Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the sparse news coverage on the stalemate in Libya that may lead to partition; NATO’s “no assassination” policy in a conflict where every target can be defined as a military asset; decentralizing power in Yemen, where many provinces have become autonomous; the Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council troops in Bahrain that are staying for the duration of Shia protests; and the persistence of protesters in Syria, who turn out in...

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the lengthening Libya intervention from “days not weeks” to an open ended commitment with no end in sight – despite Robert Gates’s assertion that Libya poses no threat to the US; how the Bahrain issue has driven a (real or invented) wedge between the US and Saudi Arabia; Yemeni protests coming to a head and spelling the end of President Saleh’s rule; protests in Syria gaining enough momentum to possibly force the end to an emergency...

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the UN war against Libya, where goals and exit strategies are uncertain; problems with an east/west division of Libya, assuming a prolonged stalemate; Obama’s curious bypassing of Congress, as the legislature generally approves of any military action; the seemingly unlimited US appetite for global intervention and budget deficits; and how official justifications for hypocritical foreign policies have been laid bare for all to...

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the tendency of UN Security Council resolutions to greatly exceed their initial mandates in both time and scope; the token military contributions of Qatar and UAE; the UN critics in Congress who have nothing disparaging to say about world government when war is approved; Saudi Arabia’s fake GCC “coalition of the willing” in Bahrain; how excessive government violence has prompted some Yemeni tribes to ally with the protesters; another...

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the differing reports on whether Libyans want outside intervention or not; the media’s acceptance that the US government is with the Mideast protesters, though the autocrats were supported right up to the end; the Algerian protests that succeeded in getting the Emergency Law repealed but not the corresponding restrictions; why Israel may now be powerless to stop an Egypt-style Palestinian uprising demanding independence; the potential...

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Robert Gates’s warning on the spillover effects of imposing a Libyan no-fly zone; the daunting prospect of invading and occupying Libya, a country larger than both Iraq and Afghanistan; why the US is incapable of a politically neutral humanitarian intervention; the ongoing negotiations in Yemen; the strange apologetic violence against protesters in Bahrain; and the reported crackdown on dissident Iraqi intellectuals protesting the...

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses how your donations keep him working, providing helpful and time saving news summaries, links and analysis to keep you informed on US foreign policy; Egypt’s partial reopening of the Gaza border crossing, kept closed since Hamas’s 2006 electoral victory; the midpoint (geographically speaking) of Libya’s popular revolution; why foreign military intervention on behalf of the protesters sounds like a good idea, but isn’t; and why the Saudi...

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the Egyptian army’s assertion of power, and not all in a good way; protesters split on living under martial law for the near future; uncertain prospects for democratic representation, as the military may run their own candidate in elections (if there are any); Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s improbable conversion from super-villain to lukewarm US ally; and the popular uprisings brewing in Algeria, Jordan, Yemen and Bahrain.

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses CIA chief Leon Panetta’s (correct) prediction that Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak will step down; the lack of concessions offered to Egyptian protesters, other than promises to end the 30-year Emergency Law at some unspecified future date; slow progress in reforming Tunisia’s government, despite a new head of state; and the Egyptian army’s two week detainment of the Google executive who helped start the protests.

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Hamid Karzai's complaint about NATO reconstruction funds being re-routed around his notoriously corrupt regime; how the US uses the Afghan army's size as a measure of progress, even though it's comprised of fair-weather soldiers who desert early and often; comparing the costs of a large Afghan army with the country's GDP (it isn't remotely sustainable); how Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki is acting as a one man government, where his official...

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the escalating tensions between the Somali police and army, stopping just short of violent conflict; the seven-year old 'transitional' Somali government that remains as weak and unrepresentative as ever; Xe (formerly Blackwater USA) owner Erik Prince‘s involvement with a mercenary army tasked with fighting Somali pirates; indications the Tunisia protests are running out of steam; and Yemeni protests that seem to have effected...

This interview is excerpted from the KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles broadcast of January 21st. The original is available here. Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the ongoing developments in the Tunisia revolution; the nervous Middle East/N. African dictators of US client states who fear they could be toppled next; the State Department group-think revealed in the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables; the low-enriched uranium swap proposal that will leave Iran up to its eyeballs in...

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Ehud Barak's decision to abandon the sinking ship that is Israel's Labor party; the departure of IDF chief Gabi Ashkenazi, one of the few Israeli government officials to oppose an Iran offensive; why the West may be completely wrong about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; and the prosecution of former CIA officer Jeffrey Alexander Sterling for telling James Risen that the CIA gave Iran nuclear blueprints.

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses how Joe Biden was caught talking out both sides of his mouth on the 2014 Afghanistan withdrawal date; how Gen Petraeus is now claiming progress in small and lesser-known Afghan cities after poor performances in Kandahar and Marjah; polls that show a record percentage of Americans dislike the Afghan War (not that it matters); and why Benjamin Netanyahu is displeased at the (relative) infrequency of US military threats against Iran.

Jason Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses the pending executive order authorizing indefinite detention; why Congress's refusal to close Guantanamo isn't being challenged by Obama (who seems to have forgotten his promise); the vague domestic terrorism threats that have Attorney General Eric Holder shaking in his loafers; how the alliance of opposition groups in Somalia portends more violence and threatens the Western-backed government; and why Somalia was better off without a...