Oh No He Didn't

South African jurist Richard Goldstone has, on more than one occasion, asked that debate over his United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict last winter remain focused on its content rather than personal attacks about its authors.

Then again, he would say that. After all, Goldstone is a small man, devoid of any sense of justice, a technocrat with no real understanding of jurisprudence - at least according to Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. And I'm not paraphrasing; that's an exact quote. Believe it.

Going on to allege he "was on a one-sided mission to hurt Israel," the Nobel Peace Prize laureate continued, "If anyone should be investigated, it should be him."

Then in his most properest, Goldstone shot back a few hours later, "I would say that the President's comments are specious and ill-befitting the Head of the State of Israel."

"I am content to be judged by my actions over the course of my career both in terms of my professional judicial career and my voluntary service," he added.

Anyway, I'd planned to post something more relevant than this exasperating but hilarious opposite-of-cat-fight exchange between two old men not known for their wild outbursts, but then got absorbed into how oddly similar both side's accusations sound against the other's vis-a-vis the Gaza report, and found plenty more from other concerned individuals.

So yeah, here's like a top 12. Enjoy (and feel free to add more), but don't accuse me of equating anyone with the stronger, scarier, more terrorist or most occupying party, or whatever. In no particular order:

"That is exactly what a recent UN report on Gaza did... falsely equating the terrorists with those they targeted." -Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister

"The report tried to equate in one way or another between the aggressors and the victims." -Ahmed Yousef, Hamas leader

"It fails to distinguish between the aggressor and a state exercising its right for self defense." -Shimon Peres, Israeli president

"...failed to distinguish between the aggressor and the victim." -Hamas lawmaker

"Rather than condemning the terrorists... some here have condemned their victims." -Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister

"Israel as the occupying power with that of the occupied Palestinian population..." -Khalida Jarrar, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

"...tried to draw an equivalence between Israel and those who tried to target Israeli civilians." -Gabriela Shalev, Israeli ambassador to the UN

“...occupiers must not be confused with the occupied.” -Ibrahim Khraisheh, Palestinian ambassador to Geneva

"The comparison between those who pursue terror and terror victims is inconceivable." - source close to Ehud Barak, Israeli defense minister

“...there is absolutely no symmetry or proportionality between the occupier and the occupied. -Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador to the UN

"We reject any comparison between a democratic country defending itself and a terrorist organization." -Yossi Levy, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman

"When the victim defends itself... this cannot be compared with crime Israel is committing... the Palestinian people are the victims and Israel is the hangman, the occupier and the attacker." -Khaled Mash'al, Hamas leader

In conclusion, check out this baller scarf, the perfect holiday gift for the Goldstone affectionado in your life. Available only in Gaza City, $22.50.

How Crazy are Egyptians?

Probably not any crazier than the British.

Today's front pages of the Arabic newspaper 'Al-Quds al-Arabi' alerted me to the crazy and violent rivalry going on between Egypt and Algeria on the soccer field.

(photo Al Quds al Arabi)

Egypt and Algeria are set to play eachother on Saturday to determine who will qualify for the World Cup. The situation is so tense that Egyptian fans attacked the bus of the Algerian team with rocks, injuring some of the players. The feud even spilled over onto the internet, with Algerians blogging in French and Egyptians in Arabic.

FIFA has now asked Egypt for written guarantees for the safety of the Algerian team. Who are you rooting for? I'll root for Egypt...just so no one gets killed.

For an English article about the attack, click here.

Middle East Sex - courtesy of JO

(photo byEmily Carwell, JO Magazine)

I haven't been to Jordan since August, so I missed the June issue of JO Magazine . I read JO obsessively - it's one of the BEST English magazines coming out of the Middle East. Now that it's online, their site has become a top favorite of mine.

In my opinion, JO didn't have a strong start, but the magazine has evolved amazingly. The writing and photos of recent issues are stunning. Their columnist Shady Salah, also a taxi driver, never fails to make me smile. Run by a young staff, JO deals with issues that other publications won't touch.

A prime example is June's cover story, which dealt with 'sex tourism' in Jordan. The story describes western women who come to Jordan and 'exploit' hotel staff, Bedouin guides, etc. for sex. The article generated very predictable amounts of comments, prompting a response by their editor .

I have very strong opinions on the article. Non-Arab females receive ridiculously inappropriate amounts of sexual harassment in Jordan, and I think that this article will only work to their detriment. How much will it matter? Probably not much, since I doubt that those guys on the street staring at, screaming at, and following foreign women are probably not also the ones who read an English magazine regularly. But still, I really have doubts about content of this article.

Us here at the Casbah would love to hear your opinions.

Obama To Give McChrystal Early Christmas Gift

Well folks, looks like it's going to be an early Christmas in Washington this year. Reports from D.C. and confirmed by CBS have President Obama approving an almost 40,000 troop increase in Afghanistan. CBS News correspondent David Martin reports that the president will send a lot more troops and plans to keep a large force there, long term.

President Obama has "tentatively decided" to send four combat brigades plus thousands more support troops which will arrive in Afghanistan by the end of 2010. Currently the United States has nearly 68,000 troops in Afghanistan and there are about 40,000 additional troops from NATO and other allied countries. With the new troops, the total number of allied forces would swell to around 148,000 by the end of 2010.

According to McChrystal's plans, the buildup would be expected to last about four years, until the General completes his plan for doubling the size of the Afghan army and police force. Yet the tone behind the troop increase and deployment hints at a more long term agenda. With the need to help secure unstable regions and borders from the Taliban, the plans to root out corruption and prosecute criminals, the population centric agenda to rebuild schools and infrstructure, the war on drug traffiking, and a plethera of other objectives, it appears the United States has planted roots in Afghanistan and has no plans on leaving.

In reaction to this troop increase, many Afghans have responded in a positive manner, while others are more typical with their outlook for the future. Check out this link for some actual Afghan reactions.

So that's that. The long war just got longer.

UPDATE: Obama is now considering 4 options according to specific strategy goals. Three of the options call for specific levels of additional troops. The low-end option would add 20,000 to 25,000 troops, a middle option calls for about 30,000, and another embraces Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s request for roughly 40,000 more troops. Administration officials said that a fourth option was added only in the past few days. They declined to identify any troop level attached to it. Eitherway, all options include troop increases and imply a long term presence in Afghanistan.