MORNING REPORT - JUNE 14
UN: Iran compliance "less than satisfactory". (Debka) Debka reports that United Nations weapons inspector el-Baradei finds Iran's cooperation on weapons inspections "less than satisfactory". The US is pushing for a deadline.
Arab reaction to Greater Mideast Initiative. (Iraq the Model) Now blogging from home, Omar posts more responses to the American push for political reform in the Middle East, translated from the BBC Arabic service. He reports that, predictibly, the most positive responses came from Iraq and the most negative from Palestine. The one surprise was the number of positive responses from Saudi Arabia.
Sudan: Victims of silence. (Jane Novak - Yemen Times) Bombings, crop destruction, well poisoning, mass executions, rape and torture are well-documented, ongoing atrocities in Sudan. Where, Jane asks, is the global action and outrage?
Change of tune for Saudi clerics? (Fox) Fox News reports that six Saudi clerics with former terrorist ties - including two, Safar bin Abdul Rahman al-Hawali, and Salman al-Awdah, who supported Osama bin Laden - have issued a statement condemning attacks on Westerners. The statement explicitly declared that "it is a sin to kill a life without a right, be it Muslim or non-Muslim" and warned against labeling other Muslim nations "infidels". No explanation has yet been offered as to why these six have now joined the Saudi government in opposing terrorist attacks.
