Tag Archives: white house

By Jonathan Cook For many months now, the western media has presented the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in terms of a new and deepening rift. Israel is supposedly positioned on one side of the divide and the US and Europeans on the other, trying as best they can to defend Palestinian rights. In the past few days alone, European diplomats have leaked …

By Ramzy Baroud Imagine if an American presidential candidate made a plea to his supporters on election day with the following statement: “The Republican administration is in danger. Black voters are going en masse to the polls. Liberal NGOs are bringing them on buses.” Even in a country where Chris Matthews is a media celebrity and Pamela Geller is an …

A long-delayed US Senate report published on Tuesday revealed that the CIA’s interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects did not produce any useful intelligence and was a lot more brutal than initially acknowledged. The CIA also misled Congress and the White House with inaccurate claims about the usefulness of the program in thwarting attacks, the Senate Intelligence Committee said. When the 500-page …

On Monday, US President Barack Obama announced that US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned from his post, with the White House coming under fire for its perceived fumbling of the response to extremist group Islamic State (IS). Hagel was at the White House during Obama’s announcement confirming his departure. The former Republican senator and 68-year-old Vietnam War veteran was on …

Israel on Monday approved plans for around 500 settler homes in the occupied Palestinian territory of East Jerusalem, only a week after the Israeli government pledged to build the settlements. The Israeli Interior Ministry gave the green flag for the new units, to be built near the already existing Ramat Shlomo settlement in east Jerusalem, the NGO Peace Now said. …

The international community has responded cautiously to a Turkish proposal to set a buffer zone inside war-ravaged Syria, despite it being an important condition set by Turkey to step up its efforts in the fight against the Islamic State (IS). Over the past few days, Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan has repeatedly asked for the creation of a buffer zone in …

The United States on Tuesday said that it was “horrific” watching the battle of Syrian Kurdish town Kobane in real time and insisted that it doesn’t want the town to fall to the Islamic State (IS). The three-week siege of Kobane seems to be on the verge of ending soon, despite the efforts of the US-led coalition in the town. …

On Friday, the United States imposed new sanctions on networks connected to Iran, intensifying pressure over Iran’s nuclear program, its backing to terrorism and evasion of international and US sanctions. The new sanctions expanded the international sanctions already imposed on Iran despite a temporary lift of sanctions in exchange for the suspension of some of Iran’s nuclear activities. “Today we …

On Monday, the White House said that US President Barack Obama has not taken a decision so far on launching air strikes at Islamic State (IS) extremists in Syria. “The president has not made any decision to conduct military action in Syria”, Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the White House, said, amid increasing expectations of US actions after similar US …

Relations between the United States and ally Israel showed signs of stress ahead of tough talks to extend the fragile ceasefire in Gaza to a more permanent deal. The US denied a report which said that the White House was reducing its regular delivery of military assistance to Israel over concerns of disproportionality of its actions in Gaza. However, the …