Arab News Blog

As we move into the last ten days of Ramadan, it may do well to revisit my post of last year on the Laylat al-Qadr, the night the Qur’an calls “better than a thousand months,” when the first revelation was given to the Prophet. Tradition holds it is one of the even-numbered nights of Ramadan, in its last ten days or, in some traditions, last week. The link above is a longer post ont he subject. Again to my Muslim readers, Ramadan Karim.

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Nuri al-Maliki, the somewhat lame duck Iraqi Prime Minister, has called today “a bright day” for Iraq, saying “It’s a day that Iraq gained back its sovereignty. Iraq is now its own master.”

Well, maybe. There are still close to 50,000 US troops there, after all, and the formal end of combat5 operations today is a bit of an afterthought since the last combat brigade left earlier in the month.

President Obama will address the end of combat operations, though we certainly haven’t seeen the last US casualty in Iraq. At least he won’t don a flight suit, land on an aircraft carrier, and declare “Mission Accomplished,” as was done the last time we declared combat operations ended (a tad prematurely).

Marc Lynch offers his take: “Why the Iraq Milestone Matters.”

Juan Cole, meanwhile, writes “The Speech President Obama Should Give about the Iraq War (But Won’t).”

Unlike Cole, I’m not sure I’m ready to assess all the rights and wrongs of the war just yet. It was a war of choice, and lasted longer than its proponents ever dreamed, but it did end a brutal; regime, albeit at high cost in Iraqi as well as American blood. Iraq is far more stabilized than it was a few years ago, but months after the elections, it still has no government. Perhaps it’s best to reserve a final verdict, or to remember the reply reportedly given by Zhou Enlai when asked what he thought of the French Revolution: “It’s too soon to tell.”

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“An senior advisor to US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell has threatened Lebanese army commander, Jean Kahwajim that should his army initiate additional fire exchanges with Israel, the IDF would annihilate his military within four hours, Lebanese newspaper al-Liwa reported Friday.”  Notice that a Hariri rag, Al-Liwa’ carried the threat. (thanks Olivia)

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The Iraqi police have broken up an alleged al-Qaeda gang whose members have been killing traffic police in Baghdad, officials say.
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Frenetic efforts to repair a 20 foot breach in the barrage guarding the major Sindhi city of Shahdadkot succeeded in keeping the city from being washed away. As it is, 90% of the urban area that once housed 300,000 has now been affected by the rushing flood waters. Relief officials say that the period through early morning Sunday is critical.

American and Pakistani officials fear that the disruptions of the flood may afford an opportunity to Muslim radical vigilantes to recruit and to spread their influence among the affected population.

The UN is afraid that the flooding will wipe out millions of livestock. As it is, nearly 7 million tons of wheat stocks have been swept away or damaged.

Aljazeera English reports on the danger of disease outbreaks in Pakistan, where 20 million have been displaced and the flooding has often made the water supply unsanitary.

Aljazeera English reports on the difficulty the UN has had in raising money from donors to meet the dire needs of Pakistan (though just in the past day or two there has been a significant advance in fundraising:

Among the donor countries is India, whose offer to help with a $5 million monetary donation was accepted by the government of PM Yousuf Raza Gilani, despite the controversies provoked by that move. India and Pakistan have fought several wars against one another and are divided over the Kashmir issue. The proffering and acceptance of Indian aid by the Pakistani defense ministries is extremely important and could lead to better relations between the two countries.

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AFP – Amin al-Hindi, a senior Palestinian official suspected of involvement in a 1972 attack on Israel’s Olympic team in Munich, has died of cancer in the Jordanian capital. He was 72.

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My new column at Masri al-Youm, on Obama’s communication problem, is out. It argues that despite the recent polls showing disappointment with Obama in the Arab world, the real communication problem with regards to Islam that the administration has is with the American people. I’ve been following with horrified fascination the development of the “controversy” over Cordoba House, which has been cathartic in that it had revealed the strong unease — far beyond the lunatic fringes, the professionals manipulators and the populist opportunists — have with the project. This is America’s Danish cartoon crisis.

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Middle East Online, Qaeda’s Zawahiri slams Turkey’s ties with Israel, 15 Aug 2010 "The Turkish people must "stand up against those crimes committed by your government and army against Islam and Muslims," said Zawahiri, urging Turkey to return to the days of the Muslim caliphate.

""Turkey, the Islamic caliphate, used to protect us … Now, the secular Turkey hands us over to the enemies of Islam
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One of the best-known writers and public figures in Saudi Arabia, Ghazi al-Gosaibi, dies of cancer at the age of 70.
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Lebanese security officials say they have killed the suspected leader of the militant Sunni Islamist group Fatah al-Islam.
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