Middle East and Military -- This and That

Israel and Palestinian territories -- Headlined, "House resolution to condemn U.N. Investigator's Israeli/Hamas war crimes report," the story comes from The Washington Independent's Spencer Ackerman. Reflecting on this news, Matt Yglesias said, "Very last sentence of this Goldstone resolution could be an endorsement of a possible Israeli attack on Iran:" Yglesias added, "Nice assessment of Goldstone resolution: "some valid points...riddled with inaccuracies and misleading statements." To quote TWI:

TWI has acquired the text of a congressional resolution that may be introduced in the next few days condemning the findings of U.N. investigator Richard Goldstone’s report into war crimes during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza this past winter.

The resolution — drafted by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Dan Burton (R-Ind.), Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.) — which condemns Goldstone’s work in very harsh terms, is sure to generate controversy in Congress, within the Obama administration and among peace watchers.

This headline followed the publication of the congressional resolution article. It is another story by Spencer Ackerman at the Washington Independent (10/30/09): "J street is unable to support the Congressional Goldstone resolution." To quote from the story:

In a statement to be sent to supporters, J Street, the pro-Israel-pro-peace American Jewish lobby group, is urging members of Congress not to pass to significantly modify a resolution condemning U.N. investigator Richard Goldstone’s report into war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas during last year’s conflict. That resolution, strongly supported by other American Jewish organizations, fails to call for, among other things, “independent investigations by both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Iraq war fallout -- The Washington Independent's Daphne Aviatar reported that, "Al-Qaeda Assistant [was] Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison." To quote: "Depending on who you ask, the sentencing yesterday of Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri to eight years in prison is either evidence that the civilian federal judicial system can successfully handle terror cases, or evidence that it’s a dismal failure." Daily Kos liked what Adam Server said about the issue:

RT @AdamSerwer: Former Al Qaeda member sentenced in civilian court, somehow, America survives.

Iran -- TWI News posted this: "Iran Has Reportedly Rejected the Vienna Nuke Deal." And The Nation Magazine posted this: "Why Obama's Iran Policy Will Fail." And it posted this: "Iran Split on Nukes."

Defense spending -- Marc Ambinder made a wry observation regarding the availability of a couple of jobs at the prison at GTMO BAY: "Not closing down too soon, I guess. RT @defensejobs: Arabic Linguist II - Chenega Corporation."

References saved from recent weeks on Twitter:

"Tehran Plans to Execute 3 Protesters of Election http://bit.ly/2De1FE," is from the New York Times (10/10/09).

"Palestinians' anger mounts over Gaza report http://bit.ly/pqxGj," is from The Huffington Post (10/9/09).

"Senate approves $636B Pentagon bill: The Senate on Tuesday approved a $636 billion Pentagon spending bill after.. http://bit.ly/Te52p," is from The Hill (10/6/09).

"Iraqis, Americans seeking a new relationship http://bit.ly/DWj0d," is from McClatchy (10/5/09).

"For U.S. combat soldiers, new role in Iraq is frustrating http://bit.ly/1eKlle," is from McClatchy (10/5/09).

"Military Memo: Clear Voice of Bush’s Pentagon Becomes Harder to Hear http://bit.ly/PRhv5," is from the New York Times (10/4/09).

"Israel Agrees to Release Prisoners in Return for Information on Soldier http://bit.ly/10XgvE," is from the New York Times (9/30/09)

"Senior administration official says US and Russia preparing joint intelligence assessment of Iran's ballistc missile capabilities," is from Marc Ambinder (9/17/09).