Pakistan Feature: US Preparing for a Curtailed "Post-9/11" Relationship With Islamabad? (Schmitt)

Schmitt cites a "senior United States official" who speaks of closing "the chapter on the post-9/11 period", trying to frame a decade of US actions guided by a necessary, perhaps even moral, campaign against terrorism.

The reality is murkier. Speaking of a "post-9/11 period" conveniently ignores not just the years after 2001 but the complications of decades before that, as it serves a US administration keen to bracket Bush-era foreign intervention as being exceptional, rather than business as usual. It is not as easy for the "post-9/11 period" to wash away the instability in the Pakistani system.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Pounding Homs

1955 GMT: One of the conditions of the Arab League observers was supposed to be the withdrawal of tanks from the cities they were visiting. Well, those appear to the the observers, that is absolutely a tank, and this appears to be Baba Amr, Homs:

1927 GMT: An activist describes this video, reportedly taken today in Hama:

Demonstrators in the al-Baroudiyeh neighborhood, trying to reach Assi square, and in the video they [gather] behind buildings because of the presence of snipers; among the chants - "we don't bow down except to God," and, "oh Homs, we are with you till death."

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The Latest from Iran (27 December): Election Watch

See also Iran Snap Analysis: How Many Reformists Will Participate in the Elections?
Iran Interview: Detained Mehdi Karroubi on "A Rigged and Forced Election Process"
The Latest from Iran (26 December): The (Dis)Unity of Elections

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1758 GMT: Elections Watch. Prominent reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh, serving a six-year prison sentence, has posted an open letter declaring that he will boycott the forthcoming Parliamentary elections.

Tajzadeh, a former Deputy Minister of Interior, cited the need "to counter lies, corruption, and ineptitude" and "to prevent the establishment of an absolute dictatorship" as well "to control and eradicate poverty, unemployment, and crime". Among reasons not to participate, he mentioned the June 2009 "election coup" putting President Ahmadinejad back in office, the re-appointment of Ayatollah Jannati as head of the Guardian Council supervising the elections, the "illegal involvement of military and security forces", "the illegal house arrest" of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the suspension of reformist parties.

1755 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ebrahim Yazdi, the 81-year-old former Foreign Minister, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Yazdi, the head of the Freedom Movement of Iran, was arrested briefly after the disputed June 2009 Presidential election and again in September 2010 for an "illegal prayer meeting".

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US Presidential Campaign 2012: 'Tis the Season for Silly Names

To begin with, the country voted for solid names like George, John, Thomas, and the like, but the 7th President was named Quincy. After him the USA has had a Van (as in Van Buren), Zachary, Millard, Abraham, Ulysses, Rutherford, Chester, Grover, Theodore, Woodrow, Warren, Calvin, S (as in Harry S Truman --- yes, the S stood for nothing but S), and Dwight.

Don’t tell me Americans are not attracted to the quirky in their politics.

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Egypt Feature: The Military's Hidden Role in the Economy (Al-Khalsan)

Soldiers in Front of Egypt's Stock ExchangeShould the production of pasta, mineral water, butane gas cylinders, and gas station services qualify as classified military secrets? And does discussing these enterprises in public pass as a crime of high treason? The leaders of the Egyptian Armed Forces believe the answer is “yes.” 

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Iran Snap Analysis: How Many Reformists Will Participate in the Elections?

Mostafa KavakebianHow many reformists will carry through on the threat to stay away from Parliamentary elections? Former President Mohammad Khatami has walked a careful line, calling for no fielding of candidates but also holding back from telling people not to vote. It is clear, however, that almost all reformist factions are holding that line during this week's registration of candidates. Groups such as the Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution, as well as Ayatollah Mousavi Khoeiniha, leading reformist political prisoners, and the detained 2009 Presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, have all made clear their opposition to reformists seeking Parliamentary seats.

That is bad news for elements in the regime, including the Supreme Leader's office, the Revolutionary Guards, and conservative/principlist rivals of the President, who are worried that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's camp will use organisation and money to bring out their support and win a majority in the Majlis.

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The Quest for #2012Worldview: A Special Request to Readers for A New Year's Project

This entry has been moved to the top of the homepage.

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The Latest from Iran (26 December): The (Dis)Unity of Elections

Nikahang Kowsar portrays President Ahmadinejad's preparations for the Parliamentary elections in March

See also Iran Interview: Detained Mehdi Karroubi on "A Rigged and Forced Election Process"

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2115 GMT: Unity Watch. A short summary has been issued from today's meeting of the head of the three branch of Government --- President Ahmadinejad, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, and head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani (see 1038 GMT). It declares that the three men insisted on no red lines to eradicate financial corruption.

The language indicates a deliberate attempt to show unity despite tensions --- this summer, President Ahmadinejad warned his foes not to cross "red lines" and prosecute his advisors and minister, while both Ahmadinejad and his critics among conservatives and principlists have accused each other of links to corruption cases.

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Iran Interview: Detained Mehdi Karroubi on "A Rigged and Forced Election Process"

These gentlemen are fully aware of the continued discontent and anger of our people, and as a result they seek to organise a rigged and forced election process in which candidates who do not meet their requirements are disqualified and barred from participating. This will lead to ballot boxes filled with votes that belong to God knows whom.

Their goal is to once again arrest, create fear amongst our citizens, impose a heavy security atmosphere and repeat the tragedies that took place during the Presidential elections in 2009; a process in which candidates will be approved by the Guardian Council based on their positions regarding the supposed "heads of the sedition" and the groups causing the "diversion".

It goes without saying that when the ruling government is reduced to calling the reformists, the Green Movement, and protesting citizens the "diversionary group", their intent is to deceive and I believe that our nation is fully cognizant of these types of tactics.

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Egypt, Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: An Activist is Freed

Egyptian activist Alaa Abd-El Fattah joins chants in Tahrir Square after he was freed on Sunday

See also Yemen and Media Opinion: Does a Life March Take Place If No One Covers It?
Sudan Special: A New Spark for 2011's Forgotten Revolution?

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2140 GMT: The Local Coordination Committees claim that 40 people --- 33 of them in Homs --- have been killed by Syrian security forces today.

A rally tonight in Houla in Homs Province in sympathy with the shelled Bab Amro section of Homs:

A protest in the Damascus suburb of Saqba calling for freedom and the toppling of the regime:

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