Links November 20th to November 22nd

Links from my del.icio.us account for November 20th through November 22nd:

• Middle East Report 249: Imagining the Next Occupation by Jason Brownlee - Brownlee on FM 3-07, the US Army "Stability Operations" manual which advises on how run military operations to stabilize areas under occupation.


• From Kurdistan to K Street - Related story to article on Schlomi Michaels, Israeli operative/lobbyist.


• Kurdistan’s Covert Back-Channels - On Israelis in Kurdistan: "I discovered that Michaels and his associates were part of an effort by the Kurds and their allies to lobby the West for greater power in Iraq, and greater clout in Washington, and at the same time, by a group of Israeli ex security officials to rekindle good relations with their historical allies the Kurds through joint infrastructure, economic development, and security projects. It was, in other words, a story about influence-building, buying, and profit, albeit with subplots that were equal parts John le Carre and Keystone Kops, and a cast of characters ranging from ex-Mossad head Yatom to a former German superspy, with Israeli counterterrorism commandos, Kurdish political dynasties, powerful American lobbyists, Turkish business tycoons thrown in—not to mention millions of dollars stashed in Swiss bank accounts."


• Another Kuwait Crisis - Brian Ulrich on Kuwait's disapointment with having Salafists in parliament. Well they shouldn't have elected them...


• Defense Min. turns blind eye as Israelis sell arms to enemies - Haaretz - Israel News - Israel is just like any Middle Eastern (or most Western) state - just look at the close ties between its arms dealers and politicians: "Israeli arms dealers have negotiated and sold military equipment to a number of countries defined by Israeli law as enemy states in recent years with the full acknowledgment and approval of the Defense Ministry, Haaretz has learned. The ministry has okayed negotiations and sales between Israeli dealers and several Arab states including Iraq, Libya and Yemen, say the sources."