaraket: What is the title of your [commencement] speech [at the American University of Beirut]? Noam Chomsky: I do not remember if it has a title, but it is going to be some comments on legitimacy of borders and states and possibilities of eroding them. MZ: Do you think the Middle East [...]

Video: Tom Friedman on the power of the Israel lobby in U.S. politics Posted: 16 Jun 2013 11:10 AM PDT (Click here to watch the whole debate from the beginning.)

Secret court ruling put tech companies in data bind Posted: 16 Jun 2013 11:05 AM PDT The New York Times reports: In a secret court in Washington, Yahoo’s top lawyers made their case. The government had sought help in spying on certain foreign users, without a warrant, and Yahoo had refused, saying the broad requests were unconstitutional. The judges disagreed. That left Yahoo two choices: Hand over the data or break [...]

The NSA’s PRISM creates smaller haystacks — it can’t find needles Posted: 16 Jun 2013 11:01 AM PDT Whenever the frequency of an event of interest is extremely low — such as with acts of terrorism — even a very accurate test will fail very often. Corey Chivers explains why. Recent revelations about PRISM, the NSA’s massive program of surveillance of civilian communications have caused quite a stir. And rightfully so, as it [...]

Iran’s new president hails ‘victory of moderation’ Posted: 15 Jun 2013 04:47 PM PDT Reuters reports: Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani won Iran’s presidential election on Saturday with a resounding defeat of conservative hardliners, calling it a victory of moderation over extremism and pledging a new tone of respect in international affairs. Though thousands of jubilant Iranians poured onto the streets in celebration of the victory, the outcome will not [...]