Sunday, Mar 14th 2010
Patrick Cockburn | The Truth About The Afghan Election
President Hamid Karzai is not particularly popular, but as the incumbent he in a strong position, through networks of patronage, to get the support of local and regional king-makers such as warlords, chiefs of police, shuras (local councils), religious, tribal and ethnic leaders. What foreign reporting of [...]
“We have no interest in oppressing other people. We are not moved by hatred against any other nation. The … maintenance of a tremendous military arsenal can only be regarded as a focus of danger. We have displayed a truly unexampled patience, but I am no longer willing to remain inactive while this madman ill-treats [...]
Patrick Cockburn is the Baghdad correspondent of the Independent and the author of The Occupation: War, resistance and daily life in Iraq and Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival and the struggle for Iraq. He spoke to Daniel Finn of Irish Left Review about the latest developments in Iraq.
How do you interpret the latest election [...]
One of the secret weapons of the occupation forces in Iraq has been the sheer danger of reporting on the conflict. The occupiers themselves have attacked the local offices of Al-Jazeera, the broadcaster with the least inclination to “embed” itself in the protective grasp of the US army: their claim that this was an unfortunate [...]