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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The Latest from Iran (9 November): The "Rule of Law"

1610 GMT: Press Watch. ICHRI claims, from a "reliable source inside Hamshahri newspaper", that four senior journalists have been suspended and a reporter has been dismissed. Though there have been many dismissals at Hamshahri Newspaper in the past, the suddenness of the actions has surprised many of the people who work at the newspaper. The source says it is feared that the suspensions are the beginning of an intiative to put in journalists who have the same political orientation as the paper’s management. In the last year, Hamshahri’s management has been filled by individuals who formerly worked in the police force or the judiciary, including Managing Director Mehdi Zakeri.

1508 GMT: A Change of Philosophy. The United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization has withdrawn from the holding of World Philosophy Day in Tehran, less than two weeks before the event.

There had been sustained protests, including an academic challenge led by philosopher and former political prisoner Ramin Jahanbegloo, against UNESCO's persistence in supporting the gathering. The arrangements had been made in 2008 but came under fire amidst post-election conflict, repression, and the Iranian regime's restriction on Western humanities in universities.

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US Justice, Guantanamo Style: Getting Rid of "Child Soldier" Omar Khadr (Prasow)

During the sentencing hearing, when Khadr should have had an opportunity to present mitigating facts, the judge barred the defense from presenting significant evidence of Khadr's ill-treatment while in custody. Additionally, because this case was a plea bargain, Khadr had to waive his right to appeal so none of the fundamental flaws of the military commission process that were a part of his case can be challenged.

Presented with an admission of guilt that Khadr had previously adamantly denied, and with the limited case the defense put forward, it is no wonder the jury returned the sentence they did. Although the plea agreement set a maximum of eight years, the military jury (which, following ordinary courts-martial practice, was not told of the plea bargain) handed down a sentence of 40 years --- 15 more than even the prosecution had asked for. Coupled with the eight years Khadr has already spent in US custody, it amounts to a 48-year sentence. This, for someone who was only 15 years old at the time he committed the crime.

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Iran Video: Attorney Sotoudeh's Family Talk About The Grief over Her Detention

Prominent defence lawyer Nasrine Sotoudeh, after a summer of harassment and raids by Iranian authorities, was detained on 4 September. The charges against her are still far from clear, but she is to appear in court next Monday.

Meanwhile, Iranian officials have limited or denied visits to Sotoudeh, the mother of two children by her family and lawyer. She has gone on hunger strike twice, with her current dry fast lasting more than a week.

Israel Analysis: Netanyahu in New Orleans on Iran, De-Legitimisation, and a "Secure Peace"

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in New Orleans. His issues were simple: the greatest threat of Iran and the attempt to "de-legitimise" Israel.

Netanyahu first set out the menace of Tehran:

The greatest danger facing Israel and the world is the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran. Iran threatens to annihilate Israel. It denies the Holocaust. It sponsors terror.  It confronts America in Afghanistan and Iraq.  It dominates Lebanon and Gaza. It establishes beachheads in Arabia and in Africa. It even spreads its influence into this hemisphere, into South America.  

Now, this is what Iran is doing without nuclear weapons. Imagine what it would do with them. Imagine the devastation that its terror proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas and others, would wreak under an Iranian nuclear umbrella.

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China This Week: Hu, Sarkozy Prep for G20; Stronger Ties with Europe; Beijing Tells US to Stay Out of Dispute with Japan

Hu, Sarkozy Prepare for G20:  Chinese President Hu Jintao and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy met in the French Riveria last Friday to discuss reforms to the international monetary system, trying to coordinate their stance before the Seoul G20 summit.

France, which takes over the chair of the G20 group of leading economies in mid-November, has placed reform at the top of its agenda during its one-year tenure.

Chinese President Calls for Stronger Ties with Europe: Hu said on Tuesday that China attaches great importance to its relations with Europe and wants to strengthen ties with the region.

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China Update: Celebrating Ai Weiwei (Despite House Arrest)

EA reported yesterday on the house arrest of artist and architectural designer Ai Weiwei, imposed on the social activist when he protested the destruction of his Shanghai studio.

Despite his detention, hundreds of people visited the studio on Sunday for a "River Crab Feast" --- a word play on the Government's declaration of "harmony" --- before its demolition.

Authorities in Shanghai said the structure had not gone through the proper application procedures, but critics believe that the studio was condemned because of the discomfort caused by Ai's activism.

Zhou Shuguang, 29, traveled from his home in Changsha in Hunan Province in central China to visit the studio.

"Although I heard that Ai was under house arrest, I wasn't scared because as a visitor, I just come to the party to have fun by myself. We are not being investigated by anyone. I don't believe the police will detain us," he said.

Each participant was served with a river crab, and also received two ceramic sunflower seeds, replicas of the hundred million ceramic sunflower seeds currently on exhibition at the Tate Modern Gallery's Turbine Hall in London.