Iraq Feature: Why the US Troops Are Finally Leaving (Hint: It's Not Obama)

President Obama’s speech formally declaring that the last 43,000 U.S. troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year was designed to mask an unpleasant truth: The troops aren’t being withdrawn because the U.S. wants them out. They’re leaving because the Iraqi government refused to let them stay.

Obama campaigned on ending the war in Iraq but had instead spent the past few months trying to extend it. A 2008 security deal between Washington and Baghdad called for all American forces to leave Iraq by the end of the year, but the White House -- anxious about growing Iranian influence and Iraq’s continuing political and security challenges -- publicly and privately tried to sell the Iraqis on a troop extension. As recently as last week, the White House was trying to persuade the Iraqis to allow 2,000-3,000 troops to stay beyond the end of the year.

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Occupy Wall Street (and Beyond) Feature: Linking Up with the Unions (Wallsten)

Occupy Wall Street activists protest at a cafe owned by Danny Meyer, a member of the Board of Director of Sotheby's

The Occupy Wall Street protests that began as a nebulous mix of social and economic grievances are becoming more politically organized — with help from some of the country’s largest labor unions.

Labor groups are mobilizing to provide office space, meeting rooms, photocopying services, legal help, food and other necessities to the protesters. The support is lending some institutional heft to a movement that has prided itself on its freewheeling, non-
institutional character.

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Occupy Wall Street (and Beyond): Protests All Around the World (Buckley/Donadio)

Protesters sing "This Land is Your Land" and are then asked to leave --- with some arrested --- Washington Square in New York City. Near the end, Josh Harkinson of Mother Jones, filming the events, barely escapes detention.

Occupy Wall Street (and Beyond): 1st-Hand Reports from Occupy London March
A Unifying Statement from Occupy Wall Street? 

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Buoyed by the longevity of the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Manhattan, a wave of protests swept across Asia, the Americas and Europe on Saturday, with hundreds and in some cases thousands of people expressing discontent with the economic tides in marches, rallies and occasional clashes with the police.

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The Latest from Iran (14 October): The Plot and Beyond

See also Iran 6-Point Analysis: Obama and the Regime Walk Tightropes Over the Plot

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Manssor Arbabsiar1755 GMT: Parliament Watch. A sharp extract from the resignation letter of MP Ali Motahari, who is leaving Parliament because of its failure to interrogate the President, "The Supreme Leader's interference in Majlis matters is not advisable."

1748 GMT: Bank Fraud Watch. Mehr names three more companies, all in Qazvin Province, in the $2.6 billion bank fraud: Setaregan Amir Mansour, Tejarat Gostar, and Amir Mansour Iranian.

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Iran 6-Point Analysis: Obama and the Regime Walk Tightropes Over the Plot

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There is an important conclusion which goes far beyond any assessment of the Plot. With this response, the US has thrown back the attempt by President Ahmadinejad to renew discussions on Iran's nuclear programme, expressed in a series of public signals in New York last month. 

For now, the Americans will be using stick, stick, and more stick not only over the nuclear issue --- which is no longer the leading symbol for US-Iran relations --- but over co-operation rather than political conflict in the region and beyond. If there is going to be any carrot of direct talks with Tehran, it will only follow the region's self-humbling with an admission of guilt for The Plot.

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Occupy Wall Street (and Beyond): The Fight for Real Democracy (Hardt/Negri)

Boston police arrest protesters early this morning

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Occupy Wall Street should be understood, then, as a further development or permutation of these political demands. One obvious and clear message of the protests, of course, is that the bankers and finance industries in no way represent us: What is good for Wall Street is certainly not good for the country (or the world). A more significant failure of representation, though, must be attributed to the politicians and political parties charged with representing the people's interests but in fact more clearly represent the banks and the creditors. Such a recognition leads to a seemingly naive, basic question: Is democracy not supposed to be the rule of the people over the polis -- that is, the entirety of social and economic life? Instead, it seems that politics has become subservient to economic and financial interests.

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US Video and Transcript: How Fox News Got Schooled on Meaning of "Occupy Wall Street"

Fox News, belatedly recognising that there is a protest in its third week at New York's Wall Street, has begun some coverage, albeit to try and belittle the movement with "pranks" and interviews presenting the demonstrators as ill-informed and/or extremist.

Didn't quite work out that way in this episode, however. Last Wednesday, a rather fumbling interviewer for Greta Van Susteren's programme was educated by protester Jesse LaGreca about Occupy Wall Street --- its approach, its objectives, and its attempt to deal with mainstream media such as Fox News.

The interview never appeared, on Van Susteren's show or any other Fox newscast.

Fox: Your colleague, she’d seen the protests in Greece and Europe and elsewhere. Did you guys take your cue from that? Are you hoping to cite certainly what was a lot of the tension, if not police activity. I know over the weekend there were over 100 arrests and you guys got things fired up. Are you taking your cues from the international movement and how do you want to see this? If you could have it in a perfect way, how would it be?

Jesse: Well I don’t know, its really difficult to answer questions leading to those conclusions.

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US-UK Politics: Scott Lucas with BBC "What is a Great 'Presidential' Speech?"

As Ed Miliband made his first conference address as leader of the opposition Labour Party today, I spoke with BBC West Midlands about the qualities in a "great" speech, looking to the US --- including President Obama --- for examples.

The discussion starts just after the 13:00 mark.

US-Israel Feature: A Message to Iran? Washington Sells "Bunker-Buster" Bombs to the Israelis (Lake)

Obama had finally authorized military deals the Israelis had been waiting for for years. It is support that has drawn the two nations’ militaries increasingly close even as their leaders seem politely distant.

The aid, U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed to Newsweek, includes the long-delayed delivery of 55 powerful GBU-28 Hard Target Penetrators, better known as bunker-buster bombs, deemed important to any future military strike against Iranian nuclear sites. It also includes a network of proposed radar sites—some located in Arab neighbors—designed to help Israel repel a missile attack, as well as joint military exercises and regular national-security consultations.

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Bahrain Feature: An Opposition Leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, Spreads His Message on Twitter

Sheikh Ali Salman the head of the Al Wefaq Political and Islamic Society, the leading "opposition party" in Bahrain, He is not only spreading the message through appearances in the country but through Twitter. A selection of his recent messages:

The Arab Spring revolutions including Bahrain are dignity revolutions, and people demand that they not be marginalised in their country, where one leader decides how they should live.

Because the transformation to a democracy didn't happen, Bahraini political and human rights crises will continue to be present.

People will not be convinced by talks and promises, they will not go back to their homes empty-handed, the movement will continue..., and we will witness more arrests and unfair trials.

I said it before, and will repeat it now, we do not want the bad effect on the economy to continue, but the negative impact will continue because of the absence of a political solution.

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