How Do We Get Out of the Middle East?

By Alec B.

Since Osama bin Laden died two weeks ago, everyone from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to American director Michael Moore has asked for American troops to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan. But is it time? The U.S. has spent ten years and lost thousands of lives. Was it all for just one man? Since 9/11, terrorism has struck dozens of countries and put the U.S. in a tough spot.  How can the United States get out? We have been involved with Middle Eastern politics since the early Cold War, taking an interest in the Islamic countries like Iran and the former chaos-infected Afghanistan. On the other end of the spectrum, we have countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that have found oil and have done extremely well. 

The way to get out of the Middle East is to balance the Iranian power and their nuclear ambitions from threatening our close allies Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, U.A.E. and Qatar. We can do this by giving our allies new weapons and better, more efficient ways of combating what seems like a mini Cold War: autocrats and ayatollah-imam leadership on one side and the wealthy pro-west nations empowered by the American war machine and weapons on the other. But will they have to fight? The revolts in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia have left questions in Tehran. Will violence have to be used to return to democracy?

When the government of Tunisia fell to democracy as a result of simple protests, Egypt followed. The fall of these once semi- autocratic nations has brought about a new train of thought in the Middle East. Before the revolutions, the process to get a new leader was to shoot, take the capital and enact a coup d’état until the rest of the country surrendered. That process has been effective in Middle Eastern politics for the past century.  It seems a new idea is in play. The effect of picketing outside city hall seems to have more of an impact than using violence and extremism to get what you want. If this is how the Middle East plays out, is the U.S. even needed? Or wanted? 

Americans across the nation cheered and chanted about the death of the Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden. According to intelligence officials and closed door sessions with Leon Panetta, the head of the C.I.A, no one wants to step up to the plate as leader of Al Qaeda. Even Mullah Omar, the head of the Afghan Taliban, seems quiet. After 10 years of combat, all it took was one man’s death.  It’ll be interesting to see what happens now.

Extremist: Bin Laden confirmed dead in Pakistan – May 2nd

By Alec B.

American newspapers seemed to host the same message and image today as news of the death of Al Qaeda leader and terrorist bomber Osama bin Laden came to light. 

President Barack Obama called a late night press conference in the East Room of the White House on May first.  For hours, news of the death of bin Laden was being reported on all major networks; they all contained the same message.  Mr. Obama later came to the East Room to confirm the report of the leader’s death in Pakistan. 

Bin Laden was found in a custom-built eight thousand square foot compound forty miles north of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. This was an obvious surprise to most who thought he was hidden in Waziristan, a rugged, desolate Pakistan-Afghan border state. Waziristan is considered one of the most deadly areas in the world-playing host to numerous Al-Qaeda and Taliban networks. Leon Panetta, current director of the CIA, stated, “Bin Laden is dead, Al Qaeda is not.” Colin Powell, former secretary of state under the Bush administration, stated, “They {Al Qaeda} have lost their intellectual head, their visionary leader, but he wasn’t active, he was isolated.” According to the president, “Last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to Bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground, and finally last week I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action.” He continued giving more details about the operation itself, confirming that a small US force consisting of Navy SEALS entered the compound and spent forty minutes clearing the compound. They eventually found the body of a man who looked like Bin Laden and evacuated the body and the SEAL team on two helicopters.

This is no indication that the war on terror is over. As dawn broke over the Arab world, there is no doubt most were happy about Bin Laden dying.  US intelligence believes Al Qaeda needs to make a statement saying, “We’re still here” and that is why the F.B.I. has issued Bravo level warnings (highest it’s been since 9/11) for its overseas embassies and consulates and recommends no Americans go into open spaces in Arabic countries for possible outbreaks of violence. The US has implemented heightened security measures in its major cities, and recommended limited air travel for the time being.

With scary threats, many believe this is the symbolic end to a chapter in terrorism.  Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the developer of the controversial ground zero mosque, offered his piece on Eliot Spitzer’s “In The Arena” Monday stating, “It is too costly to be in bad business with America.”  Terrorist attacks will not prevent leaders from promoting trade and friendly relations with the West. It has been a rocky nine years, trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands deaths, but it seems this symbolic turning point might be the final sunset for the Islamic extremists undermining the free and peaceful nations of the Middle East. 

US Vetoes U.N. Security Bill to Call Israeli Settlements “Illegal” – Friday, Feb 18th, 2011

Alec B.

New York: U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N., Ambassador Susan Rice, vetoed a Security Council vote to declare Israeli West Bank settlements illegal. The vote would most likely have resolved the entire issue and brought peace to the region.   The permanent Palestinian observer, Said Riyad Mansour, stated in a press conference after the veto, "The proper message that should have been sent by the Security Council to Israel, the occupying power, is that its contempt of international law and the international community will no longer be tolerated…. We fear, however, that the message sent today may be one that only encourages further Israeli intransigence and impunity. This must be remedied."  

President Obama, called Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas on the Thursday prior to the Security Council vote to come up with another solution other than a public hearing and vote in the UN. 

The situation has become “awkward” for the U.S. according to Mrs. Rice.  The U.S. is torn between its long-standing relationship with Israel and its newfound relationship with Palestine. "In recent days, we offered a constructive alternative course that we believe would have allowed the Council to act unanimously to support the pursuit of peace …. We regret that this effort was not successful and thus is no longer viable."  

Mr. Abbas, like other Middle Eastern leaders, is afraid to show weakness of character due to outbreaks of revolt seen in Mubarak’s Egypt, Kaddafi’s Libya, and other nations across the Middle East.  He does want to “move strongly from Friday’s vote,” said a source in the PLO after the meetings adjourned on Friday.

Rice reconfirmed the U.S. stance Friday, saying after the vote that Friday's veto should not be "misunderstood to mean we support settlement activity. On the contrary, we reject in the strongest terms the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity," she said.

After Friday’s vote, the Israeli and American governments announced new plans to begin talks after September’s peace negotiations fallout.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: The New Egypt

By Alec B.

Cairo, Egypt - After 18 days of protest, President Hosni Mubarak decided to resign. The president, under fire because of economic failure and embezzlement of public funds, had created a dictatorship out of a democracy. After coming into power in 1981, he led his country through the good, the bad, and the ugly. He was the last of a long line of extended presidents. His predecessors had led the country to modernization. The opposition leader, Mohamed El Baradei, who led the UN search of WMD’s in Iraq, said, “it is a dream come true.” In an interview over the phone with Al Jazeera, he also said, "I can't tell you how every Egyptian feels today.  We have been able to restore our humanity ... to be free and independent."

Mubarak resigned on Friday, February 11, leaving many happy.  Tahrir Square, the home-base of the protest movement, was in absolute joy.  “Jumping, joy, crying, happiness and other emotions were present,” said NBC foreign news correspondent Richard Engle.   The end of an empire brings the dawn of a new one. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces  confirmed the resignation and “is analyzing the situation of the country before choosing the next leader.” In the front running are defense minister Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi and Mr. El Baradei. 

The future of Egypt seems uncertain. There are several issues that must be considered. There are hopes that trade will come out of Egypt and turn the country back into a powerhouse. The issue of continuing friendship between Israel and Egypt is important.  Also,  the Muslim Brotherhood, sometimes called a terrorist group, has more power than before and it is possible, according to the Christian Science Monitor that  “Israelis are increasingly concerned that (Mubarak’s) departure will empower the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and threaten Israel’s longstanding peace treaty with Egypt.” “This is history in the making,” says NCCS’s own Mrs. Post. Only time will tell.  For now, it seems all the Egyptians can do is dance in the street.

Man Flies on Jetpack Over Swiss Town

By Alec B.  

Nov, 5th 2010, Bercher, Switzerland

A man, with the help of four Breitling engines, has successfully flown a jetpack. The jetpack, straight out of Hollywood movies like Thunderball (and who can forget the bounty hunter, Boba Fett?) has come off the big screen into real life. Swiss fusion engine scientist, Yves Rossy tried his prototype jetpack in civilian airspace. His training vastly differs from the risks; spending six years in the Swiss Air Force and another four for Swiss Airlines definitely gave him thumbs up from the locals and the Swiss government. His test worked wonderfully; he spent just over an hour and a half flying around the town and doing some 360 loops, making him look like he was having another day on a 4-engine fixed wing jetpack, over 8000 feet above the earth. As he came down in a parachute (the jetpack itself is still unable to stabilize a descent), he landed with precision and said he wanted to -go right back up. Even though strapped to four fusion engines that could blow him right out of the sky, several nations including China, Germany, and the United States want him to develop these jetpacks for use within the next twenty years. He said “to develop these things for weapons use is not what should be intended. This is travel for the future, not war of the future.”

Paul the Octopus Obituary

By Alec B. 

Paul the Oracle Octopus died in his German aquarium on October 26th. Paul became famous when he famously picked all of Germany’s wins in the 2010 World Cup, along with accurately predicting the wins of the 2008 Euro Cup. Paul was originally from England and was supposed to be the sponsor of the English 2018 World Cup bid. He has been given the posthumous title of Lord Protector of England, as well as honorary citizenship from Spain, France, Italy and Croatia. His trainer, Etienne Roquain, stated that following the World Cup, Paul became sick but died peacefully. He will be missed.


Below is a video of Paul the Octopus predicting the winner of the world cup:

Ecuador Report

By Alec B.

Quito, Ecuador, Oct 5th 2010

Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa‘s advisors said he is in good spirits after a failed police revolution. The Ecuadorian government seemed like it was on the verge of collapse a few weeks ago after the national police stormed through the streets of Quito, the capital, and physically beat Mr. Correa and kidnapped him. The government declared a one week national emergency on Thursday, shutting down schools, buses and the public subway system, practically bringing the country to a standstill.
The police force was protesting the Ecuadorian parliament‘s decision to cut bonuses and promotions within the national police. After hearing the news, the police stationed in and around Quito revolted, storming city streets and public buildings and even going as far as throwing tear gas at the president in his own presidential palace. Mr. Correa is in good health and is awaiting permission from the Army to return home after they swiftly entered the city and put an end to the uprising.
According to an official in the U.S. Secretary of State‘s office in Washington, many nations sympathized with Mr. Correa while others stated that the event was mistreatment of the police force by the Ecuadorian government. The official said, ―If they are revolting, they are doing it because they are desperate and are in need of help and aid. This should not be a war cry, but a wake-up call that the president is not doing his job. Emergency meetings with the nations of South America took place on Friday. They came to a decision that until the state of emergency is lifted, all countries surrounding Ecuador are advised to close their borders with the nation. ―They have a right,‖ said Honduran president Manuel Zelaya, whose country had its own coup last year, ―to provide themselves with safety—it‘s a necessary precaution.‖ Honduras, a nation in the middle of a constitutional crisis, had closed borders with surrounding nations as late as March of this year. The national crisis is set to be lifted if the Army and the president deem the country safe. The President said, ―I won‘t punish them, they don‘t deserve that if they are just trying to make a life for themselves. If I let them rot in a prison cell, am I any better than they are?
This just proves a stronger point. Thomas Jefferson said, ―a rebellion here and now is not such a bad thing. I believe the police uprising in Ecuador is not such a bad thing.

Tribute to John Lennon

By Alec B.

John Lennon turned 70 on October 9

Mayor Bloomberg has been given the task to protect and preserve the site in New York City. In a memorial in Chavasse Park in Liverpool, an 18-foot statue has been erected in Lennon‘s honor; the statue th to December 8th, the day that he was shot in front of his apartment in New York City. Back in London, Cynthia Powell, ex-wife of Mr. Lennon, was quoted as saying, "I think the mourning is over for John. I think it‘s time to celebrate. Enjoy the joy that he had, and that we all have, from his music." Ms. Powell was in tears as she said this. She also said, "He was a great man with a troubled life. He tried to avoid his past by helping everyone else so no one had to go through what he did. I did not realize it then, but John always looked after everyone else like he was the father of every child in Vietnam and the other oppressed people of the world." He was a great artist, thinker, and singer and he wrote songs like a pro, but he was even a better man.
was named Peace & Harmony for Lennon‘s commitment to peace. Lennon‘s birthday also went viral. YouTube set up a page where users could submit birthday wishes to Lennon, Ono and other family members. A-list celebrities like Tony Hawk, Jeff Bridges, the Jonas Brothers and Aerosmith made videos for the singer. Former Beatle Pete Best also made a video along with Ringo Starr. Some big names missing included ex-band mate Paul McCartney; McCartney‘s omission surprised the world and outraged some devoted fans. Nevertheless, people in the world sang and listened in celebration of Lennon‘s birthday. Yoko Ono spearheaded the idea and actively contributed in forming celebrations for her husband, including setting up concerts with his former band The Quarrymen in New York. She paid for a restoration of all statues commemorating the ex-Beatle. Julian Lennon made a rare public appearance at the childhood home of his father in Liverpool. He later went to the statue unveiling. Ono spent the day in Iceland with her son Sean, where they put the final touches on the Imagine Peace Tower, a gift from Ono to Lennon. It is to be lit from October 9th. He is celebrated as one of the most gifted artists of all time; his wisdom and compassion encouraged the world to find better ways to bring about peace. People all over the world gathered in Strawberry Fields memorial in New York City to respect his cause: to end wars and bring about love and peace. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon made it an honorary UNESCO site, and created it as a place of peace, love and hope, three values Lennon lived by.