Steve Coll (”Letter From Pakistan: Time Bomb,” The New Yorker, Jan. 28, 2008, p.47) has suggested that recently assassinated Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto (the first woman to become Prime Minister of a Muslim country - 1988) “may not have grasped the extent to which old patterns of radicalism in Pakistan are changing. Jihadi groups that once collaborated with the I.S.I. are breaking away to pursue an independent revolutionary agenda, and they are having considerable success.” (other articles on Pakistan - from the course syllabus) Steve Coll won a Pulitzer Prize for his book Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, From the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (New York: Penguin, 2004).
BBC Middle East- January 6th 2009
Israel 'expands' Gaza offensive
Israeli forces reportedly widen their ground assault in the Gaza Strip to include Khan Younis in the south, after fierce clashes around Gaza City. - January 5th 2009
New US embassy opens in Baghdad
The new US embassy in Baghdad - one of the largest and most expensive ever built - is officially opened in Iraq's capital. - January 5th 2009
Tehran offers to 'protect' Ebadi
Iran says it will provide security for Nobel Peace Prize-winning lawyer Shirin Ebadi, amid global concern for her safety. - January 4th 2009
Baghdad bomb kills Shia pilgrims
A female suicide bomber kills at least 35 Shia pilgrims including Iranians near a shrine in Baghdad, Iraqi police say. - January 2nd 2009
European flight lands in Baghdad
The first commercial flight between Western Europe and Baghdad in at least 17 years lands in the Iraqi capital. - January 2nd 2009
Suicide bomb kills many in Iraq
A suicide bombing kills at least 23 people at a Sunni gathering in a town south of Baghdad, Iraqi police say. - January 1st 2009
Iraq takes control of Green Zone
Iraq takes control of the Green Zone in Baghdad and assumes more powers over foreign troops based in the country. - December 31st 2008
Britain hands suspects to Iraqis
Two Iraqis accused of murdering UK soldiers are handed over to Iraq despite a bar by the European Court of Human Rights. - January 5th 2009
Casualties rise in Gaza offensive
Casualties pour into packed hospitals in Gaza as Israel continues its offensive, losing three soldiers overnight. - January 5th 2009
Obama's strategic silence on Gaza
The BBC's Richard Lister reports on President-elect Barack Obama's unwillingness to comment on Israel's invasion of Gaza.
- January 6th 2009
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