Israel-US Analysis: West Jerusalem Runs Settlement Circles Around Washington

The responses came quickly to Israel's announcement on Monday that 1,300 Jewish homes had been approved for construction beyond the Green Line in East Jerusalem and another 800 homes had been endorsed in the West Bank settlement of Ariel.

The State Department conveyed its "disappointment". The European Union urged Israel to reconsider its decision, and President Obama warned that the construction  in East Jerusalem could obstruct the pursuit of peace in the Middle East: "This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations."

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The Latest from Iran (10 November): Covering Nukes, Remembering Rights

2120 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. A source close to Nasrin Sotoudeh says that the detained attorney has ended her dry hunger strike after almost two weeks.

Sotoudeh, imprisoned since 4 September, was also on hunger strike for four weeks up mid-October. Iranian authorities say she will be tried in court on Monday.

1955 GMT: Women's Rights. Iran has failed to secure election to the executive board of the new UN super-agency on women's rights.

Initially, Iran was guaranteed a seat becasue the Asian region put forth 10 candidates for 10 seats, but East Timor was a late applicant.

Saudi Arabia, whose candidacy was also criticised by rights groups, secured one of the seats.

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Afghanistan Confirmation: US Withdrawing July 2011 Date for Withdrawal (Youssef)

The Obama administration has decided to begin publicly walking away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the war in Afghanistan in an effort to de-emphasize President Barack Obama's pledge that he'd begin withdrawing U.S. forces in July 2011, administration and military officials have told McClatchy.

The new policy will be on display next week during a conference of NATO countries in Lisbon, Portugal, where the administration hopes to introduce a timeline that calls for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan by 2014, the year when Afghan President Hamid Karzai once said Afghan troops could provide their own security.

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A Friendly Reminder: Why George W. Bush Was A Terrible President

An admission: while I spent years watching and writing about the Bush Administration, I have not rushed out to buy a copy of George W. Bush's ghost-written autobiography. I have not watched or listened to one of his many media interviews.

All it took was Bush's take-away headline yesterday morning --- the false claim that his approval of torture via waterboarding prevented Terrorist Attacks in the United Kingdom --- to  reinforce years of conclusion that the 43rd President was/is a) lying b) immoral c) blissfully ill-informed d) all of the above. 

And I do not think that hundreds of pages of text can do more than this Bushian comparison, made in his television promotion on Tuesday: 1) Torture was not wrong 2) What was wrong was pouring vodka into my sister's aquarium, killing her goldfish.

Stephen Walt, however, did have the patience to go beyond the puffery to offer an incisive critique of Bush's "Delusion Points". He begins with an essential case for not giving in to historical revision/forgetting:

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Iran Snapshot: The Nuke Talks Take Over

UPDATE 1420 GMT: In the middle of Agence France Presse's report on the speech of President Ahmadinejad, this curious reference: "On Tuesday, Iran informed the six powers that it was ready for talks with them on November 23 or December 5 in Istanbul, according to a European diplomat."

Up to now, indications were that the proposed date was 15 November.

UPDATE 0910 GMT: Mahmoud, Let's Cut to the Chase. A lot of posturing by President Ahmadinejad in a speech in Qazvin in central Iran today, after he opened, "Iran is ready to hold talks on equal conditions to help settle ongoing problems, ease international concerns and establish peace and security in the world."

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Pakistan: Never Mind the Checkpoint, Just Enjoy the Ads (Nakamura)

In Islamabad, Pakistan, where preventing terrorist attacks is a growth industry, the police department and private entrepreneurs have teamed up on a creative method of protecting the public while marketing to a uniquely captive audience.At the city's 60-plus police checkpoints, slowing motorists are greeted by officers armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles - and by a dazzling display of brightly colored advertisements plastered on jersey barriers, metal gates, guard booths and sun umbrellas. Juxtaposed with the stern-faced gunmen peering out from nearby snipers' nests, the ads create an awkward tableau of peppy marketing and deadly serious force.

"Zefra Restaurante - Bar-B-Que with a twist," announces the wrap-around, red-and-orange wallpaper encircling one guard booth.

"Stop. Security Check. Tasty," reads the lettering on a metal gate sponsored by Tasty snack foods, producer of "supari sweets," which are made of betel nuts and saccharine menthol. Pepsi, Wateen telecommunications, Ufone mobile and Murree Brewery are among the other companies shelling out cash for the prime marketing real estate.

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Yemen: Get Ready for the New American "Drone War"? (Miller/Jaffe/DeYoung)

In the aftermath of the recent "cargo bombs" incident, chatter has escalated over American intervention in the Arabian Peninsula country of Yemen. This week, three Washington Post writers put forth the latest spin of the Obama Administration: the US is preparing for a campaign of airstrikes by unmanned aircraft. The missiles and bombs only await the gathering of sufficient intelligence on the location of the bad guys.

But note another possible complication: "Yemeni officials...indicated that they had deep reservations about weapons they said could prove counterproductive."

So is this article the sign of a war to come or just a bit of Administration puffery --- in the wake of the latest terrorist scare --- to fend off the demands of US critics to Do Something?

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Saturday's Day of Action: "A Face for Human Rights in Iran"

An EA reader notifies us of gatherings throughout Germany and in other European cities on Saturday to highlight the human and civil rights situation in Iran.

Rallies in Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg,  and Munich are being organised by the Mothers of Solidarity with Laleh Park --- a group supporting the Mothers of Martyrs in Iran --- Amnesty International, United4Iran, and the International Committee for the Rights of Students and Dervishes in Iran. 

There are also events in London, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Florence, and Siena.

Video and Transcript: President Obama's Speech to the Indian Parliament

President Obama's speech on Monday to the Indian Parliament, in five parts:

I thank you for the great honor of addressing the representatives of more than one billion Indians and the world’s largest democracy. I bring the greetings and friendship of the world’s oldest democracy—the U.S.A, including nearly three million proud and patriotic Indian Americans.

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Lebanon: Hezbollah and the "Zombie Tribunal" (Lynch)

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is reportedly set to soon indict several top Hezbollah leaders for the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri. The expected indictments have brought Lebanon to the brink of crisis, while the Obama administration has rushed to express its support for the STL and to deliver an additional $10 million to its investigation. Most of the commentary thus far has focused on the potential impact of its anticipated anti-Hezbollah ruling, whether it might lead to war or how it might affect Hezbollah's participation in the government. But lost in that admittedly quite important shuffle is a more basic question: Does the STL have any credibility at this point? If not, how does that lack of credibility shape the likely political fallout of its indictment? And should the Obama administration really be hitching its wagon to a Bush-era zombie which might drag Lebanon into an unnecessary crisis?

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