Recap of Barbie Nadeau's Most Recent Papal Coverage

Barbie Latza Nadeau's witty an sharply reported stories on Italy and the Vatican appear almost constantly on The Daily Beast. These are some of her recent articles on the departure of Pope Benedict and the arrival of Pope Francis:

1. Conclave Conspiracies

   by Barbie Latza Nadeau March 14, 2013 12:39 PM EDT

   Backstabbing! Secret deals! Holy grudges! Rumors are flying about how Pope Francis really got elected.

2. Habemus Who?

   by Barbie Latza Nadeau March 13, 2013 06:17 PM EDT

   Who is this not-so-young, not-so-well-known new pope? Barbie Latza Nadeau reports.

3. The Goodfellas of God

   by Barbie Latza Nadeau March 13, 2013 04:45 AM EDT

   Barbie Latza Nadeau on the kingmaker Italian cardinals.
4. NEWSWEEK

   Pristine Sistine

   by Barbie Latza Nadeau March 11, 2013 04:45 AM EDT

   Visitors to Michelangelo’s masterpiece get a spiritual cleansing.

5. At Papal Conclave, Waiting for Smoke

   by Barbie Latza Nadeau March 10, 2013 04:45 AM EDT

   Many of the cardinals assembled to vote for a new pope are still learning each other’s names, reports Barbie Latza Nadeau from Vatican City.
6. INTERACTIVE

   Papal Attraction: Live Updates From Rome!

   March 09, 2013 10:36 AM EST

   Follow our reporters Barbie Latza Nadeau and Christopher Dickey in Rome as Pope Francis takes over. See tweets, photos, and videos.

7. Can the Cardinals Find a Clean Pope?

   by Barbie Latza Nadeau March 07, 2013 11:42 AM EST

   Victims of sexual abuse by priests have made their case against a “dirty dozen” of contenders for the job. By Barbie Latza Nadeau.

8. Inside the Vatican

   by Barbie Latza Nadeau March 06, 2013 12:51 PM EST

   Longtime Vatican reporter John Thavis’s new book is full of revelations about the last papal conclave and what happens on the pope’s jet. By Barbie Latza Nadeau.

9. Pope Fever Grips Rome

   by Barbie Latza Nadeau March 04, 2013 12:55 PM EST

   Barbie Latza Nadeau on the election of a new pope, a Super Bowl for the faithful.

10. Bye-bye, Benedict!

    by Barbie Latza Nadeau February 27, 2013 12:14 PM EST

    The pope’s last day was filled with Vatican pomp and circumstance—and with protests over the church’s abuse scandals. Barbie Latza Nadeau reports from Rome.

Recap of Christopher Dickey's Recent Vatican Coverage

It's been a busy seven days. If you aren't Poped out and want to catch up, here's a list of the stories filed from Rome. I will be back in Paris tonight, but Barbie Nadeau will keep up her fantastic coverage from the Eternal City.

(Note: This is a personal mailing list. If you want to be taken off, just hit reply and send me a note. It will come straight to me.)

• NEW: The Two Faces of Pope Francis
  by Christopher Dickey March 17, 2013 04:45 AM EDT
  The new pontiff's past reputation is hard to square with his affable presence today. His actions in the weeks to come will tell us who he really is, writes Christopher Dickey.
  
• 
  
• INTERACTIVEPapal Attraction: Live Updates From Rome!
  March 09, 2013 10:36 AM EST
  Follow our reporters Barbie Latza Nadeau and Christopher Dickey in Rome as Pope Francis takes over. See tweets, photos, and videos.
• 
  
• The Pope's Dirty Past
  by Christopher Dickey March 16, 2013 04:45 AM EDT
  Christopher Dickey on the new pontiff's role during Argentina's dictatorship.
  
• 
  
• What Did You Do in the Dirty War, Papa?
  by Christopher Dickey March 15, 2013 04:45 AM EDT
  Questions persist about how Pope Francis behaved during the violence of Argentina's Dirty War. Christopher Dickey digs into the evidence.
  
• 
  
• Watch Out, Vatican City
  by Christopher Dickey March 13, 2013 06:20 PM EDT
  Francis is warm, humble, and ready to shake things up.
  
• 
  
• Southern Discomfort
  by Christopher Dickey, Mac Margolis March 13, 2013 04:45 AM EDT
  Christopher Dickey and Mac Margolis on the election of an African or Latin American pope.
  
• 
  
• The Case for Padre Sean
  by Christopher Dickey March 12, 2013 04:45 AM EDT
  With a history of tirelessly helping the poor, Cardinal Sean O'Malley has shown just the kind of qualities the world needs in a new pope, argues Christopher Dickey.
  
• 
  
• America's Candidate for Pope?
  by Christopher Dickey March 10, 2013 07:33 AM EDT
  He fought for justice on behalf of the church's sex-abuse victims long before the Vatican did.

A Note on Vatican Weather

At the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, heavy clouds suddenly parted and the sun shone. I was above St. Peter's Square atop the Bernini colonnade and the sensation was pretty spooky. Condoleezza Rice was among the dignitaries below and, as she wrote in her memoir, she noticed it, too. (Neither of us are Catholics, btw.)
The day Pope Benedict XVI announced he would resign, a huge thunderstorm rolled in over the Vatican and lightning hit the dome of St. Peter's several times....
The day the conclave met to choose a new pope, almost at the very minute the cardinals were convened, there was a hailstorm.
The night they made their decision all of us in the square were soaked. It had been pouring all day. But before the new pope, Francis, stepped out on the balcony, the rain stopped completely.
Today we'll be watching the weather closely for his first angelus before what's expected to be a huge crowd. ....

Check out coverage of the conclave, the papapabili and the new pope; plus Six Ideas x 2

For tweets, links, photos and video from in and around St. Peter's Square: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/09/conclave.html

The Daily Beast: What Did You Do in the Dirty War, Papa?, 15 March 2013
Questions persists about how newly named Pope Francis behaved in Argentina's civil war. Christopher Dickey digs into the
evidence.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/15/argentina-s-dirty-war-casts-a-pall-over-bergoglio.html

The Daily Beast: Watch Out, Vatican City, 13 March 2013
Francis is warm, humble, and ready to shake things up.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/13/watch-out-vatican-city-francis-is-here.html

The Daily Best: Southern Discomfort, 13 March 2013
Christopher Dickey and Mac Margolis on the election of an African or Latin American pope. (Ooops, missed Bergoglio)
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/13/southern-discomfort-in-election-of-pope.html


The Daily Beast: The Case for Padre Sean, 12 March 2013
When I knew him as a young man, Cardinal Sean O'Malley showed just the kind of qualities the world needs in a new pope
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/12/the-case-for-cardinal-sean-o-malley.html

Newsweek: Around the World in Six Ideas, 12 March 2013
From Poachers to iDemocracy
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/03/11/around-the-world-in-six-ideas-from-poachers-to-idemocracy.html

The Daily Beast: America's Candidate for Pope?, 10 March 2013
Cardinal Wuerl fought for justice on behalf of the church's sex-abuse victims long before the Vatican did, or so they say
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/10/donald-wuerl-america-s-candidate-for-pope0.html

Newsweek: Around the World in Six Ideas, 5 March 2013
From Judge Drone to the Evolution of Lying
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/03/04/around-the-world-in-six-ideas-drone-court-lying-and-more.html

Check out "My Horsemeat Lunch"; a video panel about Mali, bankers, wankers, the pope etc; and the latest "Six Ideas"

The Daily Beast: My Horsemeat Lunch, 27 February 2013
The secret mixing of horsemeat into patties, lasagna, and meatballs has scandalized Europe. But the horse butchers of Paris are unperturbed.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/27/horsemeat-for-lunch-christopher-dickey-n-paris-s-horse-boucheries.html

France24: The World This Week, 1 March 2013
Topics included the pope, Italian politics, hostages in Africa, hybrid terrorists and more
http://www.france24.com/en/20130301-world-week-1-march-2013
[For the moment only the second section of the program is available but we expect that to be remedied shortly]

Newsweek: Around the World in Six Ideas, 25 February 2013
Rights for robots; the economics of love; America to the rescue; printing with stem cells; the global .00001 percent; a bright idea for back roads
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/02/25/around-the-world-in-six-ideas-robot-ethics-genocide-combat-units-printing-stem-cells-and-the-future-of-driving.html

Check out "Diamonds Are For Stealing" and the latest "Around the World in Six Ideas"

The Daily Beast: Diamonds Are for Stealing, 21 February 2013
Is the $50M heist in Belgium linked to a decade-old crime? By Christopher Dickey and Nadette De Visser.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/21/the-bizarre-coincidences-surrounding-the-50m-diamond-heist-in-belgium.html

Audio: A cameo appearance on this NPR report about the Brussels diamond heist, 19 February 2013
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/19/172431549/airport-diamond-thieves-may-have-had-inside-help

Newsweek: Around the World in Six Ideas, 19 February 2013
Government by Nudge; Dogged Determination; Silicon Egypt; Reality Plus - or Minus; Speaking Up; and This Land's Not Your Land
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/02/18/around-the-world-in-six-ideas.html

[The next installment of Six Ideas will be available to subscribers this Friday and on the Web next Wednesday]

Check out John Paul vs Benedict; The Conclave Conundrum; Six Ideas; video and ... a Valentine!

The Daily Beast: Habemus Vacancy, 12 February  2013
The Vatican knows how to stage a conclave—that secretive selection process for the next pope—if the pontiff dies. But with a retirement, the rules aren't so clear.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/12/with-pope-benedict-s-retirement-conclave-rules-prove-unclear.html

The Daily Beast: The Bureaucrat and the Saint, 11 February 2013
Every pope mixes the roles of CEO and Vicar of Christ, but a comparison of Benedict XVI and his predecessor, John Paul II, suggests just how different those roles really are.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/11/contrasting-benedict-and-john-paul-ii.html

Newsweek: Around the World in Six Ideas: No Nukes are Good Nukes, Cyberspace Superstorms, and More, 8 and 11 February 2013
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/02/11/around-the-world-in-six-ideas-hagel-missiles-cyberspace-superstorms-and-more.html

(Two of these ideas were touched on in Obama's State of the Union February 12.)

France24 Video: The World This Week, 8 February 2013

Talking Tunisia, Egypt, Ikhwan, Iran, and the French and British debates over same-sex marriage
http://www.france24.com/en/20130208-the-world-this-week-8-february

Posted earlier:

The Daily Beast: Suffer the Little Children, 8 February 2013
A monstrous case of child abuse in Saudi Arabia shakes the kingdom and strengthens the cause of Saudi women activists.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/08/saudi-arabia-s-child-rape-case-female-activists-fight-to-prevent-abuse.html
(Warning, this is a very painful story to read. But it concludes on a note of hope.)

Note: "Six Ideas" is a new weekly feature I'm producing for Newsweek. It appears in the digital magazine on Fridays, and is posted on the Web on Tuesdays.

And, finally, Happy Valentine's Day (a tree decorated with hearts in ... the heart of Paris):

Check out Suffer the Little Children in Saudi Arabia, and Around the World in Six Ideas

The Daily Beast: Suffer the Little Children, 8 February 2013A monstrous case of child abuse in Saudi Arabia shakes the kingdom and strengthens the cause of Saudi women activists.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/08/saudi-arabia-s-child-rape-case-female-activists-fight-to-prevent-abuse.html

(Warning, this is a very painful story to read. But it concludes on a note of hope.)

Newsweek: Around the World in Six Ideas, 1 February 2013Feeding Africa; Art and Innovation; The End of Workers?; Who You Gonna Trust?; The New Energy Map
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/02/04/christopher-dickey-around-the-world-in-six-ideas.html

Note: "Six Ideas" is a new weekly feature I'm producing for Newsweek. It appears in the digital magazine on Fridays, and is posted on the Web on Tuesdays. The Six Ideas published in the magazine today: Forget Your IQ; No Nukes Is Good Nukes; Cyberspace Superstorms; Hybrid Bad Guys; Valuing Women; Innovation v. Execution, will be sent out in next week's mailing.

And by the way, I would welcome tips from any and all of you about your own ideas and those of others that you might find interesting. My deadline for this feature each week is Monday.

"Wadjda": (Saudi) Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

“Wadjda”

This Saudi film about a girl who wants to buy a bicycle and ride it (a prelude to driving a car?) looks just great. It was a big hit at the Venice Film Festival last fall, and opens in Paris today. I expect it will be shown again at a festival of Gulf films in May. Personally, I plan to see it this weekend. Would love to hear from others who have seen it already.

Flash from the Past: Al Jazeera's correspondent jailed for being too close to Bin Laden (September 2005)

Newsweek
September 29, 2005
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Guilt by Association
A Spanish court has jailed the reporter who interviewed bin Laden after 9/11. What his conviction says about the dangerous ambiguities of pursuing journalistic balance in an age of terror.

By Christopher Dickey

When I asked the waiter for a glass of wine, I saw the man across the table from me recoil ever so slightly, as if I were testing him. Which, in a way, I was. We were ordering lunch in the old Jewish quarter of Granada, Spain, at the Torquato Restaurant (his choice). Across a narrow valley the palace and the paradisiacal gardens of the Alhambra stood as tribute to the glories of the Muslim caliphate that ruled this part of Europe for more than 700 years. But I hadn’t come for historical tourism on that afternoon of Jan. 11, 2001. I had been working to set up a meeting in faraway Afghanistan with a reputed terrorist mastermind named Osama bin Laden. I’d been told that my luncheon guest, Tayseer Alouni, a naturalized Spaniard whose family lived in Granada but who worked for Al-Jazeera television in Kabul, might have the connections to make that happen.

Indeed. On Monday of this week a Spanish court sentenced the Syrian-born Alouni to seven years in prison after convicting him of collaborating with Al Qaeda. At the same trial, 17 other alleged members of an Islamist cell, part of which prosecutors linked to planning for the September 11 attacks on the United States, received sentences ranging up to 27 years.

“Do you mind if I have a glass of wine?” I asked Alouni that afternoon eight months before 9/11. We were perusing a menu full of pork, which a devout Muslim would not eat, and many wines, which a devout Muslim would not drink, and my first impression of the graying, handsome, cosmopolitan Alouni was that, like many Muslim journalists I know, he wasn’t all that devout and he might even suggest we order a bottle. Not Tayseer. He looked at me as if I’d insulted him personally, then managed to smile. “No,” he said, and I wondered if I’d lost any chance of getting tobin Laden, and how much of an understanding we could reach.

Alouni and I ate fish then drove down to a café near Granada’s cathedral for a coffee. We talked about the Middle East, Palestine, Al Qaeda, terrorism, Afghanistan, family, friends, mutual acquaintances, measuring each other the way journalists learn to measure colleagues and sources. And I kept thinking, if Alouni was indeed close to bin Laden, how close to Alouni did I want to be?

It’s a cliché that journalism is a process of seduction and betrayal: reporters empathize with their subjects to win their trust and confidence, then sit down and write what they please in ways that the subjects may find hurtful. But most dealings with sources and contacts are less dramatic: a balancing of intellectual complicity and political distance that’s constantly measured and calibrated. There’s a lot of what diplomats call “creative ambiguity,” which is always treacherous terrain. In a civilized environment, the risks are mainly ethical and legal, as the case of The New York Times’ Judith Miller, still languishing in jail would seem to suggest. If you move into the world of guerrillas and terrorists, whether you live or die depends on making your contacts trust you, and judging how much you can trust them.

In the event, nothing came of my 2001 trip to Granada. Alouni went back to Afghanistan, and I contacted him a few times, with no result. Then September 11 happened. The world changed. And a few weeks later Alouni got the big interview with bin Laden himself—for Al-Jazeera and CNN—just as the American-led invasion of Afghanistan got under way.

How friendly did Alouni have to be with bin Laden to get that exclusive access? Did he have to be, in fact, a collaborator? Or was he playing his own games of empathy and complicity just to get his job done? He was, speaking of treacherous terrain, one of the very few journalists able to keep working in Taliban-controlled Kabul. Did the media-conscious bin Laden really choose Alouni, or just Al-Jazeera and CNN? Perhaps most importantly here and now: should the job Alouni did—the interview itself—be held up as evidence against him?

In the Spanish prosecution’s vast 1,142-page indictment of 24 alleged Al Qaeda conspirators, six of whom were acquitted this week, Alouni is said to have known several of the accused personally. Not surprising. Many, like Alouni, are exiles from Syria. Several had connections to the Muslim Brotherhood there, an organization that led a violent uprising against the hated Damascus dictatorship before being crushed in 1982. That Alouni had some ties to that community in Spain, that he kept up his contacts, and that he helped out members of it from time to time is hardly a crime.

The prosecution charged that Alouni, “apart from his journalistic activity, but taking advantage of that, carried out acts of support, finance, control and coordination characteristic of a qualified militant” of Al Qaeda. Specifically, he was supposed to have taken about $4,500 to one Mohamed Bahaiah, a.k.a. Abu Khaled, described in the oddly conditional language of the indictment as “considered at the international level as a supposed courier for the Al Qaeda organization between Afghanistan and Europe.” Alouni’s defenders say the amount was small and for humanitarian purposes, while the people who actually received it are not terrorists at all and anyway were not interviewed by the court.

The cash-carrying business is murky. Even a spokesman for Reporters Without Borders, the respected Paris-based organization that has taken up Alouni’s cause, says, “We don’t know about the money, of course.” But the prosecution’s use of Alouni’s interview with bin Laden is another matter. The prosecutor never showed it to the court, he just characterized the encounter himself: “It seems he [Alouni] was talking with his boss [bin Laden].”

“We don’t understand why the prosecution insisted so much on this interview in the trial,” says Jean-François Julliard, news editor for Reporters Without Borders. It sends a chill through the press, he believes, adding the threat of jail time to the already very risky business of interviewing alleged terrorists. “I am not sure if other journalists, if they had an opportunity to interview bin Laden today, would do it,” says Julliard.

It’s doubtful they’d do a better job than Alouni. His questions were polite but tough, and bin Laden’s responses, for all their predictable rhetoric, are about as revealing a look inside the mind of the monster as we’re likely to have. The founder of Al Qaeda talks about “those brave guys who took the battle to the heart of America and destroyed its most famous economic and military landmarks.” Pushed by Alouni about the slaughter of innocent civilians, despite prohibitions in the Qur’an against such acts, bin Laden calls the religious objections “juridical” and concludes with nothing more than an emotional explanation: “If they kill our women and our innocent people, we will kill their women and their innocent people until they stop.” When Alouni asks why the Afghan people should have to pay the price of war for what Al Qaeda was doing, bin Laden blithely underestimates the force that the United States will bring to bear, insisting the Americans will leave “dragging [their] tails in failure, defeat and ruin, caring for nothing.”

Rarely has there been a more perfect articulation of the “evil ideology” that President George W. Bush talks about, and Alouni got it on the record from bin Laden’s own mouth, which is precisely what journalists are supposed to do.

I don’t know if Alouni collaborated with Al Qaeda or not. He’s appealing the judgment and his backers are optimistic it will be overturned. My brief encounter with him and my gut tell me he’s an Islamist who sympathizes with some of the arguments raised by bin Laden about Palestine and Iraq. Indeed, most of the Muslim world does. But I have no reason to believe that Alouni had any sympathy with bin Laden’s terrorist strategies before September 11 or since. When Madrid suffered its own horrific attack in 2004, Alouni interviewed victim after victim on camera, delivering a damning indictment of his own against the terrorists.

What I do know is that in this with-us-or-against-us world, governments and terrorists see information mainly as a weapon in their ideological wars. Both sides expect reporters to be either foot soldiers or pawns, and those journalists who refuse to put on the uniform of either side may find themselves in a no man’s land where it’s hard to survive at all.

----

Classic Bin Laden

TAYSEER ALOUNI: What do you think of the so-called "war of civilizations"? You always keep repeating "crusaders" and words like that all the time. Does that mean you support the war of civilizations?

BIN LADEN: No doubt about that...

Al Jazeera television correspondent Tayseer Alouni was convicted in Spain this week for allegedly collaborating with Al Qaeda. My Shadowland column will look at the case in detail, and its impact on press coverage, later today. If you want to delve deeper, you should start with the full transcript of Alouni's interview with Bin Laden in October 2001. - CD

Check out "Murder on the Rue Lafayette: Ten shots. Three dead. Despite the arrest of a suspect, the mystery of the assassination of three Kurdish women in Paris earlier this month deepens."

The Daily Beast: Murder on the Rue Lafayette, 29 January 2013

Ten shots. Three dead. Despite the arrest of a suspect, the mystery of the assassination of three Kurdish women in Paris earlier this month deepens. Christopher Dickey reports.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/29/the-mystery-of-the-assassination-of-three-kurdish-women-in-paris.html

Video of Ömer Güney, suspect arrested in Jan. 9 murder of Kurdish activists when he was at the crime scene watching the police investigate

Omer Güney Cinayet Mahallinde par Haberdesin

Two recent video segments, one commenting on Obama's inauguration, the other the controversial WEF interview with Ehud Barak

Obama II: Can the US President cash in on his victory? (part 4)
François Picard and his panel comment on Barack Obama's second inauguration as it happens, with a look at the US President's objectives and challenges for the next four years.
http://www.france24.com/en/20130121-debate-part-4-obama-inauguration-usa-economy-foreign-policy
(My commentry begins about 06:50 minutes into this segment. I am also in earlier parts, but this is the more interesting, I think.)

War with Iran? Peace with the Palestinians? My interview with Ehud Barak at Davos
http://christopherdickey.blogspot.fr/2013/01/war-with-iran-peace-with-palestinians.html

The New York Times article about the Barak interview:
Israeli Official Hints Pentagon Plans May Make Lone Strike on Iran Unnecessary
By ISABEL KERSHNER
Published: January 26, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/world/middleeast/defense-official-hints-that-israel-is-stepping-back-from-plans-to-unilaterally-attack-iran.html?_r=0

The Daily Beast article about the interview.
Ehud Barak at Davos: U.S. Could Strike Iran to Block Nuclear Progress
by The Daily Beast Jan 25, 2013 11:23 AM EST
If sanctions fail to halt Tehran's nuclear weapons development, the Pentagon has plans for a 'surgical operation' to end the threat, the Israeli defense minister told The Daily Beast in a wide-ranging interview at Davos.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/25/ehud-barak-at-davos-u-s-could-strike-iran-to-block-nuclear-progress.html

Abdullah of Jordan, Ehud Barak of Israel and other snippets from Davos

Jordan's King Abdullah: "The New Taliban Are In Syria"

by Christopher Dickey Jan 25, 2013 11:59 AM EST

Speaking at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, King Abdullah warned of Al Qaeda's presence in Syria and said that it could take years for peace to return to the war-torn country.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/25/jordan-s-king-abdullah-the-new-taliban-are-in-syria.html

Ehud Barak at Davos: U.S. Could Strike Iran to Block Nuclear Progress

by The Daily Beast Jan 25, 2013 11:23 AM EST

If sanctions fail to halt Tehran's nuclear weapons development, the Pentagon has plans for a 'surgical operation' to end the threat, the Israeli defense minister told The Daily Beast in a wide-ranging interview at Davos.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/25/ehud-barak-at-davos-u-s-could-strike-iran-to-block-nuclear-progress.html

This is a link to the full 30 minute video of interview with Ehud Barak:

http://new.livestream.com/wef/am13channel3jan24/videos/10027669

Inside a Davos Dinner of Global Superstars

Jan 23, 2013 8:00 PM EST

At a Davos dinner hosted by Newsweek and The Daily Beast in partnership with Credit Suisse, a diverse group of global movers and shakers take on the world's problems.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/23/inside-a-davos-dinner-of-global-superstars.html

Check out "Why Women Can Save Europe," plus recent pieces on Depardieu and murdered Kurds

Watch this space for coverage of Mali, Algeria, Syria ...
But in the meantime:

Snapshots at the latest demo in Jordan:
http://ibnbattuta.blogspot.com/2013/01/just-another-friday-afternoon.html

Newsweek: Why Women Can Save Europe, 21 January 2013
(If just enough of them reach the corporate boardrooms…)
http://nswk.ly/XHI4aS

The Daily Beast: Slaughter in Paris: Who Killed the Kurds? 10 January 2013
Three female Kurdish activists were killed in the heart of Paris, it
was discovered today. Christopher Dickey and Tracy McNicoll on
possible motives—and the threat to peace.
http://thebea.st/ZMeTYk

The Daily Beast: The Return of Gerard Depardieu? 31 December 2012
France's proposal to tax millionaires at a whopping rate of 75 percent
has been rejected. But the actor says he's still headed for fiscal
exile—and with reason.
http://thebea.st/UEp7H9

France 24: The World This Year, December 2012
Barack Obama proved formidable as a campaigner but what will his
legacy be as president? Also in 2012, France renews with a Socialist
president while the understated Mohamed Morsi surprises friends and
foes alike in Egypt.
http://f24.my/URKRwt

France 24: The World Next Year, January 2013
In 2013, Iran returns to the polls a different country in a different
region from four years ago. Also, Angela Merkel rules the roost in the
run-up to Germany's general election, and will it be continuity or
change under new leadership in China?
http://f24.my/UdBz0c

This is my personal mailing list, which I use to keep in touch with a
few friends and acquaintances. If you reply, the email comes straight
to me.
I try not to send these out too often, but if you feel they are
crowding your inbox, just email asking to be removed from the list and
I will be happy to oblige.

Looking forward to a brilliant New Year from under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, 9:42 am, January 1, 2013

The clouds are clearing, the wars are ending, the elections are over -- a great new year has just begun.

War with Iran? Peace with the Palestinians? My interview with Ehud Barak at Davos

This is 30 minute interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year was conducted as part of the series "An Insight, An Idea," in a small auditorium called "The Studio" on January 24.

Ehud Barak at Davos: U.S. Could Strike Iran to Block Nuclear Progress
by The Daily Beast Jan 25, 2013 11:23 AM EST
If sanctions fail to halt Tehran’s nuclear weapons development, the Pentagon has plans for a ‘surgical operation’ to end the threat, the Israeli defense minister told The Daily Beast in a wide-ranging interview at Davos.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/25/ehud-barak-at-davos-u-s-could-strike-iran-to-block-nuclear-progress.html

Check out "Apocalypse Not Quite Yet," a look at the Middle East and North Africa for Newsweek Issues 2013

Newsweek Issues 2013: Apocalypse Not Quite Yet

The Middle East and North Africa are teetering on the brink.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/12/26/apocalypse-not-quite-yet.html

(Written in early December for the special edition of Newsweek, "Issues 2013")

On a lighter note, for several recent snapshots check out these from Paris:

http://ruesdeparadis.blogspot.fr/2012/12/a-walk-to-montmartre-morning-after.html

and these from Venice:

http://lastrada.blogspot.fr/2012/12/santa-clauses-around-venice-this.html

Onward Through the Holidays...

We're running a little behind on the holiday e-mails this year, since there was much to do for the #LastPrintIssue of Newsweek. But Carol and I did manage to get away for a weekend in Venice earlier this month and discovered the Santas we'd spotted there a year ago were back in action, albeit under cloudier skies. ...

Here's hoping you've had a very happy holiday season so far, and wishing you a great new year. (We'll try to ring it in with another photograph, most likely from Paris.) Xmas Cheers, Chris

My last piece for the print edition of Newsweek: Life on the Front Lines, and other recent articles

Newsweek: Life on the Front Lines, 24 Dec 2012
After decades in the trenches, a Newsweek correspondent reflects on the perils of war. By Christopher Dickey
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/12/23/christopher-dickey-reflects-on-the-perils-of-war.html


Other stories and updates:

The Daily Beast: How a Hotel Maid Changed France, 11 Dec 2012
Nafissatou Diallo helped deny DSK the presidency of France—and changed the country's history, says Christopher Dickey.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/11/dominique-strauss-kahn-settles-with-maid-how-the-case-changed-france.html

The Daily Beast: Susan Rice's Personality 'Disorder,' by Lloyd Grove, 12 Dec 2012
Brusque. Aggressive. Undiplomatic. The adjectives used to describe the ambassador aren't kind. Lloyd Grove on Susan Rice's polarizing temperament—and why that may matter more than Benghazi. (To which I made a minor contribution.)
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/12/susan-rice-s-personality-disorder.html

Newsweek: How to Save Syria?, with several other contributors, 10 Dec 2012
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/12/09/how-the-u-s-can-save-syria.html

The Daily Beast: Condoleezza Rice on Chaos and Democracy in Egypt and Syria, 4 Dec 2012
Despite the chaos in Egypt and bleak outlook in Syria, 'we can't lose hope' for democracy, the former secretary of state said at Newsweek and The Daily Beast's first Women in the World conference in São Paulo, Brazil.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/04/condoleezza-rice-on-chaos-and-democracy-in-egypt-and-syria.html


The Daily Beast - Reports: Dominique Strauss-Kahn Settles With Maid Who Claimed Sexual Assault, 30 Nove 2012
The disgraced former IMF chief has reached a settlement with Nafissatou Diallo, the maid who accused him of assaulting her in a Manhattan hotel, ending her lawsuit against him and his countersuit, The New York Times and AP report.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/30/reports-dominique-strauss-kahn-settles-with-maid-who-claimed-sexual-assault.html

Recent work: The Fall of a General; the threat to a monarchy; crossing the Rubicon in Syria; Obama!; Romney's fade; plust radio and video

ARTICLES:

Newsweek: David Petraeus Scandal - The Fall of a General, 17 November 2012
Written by Dan Klaidman and Gail Sheehy with contributions by Christopher Dickey and others
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/11/18/david-petraeus-scandal-the-fall-of-a-general.html


The Daily Beast: The End of Absolute Monarchy, 14 November 2012
Riots erupt in Jordan, threatening one of Washington's most important allies in the Middle East. By Christopher Dickey.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/14/riots-erupt-in-jordan-the-end-of-absolute-monarchy.html
(This drama still playing out ...)

The Daily Beast: Crossing the Rubicon in Syria, 11 November 2012
A new opposition coalition looks likely to win Western support, but can it win the war? Christopher Dickey on the umbrella organization that may change the battle against Assad.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/11/crossing-the-rubicon-in-syria.html
(Written before Mouaz al-Khatib had been elected the leader of the new coalition)

The Daily Beast: Europeans React to Obama Win, 7 November 2012
Another four years? 'Meh,' say people in Paris. By Christopher Dickey
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/07/europeans-react-to-obama-win.html
(Actually, the people and the article were a little more enthusiastic than the headline)

The Daily Beast: Unmentioned and Unmentionable: What Romney Left Out, 23 October 2012
In their final debate, both candidates' message on foreign affairs was clear: let's change the subject. Jordan, Lebanon, Europe—even Libya—were off the table. This is a big mistake, writes Christopher Dickey.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/23/unmentioned-and-unmentionable-what-romney-left-out.html


VIDEO:

France 24: Four more years: Will a re-elected Obama be emboldened? 8 November 2012
After winning re-election, Barack Obama might just have a stronger hand as he negotiates a deal on the country's debt. So argues François Picard's panel, which points to a US election vote that favoured moderates over hardliners
http://www.france24.com/en/20121107-debate-part-1-obama-election-four-more-years-china-xi-jin-ping

France 24: The World This Week, 26 October 2012
Don't mess with Texas and don't send international observers to monitor the upcoming US presidential election. Also, the Emir of Qatar's Gaza visit, Berlusconi's swansong and when there's an earthquake in Italy, blame the seismologists.
http://www.france24.com/en/20121026-the-world-this-week-26-october

France 24: Obama 1 - 1 Romney, 18 October 2012
Barack Obama rebounds in the second presidential debate, partly thanks to Mitt Romney's "whole binders full of women" remark, but uncertainty abounds in the homestretch of a race where both candidates look to energise their own supporters and convince the shrinking sliver of undecided voters.
http://www.france24.com/en/20121017-debateObama-Romney-President-rebounds-in-second-debate

SOCIAL MEDIA:

http://www.facebook.com/christopher.dickey

https://twitter.com/csdickey @csdickey

http://christopherdickey.tumblr.com/

http://newsweek-paris-france.tumblr.com

http://fr.linkedin.com/pub/christopher-dickey/6/a89/9b9

Instagram: csdickey

Photographic collections on Blogger: http://christophersworldview.blogspot.fr

Check out "The Truth Behind the Benghazi Attack," related video, and Romney Redux on Foreign Policy

Newsweek: The Truth Behind the Benghazi Attack, 22 October 2012 1:00 AM EDT
The blow-by-blow of the killing of Ambassador Stevens and the attack on the CIA outpost.
With Jamie Dettmer in Benghazi and Eli Lake in Washington
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/21/truth-behind-the-benghazi-attack.html

Video: State Heard Libya Attack 'Minute By Minute', 22 October 2012 1:00 AM EDT
The big questions about Benghazi
http://www.thedailybeast.com/videos/2012/10/21/state-heard-libya-attack-minute-by-minute.html

The Daily Beast: The Return of Christine Lagarde, the Trillion-Dollar Woman, 16 October 2012 3:08 PM EDTChristine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, is once again trying to pull Europe back from the brink.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/16/the-return-of-christine-lagarde-the-trillion-dollar-woman.html

The Daily Beast: New York Terror Plot: Why Target the Fed? 18 October 2012, 1:54 PM EDTby Dan Gross with a contribution from Christopher Dickey
First he targeted the stock exchange, the U.S. says. But then the Bangladeshi whose bomb plot was foiled yesterday turned his aim to the New York Fed. Daniel Gross on the damage that could have been done.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/18/new-york-terror-plot-why-target-the-fed.html

And in case you missed them earlier:
Newsweek: Maajid Nawaz: The Repentant Radical, 15 October 2012 1:00 AM EDT
A former extremist warns of a resurgent al-Qaeda. But who is this man, Maajid Nawaz?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/14/maajid-nawaz-the-repentant-radical.html

Daily Beast Column: Romney's Living in a Fantasy Land, 9 October 2012 
Romney's foreign-policy speech was a dramatic throwback to the glory days of the Cold War. Unfortunately, it was mostly nonsense. Christopher Dickey pokes holes in the candidate's vision.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/09/romney-s-living-in-a-fantasy-land.html

Video: Questions about Benghazi

Newsweek Global and the Future

My dear friends,
   Digital does not mean dead. Far from it. Think about the way you read these days. I know in my own case I get virtually all my news on line, and most of it on my iPad. I read books on my iPad -- and before that on my Kindle -- and in fact couldn't have begun to write my own new book without the incredible convenience of a digital library. Indeed, if I cannot get a book or a magazine on my tablet and on my phone (eye-straining experience though that may be) I feel rather resentful. And while I don't generally like to pay for things I read on my computer (not the most pleasant experience), I don't mind a reasonable price for good apps on handhelds. I'm not sure all of you feel the same way, but many, many people do, and more all the time, which is the tipping point that Tina and Barry have been talking about.
   As for my future, I am not only fully employed at Newsweek & The Daily Beast, and expect to remain that way, it's likely I will be writing more rather than less. The physical limitations of paper were such that as advertising declined over the last decade the space for stories shrank dramatically. You can't really present a publication with good long-form journalism and still offer variety in an issue that only has a few dozen editorial pages. Newsweek Global will not have those physical constraints, and should be able to present a much wider, richer menu each week than has been available for years.  Because we will still be producing a lot of content for our foreign-language and foreign-based Newsweek partners, I expect the "global" part of the magazine will be more important and more lively than ever. The Daily Beast, meanwhile, will be a 24/7 and minute-to-minute hot spot for breaking news and eye-catching coverage of culture, politics, business and, yes, foreign affairs.
  Of course there are no certainties in this business, or just about any other business these days. But it's a good guess that a whole lot of other magazines and newspapers will try to make the transition that we have chosen. Our advantage is that our parent company, IAC, is a digital powerhouse and pioneer, which gives us a better chance of getting it right.
  So, yes, wish me and Newsweek & The Daily Beast luck on this venture, but save the eulogies for now ... and for others.
  All the best, Chris

Full FBI Statement on Arrest of Man Who Allegedly Tried to Blow Up the New York Federal Reserve

Joint Terrorism Task Force Arrests Man in Lower Manhattan After He Attempted to Bomb New York Federal Reserve Bank
Defendant Attempted to Strike New York’s Financial District on Behalf of al Qaeda

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeOctober 17, 2012

Eastern District of New York(718) 254-7000

BROOKLYN, NY—Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis (Nafis), 21, was arrested this morning in downtown Manhattan after he allegedly attempted to detonate what he believed to be a 1,000-pound bomb at the New York Federal Reserve Bank on Liberty Street in lower Manhattan’s financial district. The defendant faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda.

The arrest of Nafis was the culmination of an undercover operation during which he was closely monitored by the FBI New York Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The explosives that he allegedly sought and attempted to use had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement and posed no threat to the public.

The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Mary E. Galligan, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).

According to the criminal complaint filed today in the Eastern District of New York, defendant Nafis, a Bangladeshi national, traveled to the United States in January 2012 for the purpose of conducting a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Nafis, who reported having overseas connections to al Qaeda, attempted to recruit individuals to form a terrorist cell inside the United States. Nafis also actively sought out al Qaeda contacts within the United States to assist him in carrying out an attack. Unbeknownst to Nafis, one of the individuals he attempted to recruit was actually a source for the FBI. Through the investigation, FBI agents and NYPD detectives working with the JTTF were able to closely monitor Nafis as he attempted to implement his plan.

The complaint alleges that Nafis proposed several targets for his attack, including a high-ranking U.S. official and the New York Stock Exchange. Ultimately, Nafis decided to conduct a bombing operation against the New York Federal Reserve Bank. In a written statement intended to claim responsibility for the terrorist bombing of the Federal Reserve Bank on behalf of al Qaeda, Nafis wrote that he wanted to “destroy America” and that he believed the most efficient way to accomplish this goal was to target America’s economy. In this statement, Nafis also included quotations from “our beloved Sheikh Osama bin Laden” to justify the fact that Nafis expected that the attack would involve the killing of women and children.

During the investigation, Nafis came into contact with an FBI undercover agent who posed as an al Qaeda facilitator. At Nafis’ request, the undercover agent supplied Nafis with 20 50-pound bags of purported explosives. Nafis then allegedly worked to store the material and assemble the explosive device for his attack. Nafis purchased components for the bomb’s detonator and conducted surveillance for his attack on multiple occasions in New York City’s financial district in lower Manhattan. Throughout his interactions with the undercover agent, Nafis repeatedly asserted that the plan was his own and was the reason he had come to the United States.

Earlier this morning, Nafis met the undercover agent and traveled in a van to a warehouse located in the Eastern District of New York. While en route, Nafis explained to the undercover agent that he had a “Plan B” that involved conducting a suicide bombing operation in the event that the attack was about to be thwarted by the police. Upon arriving at the warehouse, Nafis assembled what he believed to be a 1,000-pound bomb inside the van. Nafis and the undercover agent then drove to the New York Federal Reserve Bank. During this drive, Nafis armed the purported bomb by assembling the detonator and attaching it to the explosives. Nafis and the undercover agent parked the van next to the New York Federal Reserve Bank, exited the van, and walked to a nearby hotel. There, Nafis recorded a video statement to the American public that he intended to release in connection with the attack. During this video statement, Nafis stated, “We will not stop until we attain victory or martyrdom.” Nafis then repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, attempted to detonate the bomb, which had been assembled using the inert explosives provided by the undercover agent. JTTF agents arrested Nafis immediately after he attempted to detonate the bomb. Throughout the morning, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, working with the JTTF, closely monitored the movements of Nafis as he attempted to implement the attack, including assuring that the van was not stopped by NYPD counterterrorism units active in lower Manhattan.

“As alleged in the complaint, the defendant came to this country intent on conducting a terrorist attack on U.S. soil and worked with single-minded determination to carry out his plan. The defendant thought he was striking a blow to the American economy. He thought he was directing confederates and fellow believers. At every turn, he was wrong, and his extensive efforts to strike at the heart of the nation’s financial system were foiled by effective law enforcement. We will use all of the tools at our disposal to stop any such attack before it can occur. We are committed to protecting the safety of all Americans, including the hundreds of thousands who work in New York’s financial district,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “I would like to thank our partners at the FBI, NYPD, the other agencies who participate in the JTTF, and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division for their hard work on this important investigation. I would also like to thank the security teams at the New York Federal Reserve Bank and the New York Stock Exchange for their assistance.”

“As alleged in the criminal complaint, Rezwanul Nafis devised this attack plan himself and came to the United States for the purpose of carrying out such an attack. I thank all those responsible for ensuring that his alleged plans never came to fruition,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Monaco.

FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Galligan stated, “Attempting to destroy a landmark building and kill or maim untold numbers of innocent bystanders is about as serious as the imagination can conjure. The defendant faces appropriately severe consequences. It is important to emphasize that the public was never at risk in this case, because two of the defendant’s ‘accomplices’ were actually an FBI source and an FBI undercover agent. The FBI continues to place the highest priority on preventing acts of terrorism.”

NYPD Commissioner Kelly stated, “Al Qaeda operatives and those they have inspired have tried time and again to make New York City their killing field. We are up to 15 plots and counting since 9/11, with the Federal Reserve now added to a list of iconic targets that previously included the Brooklyn Bridge, the New York Stock Exchange, and Citicorp Center. After 11 years without a successful attack, it’s understandable if the public becomes complacent. But that’s a luxury law enforcement can’t afford. Vigilance is our watchword now and into the foreseeable future. That’s why we have over 1,000 NYPD officers assigned to counterterrorism duties every day and why we built the domain awareness system. I want to commend the NYPD detectives and FBI agents of the Joint Terrorism Task Force for the work they did in the case and U.S. Attorney Lynch and her dedicated team in prosecuting it.”

The defendant has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2332a; and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339B. His initial appearance is scheduled this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James P. Loonam and Richard M. Tucker, with assistance from Trial Attorney Bridget Behling of the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.

The charges contained in the complaint are mere allegations. As in any criminal case, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Defendant:

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis
Age: 21
Jamaica, New York