As we sail into the year ahead --

Check out "Why the Arab Spring Is Here to Stay"

Newsweek Issues 2012: Why the Arab Spring Is Here to Stay, 17 December 2011

No matter how desperately the remnants of the old regimes may try, the Arab awakening cannot be reversed. Here's why.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/12/17/why-the-arab-spring-is-here-to-stay.html

Check out an Arab Spring 'Animal Farm,' and the latest chapter in a true crime saga

Newsweek: An Arab Spring Update of Orwell's "Animal Farm," 12 Dec 2011
It's a shame George Orwell didn't live to see the Arab Spring. We can only imagine the tale he would have written.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/12/11/an-arab-spring-update-of-orwell-s-animal-farm.html

Newsweek: Is a Doctor From Florida Joran van der Sloot's New Conquest?,12 Dec 2011
The Dutch sociopath accused of murder sits in a dirty Peruvian prison awaiting trial. Has he just charmed another victim?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/12/11/is-a-doctor-from-florida-joran-van-der-sloot-s-new-conquest.html

Check out "The O Word," an elaboration on the themes in last week's video

The Daily Beast: The O Word: Christopher Dickey on What Occupation Means Today, 6 Dec 2011
Terrorists and freedom fighters the world over claim they are up against foreign occupation. But Americans find that idea hard to fathom—especially when we are the occupiers, says Christopher Dickey.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/06/the-o-word-christopher-dickey-on-what-occupation-means-today.html

Check out "The Meaning of Occupation," an "op-vid" on The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast Video: The Real Meaning of Occupation, 1 Dec 2011
Occupation. It is a word spoken—and unspoken—that's at the center of the issues in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, and, yes, Wall Street. But what does it really mean? And what is its significance? Christopher Dickey explains.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/11/30/christopher-dickey-the-real-meaning-of-occupation-video.html

Check out "Why Dominique Strauss-Kahn Needs to Tell His Side of the Story"

The Daily Beast: Why Dominique Strauss-Kahn Needs to Tell His Side of the Story, 28 November 2011
As a new report feeds into rumors that Dominique Strauss-Kahn was set up, Christopher Dickey debunks the conspiracy theories—and says it's time for DSK to tell his side of the story.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/11/28/why-dominique-strauss-kahn-needs-to-tell-his-side-of-the-story.html

Check out "Does Egypt's Real Revolution Start Now? Taking on Egypt's Military leadership will be difficult."

Newsweek International: Does Egypt's Real Revolution Start Now?, 27 November 2011
Getting rid of Mubarak was the easy part. Taking on Egypt's military leadership will be far more difficult.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/11/27/does-egypt-s-real-revolution-start-now.html

Right-Wing Terror in America

Ross Schneiderman's cover story in this week's Newsweek magazine.

Check out "The Trouble with Technocrats" and France24 video on the same subject

Newsweek International: The Trouble With Technocrats, 21 November 2011
Saving Italy -- and Europe and the USA -- from themselves will take more than number-crunching. Co-authored with Barbie Nadeau
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/11/20/can-monti-save-italy-the-trouble-with-technocrats.html

France 24 video: The World This Week, 18 November 2011
Eurozone debt crisis: political solutions to economic woes -- As technocrats rise to power in Europe, elected leaders fail to agree on how to resolve the debt crisis
http://www.france24.com/en/20111118-wb-en-world-week-part-1-europe-germany-syria-protest-occupy-wall-street

Newsweek/Tehelka panels at Goa Thinkfest, Nov 2011

On the media:


An interview with "anti-extremist" Maajid Nawaz:


Talking Afghanistan with Shukria Barakzai and William Dalrymple:

Check out Condi Rice, Joan Didion, Maajid Nawaz, Chris Hayes (catching up on recent articles and video)

Newsweek Photo Gallery: 'Big Brother is Watching You,' 13 November 2011
In Syria, there's an Assad on every street corner
Photographs by Nicolas Righetti; Text by Christopher Dickey
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/galleries/2011/11/13/syria-assad-posters-nicolas-righetti-photos.html

The Daily Beast: Firebomb Torches French Weekly, 2 November 2011
The burning of satirical French weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo raises the specter of Muslim violence, and plays straight into the hands of the far right. Christopher Dickey reports.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/11/02/sarkozy-and-far-right-benefit-from-french-weekly-charlie-hebdo-firebombing.html

The Daily Beast: Video clips from an onstage interview with former jihadi Maajid Nawaz at the ThinkFest in Goa, India, 5 November 2011
http://ibnbattuta.blogspot.com/2011/11/maajid-nawaz-former-radical-islamist.html

The Daily Beast: The Years of Magical Writing, 2 November 2011
Over the years, Christopher Dickey has come to love Joan Didion—her work, her soul, her humor—even the way she shields her despair. Here he writes on what the great author means for our inner lives with the release of her latest, Blue Nights.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/11/02/joan-didion-s-blue-nights-just-released-christopher-dickey-writes-about-his-love-for-her.html

MSNBC: Up With Chris Hayes, 30 October 2011
Discussing everything from Occupy Wall Street to the European debt crisis, redistricting in Texas and liberal disillusionment (or not) with Barack Obama
http://christopherdickey.blogspot.com/2011/11/on-up-with-chris-hayes-sunday-october.html

Newsweek Cover: Condi's Freedom War, 23 October 2011
Gaddafi's reign is over. Soon the U.S. exits Iraq. Was the toll worth it?  In this week's Newsweek Condoleezza Rice talks to Christopher Dickey about the fight for democratic rights.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/10/23/condi-s-dangerous-years.html

France24 TV: The World This Week, 14 October 2011
François Picard's panel explains how fast-shifting battle lines in the wider Middle East may have brought about that prisoner swap deal for Gilad Shilad; Also, Paris and Berlin promise a plan to fix the Eurozone and how an African Spring may be sooner than you think.
http://www.france24.com/en/20111014-the-world-this-week-14-october
http://www.france24.com/en/20111014-the-world-this-week-14-october-part2

Newsweek: Greece on the Skids, 25 September 2011
The prime minister must remake his country. Fat chance.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/09/25/greece-on-the-skids.html

On "Up with Chris Hayes," Sunday, Oct 30, 2011

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Check out "The Pornography of Terror: The Irrelevance of Awlaki" and other recent articles

The Daily Beast: The Pornography of Terror, Oct 1, 2011
The late, unlamented Anwar al-Awlaki was better at inspiring fantasies than attacks by 'homegrown' al Qaeda terrorists in America. Christopher Dickey says the danger comes not from the loners inspired by leaders like Awlaki but from our own overreaction.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/01/anwar-al-awlaki-s-death-and-the-pornography-of-terror.html

Newsweek: Greece on the Skids, Sep 25, 2011
The prime minister must remake his country. Fat chance.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/09/25/greece-on-the-skids.html

Newsweek: Citizens, It's Down to You, Sep 11, 2011
Tired of waiting for Washington? Good old American innovation is the answer.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/09/11/citizens-it-s-down-to-you.html

The Daily Beast: Gore's Dire Weather Warning, Sep 5, 2011
As a brutal hurricane season bears down, former Vice President Al Gore says there will be worse disasters ahead if we don't act soon—and when it comes to national security, Mother Nature is as fearsome as terrorists. 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/05/al-gore-climate-change-means-worse-weather-ahead.html

Megadisasters and the US Military

Check out "Time to Brace for the Next 9/11 -- The biggest threat to America isn’t terrorism. It’s the wrath of Mother Nature."

Newsweek: Time to Brace for the Next 9/11, 5 September 2011
The biggest threat to America isn't terrorism. It's the wrath of Mother Nature.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/09/04/time-to-brace-for-the-next-9-11.html

Last week I also published a coda on the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case, but didn't send it out because I figured most of my friends on this list were ready to move on. But here it is for the record:

Newsweek: How the DSK Case Unraveled, 28 August 2011
The prosecutors saw the maid's story falling apart. But does that mean Strauss-Kahn was innocent?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/08/28/inside-the-dsk-rape-case-collapse-the-prosecutors-story.html

Check out "The DSK Maid's Public Battle" and a timely rerun of "Better Angels and Killer Angels"

The Daily Beast: The DSK Maid's Public Battle, 28 July 2011
In search of a better life, she found herself embroiled in a case of alleged sexual assault by one of the world's most powerful men. As Nafissatou Diallo goes public, friends reveal new details.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/28/the-dsk-maid-s-journey.html

and, à propos the deficit ceiling battle, this piece from November 2010:

The Daily Beast: Better Angels and Killer Angels, republished 29 November 2010
A century and a half after Abraham Lincoln was elected, some truths go marching on. Take heed, Obama.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/11/10/better-angels-and-killer-angels.html

Check out "The Maid's Tale" on DSK, the first full first person exclusive; the most complete background available

Newsweek Cover: The Maid's Tale, 24 July 2011
She was paid to clean up after the rich and powerful. Then she walked into Dominique Strauss-Kahn's room—and a global scandal. Now she tells her story.
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/07/24/dsk-maid-tells-of-her-alleged-rape-by-strauss-kahn-exclusive.html

Further elaboration on The Daily Beast:

DSK Maid Breaks Her Silence
In an exclusive interview in this week's Newsweek, Nafissatou Diallo tells her story, describing in detail the alleged attack by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, what her life has been like since—and why she wants justice.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/24/dominique-strauss-kahn-s-maid-nafissatou-diallo-describes-alleged-attack.html

The Strauss-Kahn Timeline
Gathered from police records, court documents and exclusive interviews by NEWSWEEK, a complete chronology of the sexual-assault case that has shaken politics on both sides of the Atlantic.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/24/dominique-strauss-kahn-case-timeline-key-events.html

If you can stand it check out "DSK's Shocking New Accuser"

The Daily Beast: DSK's Shocking New Accuser, 19 July 2011
The mother of the writer accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape says she had "brutal" sex with the former IMF chief. Christopher Dickey on the saga's sordid new twist.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/19/dsk-scandal-tristane-banon-s-mom-alleges-brutal-sex-with-imf-chief.html

The Daily Beast: DSK’s Shocking New Accuser

DSK's Shocking New Accuser
The mother of the journalist accusing DSK of attempted rape says she also had 'brutal' sex with him. View the full article

Check out Petraeus and the CIA; and DSK's Maid's "Fiancé"

Newsweek Cover: Petraeus's Next Battle, 17 July 2011
As top commander in Afghanistan, he rewrote the book on combating terror. Now, as spy chief, he must transform the CIA to help fight 21st-century wars. By John Barry with contributions by Christopher Dickey and John Solomon
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/07/17/general-david-petraeus-on-leaving-afghanistan-and-going-to-cia.html

And this team effort from last week:

The Daily Beast: Maid's 'Fiancé' Speaks, 13 July 2011
A call with an Arizona inmate tarnished the case of Strauss-Kahn's accuser. The man, who says he's the maid's fiancé, gives his side of the story to The Daily Beast.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/13/dominique-strauss-kahn-accuser-s-detained-fianc-speaks.html

SOCIAL NETWORKS, PHOTOS AND JOURNALS: 

Newsweek/TheDailyBeast Paris/France:

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

Twitter @csdickey http://twitter.com/csdickey ; 

Web page www.ChristopherDickey.com; The Shadowland Journal at Christopherdickey.blogspot.com ; Photo blogs: http://christophersworldview.blogspot.com/ ; Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Dickey/e/B000AQ05WC ; Tumblr: http://christopherdickey.tumblr.com/ ; Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/#/christopher.dickey ; MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/christopherdickey ; LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/a89/9b9 .

And for the poets among you:
http://jamesdickey.tumblr.com/ ; http://twitter.com/#!/JamesLDickey ; http://jamesdickey.blogspot.com/ ; http://www.facebook.com/pages/James-Dickey/53422647675 ; http://dickeyscrapbook.blogspot.com/

I realize how crowded inboxes can get. So, to be taken off the list, just send me a note saying 'Please take me off' or some such and I will do just that.

Check out "DSK Maid Fights Back"

The Daily Beast: DSK Maid Fights Back, 6 July 2011
As prosecutors meet with Dominique Strauss-Kahn's lawyers today, those on his accuser's side are circling the wagons. Jesse Ellison and Christopher Dickey report.  
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/06/dominique-strauss-kahn-case-the-maid-fights-back.html

SOCIAL NETWORKS, PHOTOS AND JOURNALS: Twitter @csdickey http://twitter.com/csdickey ;  www.ChristopherDickey.com and The Shadowland Journal at Christopherdickey.blogspot.com ; Photo blogs:http://christophersworldview.blogspot.com/ ; Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Dickey/e/B000AQ05WC ; Tumblr: http://christopherdickey.tumblr.com/ ; Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/#/christopher.dickey ; MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/christopherdickey ; LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/a89/9b9 . 

I realize how crowded inboxes can get. So, to be taken off the list, just send me a note saying 'Please take me off' or some such and I will do just that.



              

Check out "The Martyrdom of DSK" and CNN "Strauss-Kahn: Jumping to Conclusions?"

The Daily Beast: The Martyrdom of DSK, 5 July 2011
As Dominique Strauss-Kahn strolls about New York with his mega-millionaire wife, his French friends declare him a victim of America's faulty judicial system. But, as Christopher Dickey reports, it's not over yet.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/05/the-martyrdom-of-dominique-strauss-kahn.html

Video: CNN Usual Suspects: Strauss-Kahn - Jumping to Conclusions?, 3 July 2011
Howard Kurtz asks Christopher Dickey and Apolline de Malherbe whether the press found DSK guilty before he even went on trial.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/07/03/rs.dsk.jumping.to.conclusion.cnn

SOCIAL NETWORKS, PHOTOS AND JOURNALS: Twitter @csdickey http://twitter.com/csdickey ;  www.ChristopherDickey.com and The Shadowland Journal at Christopherdickey.blogspot.com ; Photo blogs: http://christophersworldview.blogspot.com/ ; Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Dickey/e/B000AQ05WC ; Tumblr: http://christopherdickey.tumblr.com/ ; Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/#/christopher.dickey ; MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/christopherdickey; LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/a89/9b9 . 

I realize how crowded inboxes can get. So, to be taken off the list, just send me a note saying 'Please take me off' or some such and I will do just that.

Check out DSK: The Accuser's Prison Connection

The Daily Beast: The Maid's Prison Connection, 1 July 2011
Dominique Strauss-Kahn's accuser allegedly is in a romantic relationship with a mysterious Arizona inmate who has a reported penchant for fraud. No wonder her case is crumbling.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/01/dominique-strauss-kahn-accuser-s-prison-connection.html

SOCIAL NETWORKS, PHOTOS AND JOURNALS: Twitter @csdickey http://twitter.com/csdickey ;  www.ChristopherDickey.com and The Shadowland Journal at Christopherdickey.blogspot.com ; Photo blogs: http://christophersworldview.blogspot.com/ ; Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Dickey/e/B000AQ05WC ; Tumblr: http://christopherdickey.tumblr.com/ ; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#/christopher.dickey ; MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/christopherdickey ; LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/a89/9b9 .

I realize how crowded inboxes can get. So, to be taken off the list, just send me a note saying 'Please take me off' or some such and I will do just that.

Check out Strauss-Kahn and the Africa Connection

The Daily Beast: DSK Accuser's African Connection, 1 July 2011
The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is crumbling. Was there a shakedown? A conspiracy? The answers will come from New York's West African community.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/01/dominique-strauss-kahn-rape-accuser-s-african-connections.html


SOCIAL NETWORKS, PHOTOS AND JOURNALS: Twitter @csdickey http://twitter.com/csdickey ; Also see www.ChristopherDickey.com and The Shadowland Journal at Christopherdickey.blogspot.com ; Photo blogs: http://christophersworldview.blogspot.com/ ; Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Dickey/e/B000AQ05WC ; Tumblr: http://christopherdickey.tumblr.com/ ; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#/christopher.dickey ; MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/christopherdickey ; LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/a89/9b9 .

I realize how crowded inboxes can get. So, to be taken off the list, just send me a note saying 'Please take me off' or some such and I will do just that.

The Daily Beast: Christine Lagarde Named New IMF Chief

Christine Lagarde Named New IMF Chief
Christine Lagarde is the first woman to lead the International Monetary Fund. View the full article

Check out "Union Jacked: Amanda Foreman's New Civil War Book Echoes Today's Geopolitics"

A BRIEF REVIEW OF 1000 PAGES:

Newsweek: Union Jacked, 26 June 2011
Amanda Foreman's New Civil War Book Echoes Today's Geopolitics
http://bit.ly/iSiuYa

Robert Fisk: Freedom, democracy and human rights in Syria - Robert Fisk, Commentators - The Independent

This from 2010 makes very interesting reading in light of current
events. I just saw Ribal al-Assad on SkyNews.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-freedom-democracy-and-human-rights-in-syria-2080463.html

The Daily Beast: German Soldiers Can’t Shoot

German Soldiers Can't Shoot
Leaked reports question the competence of the German army. View the full article

The Daily Beast: Obama's Secret Wars

Obama's Secret Wars
U.S. covert wars rage in places like Yemen, where a new blueprint for military action is being drawn. View the full article

The Daily Beast: Stuck at the Gaza Border

Stuck at the Gaza Border
Post-Mubarak Egypt threw open its border with Gaza with great fanfare in late May, breaking Israel's four-year blockade—so why aren't any goods, and so few people, making the crossing? Dan Ephron reports. View the full article

Check out "The Galliano Dossier" and "Flights of Imagination"

A little change of pace this week:

Newsweek: The Galliano Dossier, 20 June 2011
Fashion's enfant terrible is about to have his day in court on charges that he hurled anti-Semitic insults in a Paris café. What made him snap? (With Tracy McNicoll)
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/06/19/the-galliano-dossier.html


Newsweek International: Flights of Imagination, 20 June 2011
Trailblazing design teams are taking passenger comfort to a whole different plane.
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/06/19/how-airlines-can-make-flying-more-comfortable.html

Check out "The Invisible Man," how fear of aging fits into the Weiner, DSK, Schwarzenegger, Berlusconi scandals

The Daily Beast: The Invisible Man, 14 June 2011
The fear of aging and being ignored affects the behavior of politicians like Anthony Weiner, stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger—and the rest of us, says Christopher Dickey.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-06-14/anthony-weiners-fear-being-invisible-to-women/

Check out "Intelligence Test: Arab democracy and CIA disarray"

Newsweek International: Intelligence Test, 13 June 2011
With regimes falling across the Middle East, America's spies have lost one of their most valued allies in the war against the jihadists: dictators.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-06-12/the-arab-spring-has-weakened-us-intelligence/

Check out "Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Not Guilty Plea"

This from yesterday:

The Daily Beast: Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Not Guilty Plea, 6 June 2011
Dominique Strauss-Kahn formally entered a plea of not guilty to sexual-assault charges in a Manhattan courtroom Monday, but the former IMF chief is under attack almost as much for who he is as for what he did.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-06-06/dominique-strauss-kahn-pleads-not-guilty/

Check out: Al Qaeda's Most Dangerous Operator Killed; Intvu with Anderson Cooper about Yemen

The Daily Beast: Al Qaeda Commander Ilyas Kashmiri Killed in U.S. Predator Strike, 4 June 2011
By Ron Moreau, Sami Yousafzai and Christopher Dickey
In a major blow to the terrorist organization, a U.S. Predator strike in Pakistan killed one of al Qaeda's most active leaders, Ilyas Kashmiri, sources confirm to The Daily Beast. Plus, Newsweek's profile of Kashmiri. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-06-04/al-qaeda-commander-ilyas-kashmiri-killed-in-us-predator-strike/

CNN Video: Yemen on the Brink of Civil War, 3 June 2011
AC360's Anderson Cooper speaks with Christopher Dickey and Fareed Zakaria about concerns that al Qaeda may be gaining ground in Yemen. http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2011/06/04/ac.yemen.security.issues.cnn.html

And in case you missed this on Memorial Day:

Newsweek: To Catch a Creep, 30 May 2011
How do you know who's lying and who's telling the truth about a rape? From no-name scoundrels to big-power suspects like Dominique Strauss-Kahn, these cops crack New York's most shocking sex crimes.
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/29/inside-the-nypd-s-special-victims-division.html

Check out "To Catch a Creep": Inside the Special Victims squad that arrested Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Newsweek, To Catch a Creep, 30 May 2011
How do you know who's lying and who's telling the truth about a rape? From no-name scoundrels to big-power suspects like Dominique Strauss-Kahn, these cops crack New York's most shocking sex crimes.
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/29/inside-the-nypd-s-special-victims-division.html

Checke out "The 3 Women Who'll Decide Strauss-Kahn's Fate"

The Daily Beast, Three Women to Decide IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Sexual-Assault Case, 17 May 2011
The rape case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn hinges on the testimony of three women: his daughter, the hotel maid he allegedly attacked, and a second alleged victim. Christopher Dickey reports from Paris.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-17/three-women-to-decide-imf-chief-dominique-strauss-kahns-sexual-assault-case/

Check out a long day of TV appearances talking about the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case

The Today Show, NBC:
IMF chief accused of NYC sex attack
One of the most influential bankers in the world -- and a possible candidate for the French presidency -- was arrested and charged with sexual assault at a luxury Manhattan hotel. NBC's Jeff Rossen has the details and Newsweek's Christopher Dickey discusses the French reaction to the charges with TODAY's Matt Lauer.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/43044872#43044872

Hardball with Chris Matthews, MSNBC:
IMF Chief accused of sexual assault
Investigative crime reporter Michelle Sigona and Newsweek's Christopher Dickey talk about the latest details surrounding the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/43053055#43053055

NBC Nightly News (a brief sound bite):
IMF chief denied bail over sexual assault charges
Despite cries of foul play by some in the French press, prosecutors say they have DNA evidence to prove that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the leader of IMF and possible presidential candidate in France, attempted to rape a maid in his Manhattan hotel room. NBC's Jeff Rossen reports.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/43053693#43053693

Canadian SunNews network:
IMF scandal fallout : Prime time : SunNews Video Gallery
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/946327413001

In The Arena with Eliot Spitzer, CNN:
Journalists Chrystia Freeland and Christopher Dickey discuss the sex charges against IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/05/16/exp.arena.assault.strauss.kahn.cnn

There were also appearances on the France24 news bulletin with Annette Young and BBC America, but for the moment I can't find links to the video.

Plus, from earlier in the week:
France24, Egypt: Justice and Revolution, 16 May 2011
http://www.france24.com/en/20110513-egypt-popular-revolt-justice-syria-jordan-jerusalem-religion
(I would not agree with the report's assertion that Gamal Mubarak was the real power in Egypt in recent years.)

On CNN with Eliot Spitzer talking DSK

DSK: The Bail Hearing

On the Today Show talking about Strauss-Kahn Case

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Check out my coverage of Strauss-Kahn's arrest for alleged sex crimes

The Daily Beast, Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Arrest and Political Fallout, 15 May 2011
Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest in New York on Saturday for alleged criminal sexual assault may end his career at the IMF—and will transform the French presidential race.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-15/dominique-strauss-kahn-international-money-fund-head-charged-in-sexual-assault/

France24 Audio: An unmitigated disaster for StraussKahn's career, 15 May 2011
http://www.france24.com/en/node/5195563

Check out "Galliano's Woes," a brief video

The Daily Beast video, Dickey Chronicles: Galliano's Woes, 10 May 2011

The designer, the Paris neighborhood where he went on his rant, and memories of the Holocaust around the corner. http://bcove.me/q6hsyqqo

To leave comments, find it at http://www.thedailybeast.com/video/

Le Marais: the Neighborhood where John Galliano went on his Rant

Check out "The Next Terror Threat" about the risks to New York and Osama's legacy

The Daily Beast: The Next Terror Threat, 6 May 2011
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning suggesting Al Qaeda had contemplated attacks on U.S. railroads. Christopher Dickey on why bin Laden's death won't protect us from attacks—and the new breed of small scale, random terror threats that may be coming next
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-06/al-qaeda-terror-threat-to-new-york-city-and-us-trains-remains-high


For rapid-fire updates follow me on Twitter at @csdickey

Check out my Newsweek cover story (a special edition) on the 15-year hunt for Bin Laden

Newsweek Cover (special edition): A Decade on the Lam, 6 May 2011
How much longer will Al Qaeda survive? Just look at all it took to hunt down its leader.
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/05/a-decade-on-the-lam.html

Also, this from Monday:

The Daily Beast, Why the U.S. Acted Alone, 2 May 2011
Islamabad's Al Qaeda allies complicated the hunt for Public Enemy No. 1. Christopher Dickey on how the U.S. went over the heads of bin Laden's Pakistan protectors.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-02/osama-bin-laden-dead-his-pakistan-protectors/

Check out video: Cairo's Missing Tourists; plus John G. Morris' extraordinary personal collection of photos form Capa, Erwitt, W. Eugene Smith and others.

Dickey Chronicle: Tourism in Egypt, 26 April 2011
Has tourism resumed in Egypt since the revolution? Newsweek/The Daily Beast's Christopher Dickey reports that tourism is down and asks foreigners if they feel safe in Cairo.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid271557391?bctid=919987238001

Photographs from the John G. Morris collection go up for auction
As far as luminaries go in the world of photography, John G. Morris is Olympian. As the London photo editor of Life magazine during World War II, Morris worked closely with the likes of Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson to publish now-iconic images of Europe besieged.
http://www.newsweek.com/photo/2011/04/24/john-g-morris-collection.html

My most recent visit to the Khan Khalili in Cairo

Check out "Obama's Middle East Head Spin" and "The Evolution of Arab Revolutions"

The Daily Beast: Obama's Middle East Head Spin, 23 April 2011
The president's ineffectual statement on Friday's massacre in Syria is the latest act in a White House drama that began in 2009, starring a brilliant intellect who is nonetheless confounded by events. Christopher Dickey and John Barry on Obama's flailing foreign policy—which appears headed for unmitigated disaster
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-22/obamas-middle-east-head-spin-his-missing-strategy-on-syria-libya-more/

Video on Al Jazeera English: The Evolution of Arab Revolutions, 21 April 2011
t seems some regimes will stop at nothing to resist change. So with no unified leadership or clear agenda, and with domestic complications in each and every country, is this truly a revolution? And if this is an Awakening – what path will it follow – that of Turkey? Of Iran? Or rather a third way, an Arab way. Joining Marwan Bishara to discuss these issues are: Rabab el-Mahdi, a professor of political science at American University, Cairo; Christopher Dickey, Middle East editor of Newsweek and The Daily Beast; Patrick Seale, author of The Struggle for Arab Independence.
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/empire/2011/04/2011421104111964650.html

For rapid-fire updates follow me on Twitter at @csdickey 

Check out the story "Burqas, Bikinis and BS" in France

The Daily Beast: Burqas, Bikinis, and BS, 12 April 2011
The new French law against full-face veils is almost as dangerous as it is absurd—and the cops charged with enforcing it know it. Christopher Dickey on the "masquerade."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-12/frances-veil-ban-burqas-bikinis-and-bs

Video: Libya's Record on Terrorism, with a comment from the sidelines

BBC News - Libya: Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa 'defects to UK'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-africa-12915959?

Gates on Libya: Vital Interest? No. But ...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Excellent Al Jazeera English Video about Daraa Protests in Syria

(BN) UN Answers Libyans’ Cry for Freedom With Global Protection

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPhone.

UN Answers Libyans' Cry for Freedom With Global Protection

March 21 (Bloomberg) -- The cheering on the streets of Benghazi when the United Nations approved military action against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi signaled something critics have long doubted: that the UN can play a vital role in an exploding crisis.

The Obama administration and its European allies said they wouldn't have begun armed intervention without the legality conferred by the UN Security Council, and the resolution adopted by a 10-to-0 vote with 5 abstentions puts Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the middle of its implementation.

"This is 21st century intervention, an extraordinary step that pushes the envelope for the UN," Jeff Laurenti, UN analyst at the New York-based Century Foundation research group, said in an interview. Intervening in an internal conflict such as Libya "goes beyond previous non-aggression measures such the steps taken against Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990."

The UN action on Libya contrasts with its failure to intervene in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and the difference drew praise from those who have previously criticized the world body for its response to human-rights abuses, including Kenneth Roth, executive director of the New York-based Human Rights.

Preventing Atrocities

"The Security Council has defied expectations and risen to the occasion by making clear that all options are on the table to prevent mass atrocities," Roth said in a statement. It now needs to deal as decisively with other crises, such as halting "mass atrocities" in Ivory Coast, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, he said.

Libya is a "relatively easy case of a brutal dictator with few friends," Roth said.

President Barack Obama's decision to work through the UN also contrasted with then-President George W. Bush's move to sidestep the Security Council when he invaded Iraq in 2003. Then, the U.S. withdrew a draft resolution to authorize military force against Saddam Hussein when it became clear it wouldn't pass and began the invasion two days later -- eight years ago this week.

Adopting two Libya sanctions resolutions in three weeks, the first approved unanimously after some behind-the-scenes differences, shows the Security Council's ability to act even with some internal discord. China and Russia refrained from casting vetoes that would have reflected their objections. Aspiring permanent members Brazil, Germany and India expressed their concerns by abstaining instead of voting against.

Internal Divisions

"The UN has gone through decades when the international community has experienced gross violations of civilian populations," Ban said in an interview March 19 in Paris, where he was briefed on the allied attacks. "Sometimes the UN was not able to take proper measures because of the divisions of member states. I am encouraged that the member states and the Security Council have shown their leadership."

Ban arrived last night in Cairo from Paris and went straight to a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil El- Arabi. He met today with Amr Moussa, general secretary of the Arab League, who said the group remains committed to the no-fly zone in Libya.

Ban said the UN "stands ready to help protect civilians and promote reform." He condemned violence against demonstrators in Yemen and cited rising violence in Bahrain. "You cannot hold back demands for democracy and reform," he said.

Tahrir Square

The secretary general was forced to drop plans to walk through Tahrir Square -- scene of massive demonstrations last month that toppled President Hosni Mubarak -- before flying to Tunis. Ban was turned back after he left the press conference and was surrounded by a group of about 40 pro-Qaddafi demonstrators chanting "Down, Down USA!" and waving their fists at the secretary general.

The Security Council has scheduled talks on the allied military action for 3 p.m. today in New York, at the request of Qaddafi's foreign minister, Musa Kousa. In a March 19 letter to the Security Council Kousa asks for "an emergency meeting in order to halt this aggression, which is not aimed at protecting civilians, as is purported, but rather to strike civilian sites, economic facilities and sites belonging" to Libya's army.

In addition to invoking Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which authorizes military action to force compliance with UN demands, the no-fly resolution in seven instances either tells governments to report to Ban on their military action, or gives him a vital role in other enforcement tools. He must report to the Security Council weekly on its implementation.

The no-fly resolution also marks the first implementation of the 2005 global agreement on the "responsibility to protect," a doctrine that says collective action is justified when a government commits acts of genocide or other atrocities against its people. Bush and 170 other world leaders reached the accord at a UN summit in New York.

'Hesitant' Endorsement

"Since that controversial principle was introduced, it has been endorsed in general and hesitant terms," Bruce Jones, senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution said in an e-mail. "Libya was the first time it's been forcefully invoked in respect of a specific crisis."

The resolution, adopted after Obama last week decided to back a no-fly zone, also shows his administration's commitment to the UN and ability to work closely with Ban.

Bush was publicly antagonistic during his first term, particularly after former Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared the Iraq war to be illegal because it wasn't explicitly authorized by the Security Council.

Ban's relationship with Bush was "not a harmonious one" at first, Ban said in an interview in January at Bloomberg News headquarters in New York. That changed gradually in Bush's second term, he said, as the U.S. sought UN help imposing sanctions to block Iran's nuclear ambitions and to end the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Obama Embraces UN

Obama has embraced the UN system in a way Bush never did. The U.S. joined the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, supported a General Assembly declaration urging the decriminalization of homosexuality and gave government funds to a UN agency that offers abortion counseling. Obama also backed a treaty to regulate the trade in conventional weapons and agreed to strengthen the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"The U.S. has taken very strong leadership and a determined, principled position," Ban said of the administration's role in getting the no-fly resolution adopted.

An Italian government official, who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to be identified in public statements, credited the combination of Obama's leadership and Ban's characteristic behind-the-scenes diplomacy for overcoming concerns of Brazil, China, Germany, India and Russia to get the no-fly resolution passed.

"The solicitude by Washington for the Security Council" shows the Obama administration has "learned to play with others in the global sandbox," Laurenti said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson in Rome at fjackson@bloomberg.net Bill Varner in New York at wvarner@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net

Find out more about Bloomberg for iPhone: http://m.bloomberg.com/iphone/

(BN) U.S. May Lose Key Ally Against Al-Qaeda as Yemeni President Faces Revolt

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPhone.
U.S. Facing Loss of Key Ally Against Al-Qaeda Group in Yemen

March 22 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama is on the verge of
losing a key ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, as Yemeni President
Ali Abdullah Saleh appears unlikely to weather a popular uprising and
defections among his ruling elite, former U.S. officials said.

"It's clear at this point that Saleh will have to step down,"
Barbara Bodine, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, said in an
interview yesterday. With the "mounting numbers of senior people in
his administration resigning, we know it's over. The terms of his
departure, I think, are still being negotiated."

The March 18 killing of at least 46 protesters allegedly by police and
pro-regime gunmen -- which drew condemnation from Obama and Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton and prompted the defection of key military,
tribal and government officials -- may well be the tipping point.

Obama's counterterrorism chief, John Brennan, told Saleh in a
telephone call March 20 "that that kind of violence is
unacceptable," Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser
for strategic communications, said aboard Air Force One yesterday.

Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years, has been struggling to hang
on since demonstrations inspired by those in Egypt and Tunisia began
two months ago. The government deployed tanks yesterday to protect the
presidential palace.

"There's clearly going to have to be a political solution in Yemen
that includes a government that is more responsive to the Yemeni
people," Rhodes said.

'It's Hopeless'

Until last week, there was a "fading hope that somehow Saleh could
reach an accommodation with the opposition," said David Newton,
another former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, which the United Nations
ranks as the poorest Arab country.

"Friday really tore it," said Newton, now a scholar at the Middle
East Institute in Washington, referring to the shootings. "He's
going. It's hopeless."

Saleh's departure is likely to undermine, at least temporarily, U.S.
counterterrorism efforts, Yemen experts said. Saleh has been an
important ally in the fight against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,
the Yemen-based group responsible for sending two parcel bombs to U.S.
synagogues in October and the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound
plane on Christmas Day 2009.

Because of Saleh's cooperation, the Obama administration "has been
reluctant to be too critical" in its comments, said Christopher
Boucek, a Yemen analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace in Washington.

'Urgent Concern'

Clinton, on a visit to Yemen in January, said that Yemen- based
terrorists are an "urgent concern" for the U.S. Yemen, which gets
about $300 million a year in U.S. security and humanitarian
assistance, stepped up operations against al-Qaeda after the attempted
Detroit attack.

Last week's deadly violence, the worst in two months of protests,
prompted the resignation of three ministers, members of parliament,
and at least three diplomats. Numerous top military officials declared
support for the opposition.

Saleh, who said security forces weren't responsible, sacked his
cabinet, and prosecutors issued 10 arrest warrants in connection with
the deaths.

U.S. analysts said the White House will have to be nimble in revamping
in its Yemen policy.

"The hope is to come through a transition with at least some
cooperative measures still intact," said Steven Simon, a Middle East
fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

Yemen's Problems

Yemen faces a failing economy, serious water shortages, declining oil
output and a society where more than half the population of 23 million
is under 20 years old and about 40 percent of the people live on the
equivalent of less than $2 a day.

"Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and fighting terrorism is our
biggest problem, but it's not Yemen's number-one priority,"
Boucek said.

The Yemeni government is struggling to quell two internal revolts, a
secessionist movement in the south and a Shiite uprising in the north.
Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based wing has also launched cross-border attacks on
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.

The course of events for Saleh may largely depend on the loyalty of
people in the central security forces and the Republican Guard, said
Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University in New Jersey.

"If President Saleh steps down, it'll all go over peacefully," he
said. "If he attempts to fight this, then it could get very, very
bloody."

BBC News - Top Yemeni general, Ali Mohsen, backs opposition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-middle-east-12804552

Sent from my iPhone

WNYC: On the Brian Lehrer Show talking Libya

CNN: Why France Led the Attack on Libya...

 ... and why most of the rest of the world wasn't watching.

Audio: Talking Galliano, Westboro Baptist, Sarkozy and Libya with Brian Lehrer on WNYC

Also on "On Point" with Tom Ashbrook on Boston's WBUR.

BBC Crew Tortured in Libya: The Transcript

This morning as I followed the story of the BBC crew detained and tortured in Libya there seemed to be a discrepancy in the description of the mock executions they suffered. In the video clips shown on the morning news programs, Feras Killani and Goktay Koraltan talked about being hooded and hearing guns cocked behind their backs. In the print version on the BBC site, Chris Cobb-Smith says that in his case the gun was fired. Not sure why Cobb-Smith was not shown on the video I saw, but the full transcript, which I was e-mailed by the BBC, and which I do not readily find on its site, is worth reading:


BBC Arabic staff attacked in Libya

Three members of the BBC Arabic team in Tripoli were detained and beaten while reporting on the situation in Libya. They were arrested on Monday (07 March) and taken to various barracks where they suffered repeated assaults, were masked and handcuffed, and were subject to a mock execution.

Below is a transcript of an interview with the three BBC staff members, conducted by Jeremy Bowen (BBC Middle East Editor).

Liliane Landor (Controller Languages BBC Global News) said, "The BBC strongly condemns this abusive treatment of our journalists and calls on the Libyan government to ensure all media are able to report freely and are protected from persecution.

"The safety of our staff is our primary concern especially when they are working in such difficult circumstances and it is essential that journalists working for the BBC, or any media organisation, are allowed to report on the situation in Libya without fear of attack.

"Despite these attacks, the BBC will continue to cover the evolving story in Libya for our audiences both inside and outside the country."
Transcript

Members of BBC team:

Feras Killani (Palestinian refugee: Syrian passport)

Goktay Koraltan (Turkish)

Chris Cobb-Smith (British)

They were arrested at a checkpoint at around 1530 on Monday 7 March. The checkpoint was at Al Zahra 6 miles south of Zawiyah. They were with a local driver who was also taken. They had no press centre minder with them.

They were held at the checkpoint for about 45 minutes. At the first checkpoint the BBC IDs were inspected so it was clear they were journalists.

Feras: "They took everything, cameras, mobiles, asked for any memory cards and the bad thing was they asked ‘who’s gun is this in the car."

Did they show you a gun? Did the driver have one? "No, there was no gun in the car."

Chris: "they weren’t too bad to us."

The team was taken next to a barracks on the main highway, known locally as the kilometre 27 centre. They were interrogated by an officer who asked if they had permission to be out reporting.

Chris: "We’d passed the barracks before, it had a distinctive black and white tank outside it."

Feras: "I think it was the main headquarters outside the city. It was a huge barracks."

Gok: "we stayed in a room for a while there was nice captain he gave us Turkish coffee and cigarettes."

F: "they wanted to know how journalists worked, how Sky worked when they were in Zawiya. I told them in general how we work. He had some information but wanted details."


F: "we were there about another 30 minutes and then a bad guy arrived, he had three stars on this shoulder, a captain."

G: "He looked pissed off, he was a tall guy, aggressive as he came into the room."

C: "It was almost like good cop, bad cop. The good one left and then the other one stormed in."

F: "he asked a few questions in a very bad way, in Arabic. He was aggressive. I tried to explain we had only been in Zawiya a week before with the authorities. He said something bad about Palestinians, a lot of bad things and he asked his team what they thought about Palestinians and they said the same things. He thought they had helped the Palestinians a lot, but Hamas has given a very bad reaction to Qaddafi. Lots of bad language. When I tried to respond he took me out to the car park behind the guard room. Then he started hitting me without saying anything. First with his fist, then boots, then knees. Then he found a plastic pipe on the ground and beat me with that. Then one of the soldiers gave him a long stick. I’m standing trying to protect myself, I’m trying to tell him we’re working, I’m a Palestinian, I have a good impression of the country. He knew who we were [i.e. journalists] and what we were doing."

"I think there was something personal against me, they knew me and the sort of coverage I had been doing, especially from Tajoura the Friday before. I think they monitored the BBC and had an idea, not just the reports but also DTLs.[interviews from the studio with a correspondent in the field] They don’t like us or Arabiya or Jazeera."

"He told me to return to the room and not to tell the other guys anything."

At this point Chris managed to get a call out – he hadn’t been searched and had a phone – calling for help,

C: "We knew we were in trouble then. I said this is not good."

F: "the captain came in again after 5 minutes, and asked if I spoke to the other guys. They had asked me if I was all right and I said ok. One of the guards said yes he said one word. So he took me out into the yard again."

"He asked the other guards to come and started to hit and kick me. I was speaking with him saying I only said yes and I explained we were nervous. At this point he sent me back to room after he cuffed me with plastic cuffs behind my back."

G: "we were shocked when we saw him."

C: "Obviously the whole situation was deteriorating. In English he said to me one question and you die. He asked me if I had worked with National Geographic. Obviously they were doing their homework."

Feras was taken outside the room where they were being questioned, and was beaten by a captain and others.

F: "they hit me with a stick, they used their army boots on me, and their knees."

"It made it worse that I was a Palestinian… and they said you’re all spies. Sometimes they said I was a journalist who was covering stories in a bad way.

"They put us in a car and the captain, the one who beat me, told the guard ‘if they say one word kill them.’"

"He said to Chris, one question and you die. He said if I say one word in English, he’d kill me"

The car had a driver, and a guard. He kept his gun levelled on them throughout the journey.

G: he was pointing the gun at us, one of each of us in turn, an AK 47.

They drove back towards Tripoli, past the Rixos hotel.

G: I felt horrible passing the hotel. The soldier had his finger on the trigger and I was worrying it would go off when we went over a bump.

C: "It made it even worse, an extra stab in your morale seeing the hotel appear and disappear but it was good because we knew exactly where we were."

It looked as if they were going to be driven into a military compound.


C: "I thought it was a good sign we were going to a legitimate barracks, it was compound with an eagle on the gate, but we went straight past the front gate down a back street. The building was down the side, attached to the barracks and not behind the perimeter wall. It was a dirty scruffy little compound about 100 metres square. It was still light when we got there."

G: "there was a big iron gate. It looked like a film set, like an execution place. They took us out of the car and the middle of the compound there was a cage, they put three of us in the cage and the last thing I saw before the door shut they hit Feras with an AK 47. We started hearing him groaning. They turned up the radio, all Qaddafi songs."

C: "They were wearing uniforms with no badges of rank. Some of then had their faces covered."

F: "they were kicking and punching me, 4 or 5 men. I went down on to my knees. They attacked me as soon as I got out of the car. They knocked me down to the ground with their guns, AK-47s. I was down on my knees and I heard them cocking their guns. I thought they were going to shoot me. It was a fake execution. Then they took me into the room."

It seemed to be something like a guard room. Plain concrete with a heavy door, looked like a cell though they wondered if the guards slept there.

F: "They took me inside and left me alone for a few minutes and then they started. It was three by four, iron door, like a cell. After 15 minutes they were hitting me and kicking me very hard, the worst since I arrived, they put cuffs on my legs. They put three layers over my face, something like a surgical hat, the thing a nurse would wear but over my face."

"I was on the floor on my side, hands and feet cuffed, lying half on a mattress, and they were beating me."

"Before they covered my face up a big black guy, a very strong guy pulled my head back by my hair and hit me on the face."

"They were saying I’m a spy working for British intelligence, they asked me about the $400 and £60 and some dinars I was carrying. They asked if I was given the money from the intelligence department I worked for."

"I can’t remember how long it went for."

G: "it was about half an hour we could hear it…I think it was Feras maybe it was another inmate. Driver was constantly praying. We could hear screams I thought it was Feras."

At this point Chris was able to ring the BBC team in the Rixos hotel again. In the call he said the Libyan were torturing Feras.

C: "I waited until I calculated the guard had walked off and chanced it. The driver was going spare, he knew that if we were caught with a phone at that stage, let alone actually using it, it would make things even worse, if that was possible."

F: "After they finished beating me they taped the mask on my head with gaffer tape.. Then another guy came in and I heard him ask the other guards why have you covered his face, he’s a journalist, he can’t breath, he told them to uncover my face. I was like that struggling to breathe for 7 or 8 minutes. I was in a very bad position my face was on the floor. They pulled the mask back."

G: "the black guy came into our cage and they put masks on us. Gaffer taped them on and handcuffed us. They took the driver out and then me. They said in Arabic go I thought they would shoot us from behind, I was saying in Turkish that I’m a friend. I thought they would shoot us, I could hear guns loading. I was scared to death I thought it was the execution moment."

C: "I could see out from the mask, I wasn’t convinced we were going to be shot. I wasn’t being pushed around as if they were about to shoot me. They helped me get out of the cage. It was a bit of a drop and they helped me down, it still wasn’t pleasant. I could breathe. I think they did this [masked them] so we couldn’t see the surroundings when they led us to the cell."

The driver was taken elsewhere. In the room/cell they rejoined Feras

G: "his face was pale, and twice the size. His hands covered in blood

F: "a good guy had cut the cuffs off. They were so tight he cut me slightly. They put other cuffs on less tight."

G: "he was lying on the floor, cuffed."

C: "It was another down, we were hooded and cuffed and we saw Feras bent double, lying on the floor, face swollen, obviously in pain."

G: "I was really scared, panicked; Chris was trying to say to me it was going to be OK. I thought they were going to kill us and blame Al Qaeda or the rebels."

F: "I was taken back out to the cage and the others were left in the room."

C: "It was probably the guardroom, where the guards usually rested, there was a metal door but it wasn’t locked and bolted the whole time. We were from about half eight or nine until 3 in the morning."

There was no food, or water or access to lavatories. Only at the beginning after having been there an hour or so had we been allowed out in the yard to urinate. Throughout the night they could hear the screams of people being tortured. Goktay said he saw women who had injuries, he presumed inflicted by their interrogators.

A young man from Zawiya was brought in to the room/cell where Chris and Goktay were held.

C : "He was terrified. He prayed all night. He peed himself. They threw the mattress out. He kept making throat slitting gestures as if he knew he’d die, but he made it clear those gestures applied to us too. The guards kept coming in, screaming at him, terrorising him. They wouldn’t let us stand up. If we did they’d scream at us too. The guards were also making throat slitting gestures to all of us."

C: "We were pretty much left alone but not allowed to stand up and stretch. they got angry if we tried. They didn’t mind us talking."

C: "I sat on a filthy mattress with my back against the wall but facing the door so I could anything that happened outside when it opened and through a crack when it was closed. I didn’t sleep a wink, just watched the seconds tick by and trying to remain upbeat, trying to read something optimistic into every little incident. Gok & I shared the few cigarretes we had sparingly through the night, and then smoked the butts of the floor. It was cold but I didn’t want to use the filthy blankets, or have them see me huddled & pathetic, though Gok told me later I sometimes was shaking".

Feras was in the yard in the metal cell, described as something like a prison van but without wheels. One guard believed Feras when he said he was a journalist, and cut off his plastic handcuffs. He spent the night doing what he could for the other prisoners, who were all handcuffed. Some of them told him they had been arrested because their phone calls had been intercepted – including ones to the foreign media. At first there were four others already in the cage, two Egyptians who said they had lost their papers and two Libyans. Later they were joined by others.

F: "I spent the night in a cell. There were 10 to 12 men from Zawiya. Some were in a bad situation, with broken ribs."

Four of the other captives brought in after Feras were masked, with ankles and wrists cuffed. They were from Zawiya.

"The four from Zawiya tried not to tell me anything but later one of the guards told me they were fighters from Zawiya."

"All the guys were handcuffed and asking me to help them. There was water, one of them had 2 or 3 Marlboro so the good guard gave me a light. I helped them with water, helped them to pee."

"I was looking out of the cage. Cars were coming and going. I saw them bring in a guy and 3 girls, prisoners, too."

"Two of them told me they had broken ribs. The four who were masked, I helped them breathe by lifting their masks, saw they had been badly beaten."

"The four who were masked said they had been three days without food and with arms and legs cuffed. They said where they were now was like heaven compared to where they had been. They said they had been tortured for three days, and were from Zawiya. the four all knew each other. They didn’t want to talk much. None of them said they were involved in fighting but the guard told me. Their hands were swollen and so were their faces."

"In the cage they were talking about what might happen next. They were speaking of their situation. Two of them asked me to burn their cuffs with a cigarette I refused. One of them said he had bad pains in his stomach, I called the guard who said shut up and let him die, don’t ask again."

The others were reunited with Feras and with their taxi driver when they were moved to another building at about 0300. They were crammed into a pick up with a steel box on the back with other detainees.

C: "we were crammed in worse than sardines. The others were so badly beaten, and it was so full, that every time you moved someone screamed. They had mashed faces, broken ribs. We were handcuffed, really tightly, behind our backs."

G: "We were put into a vehicle, a pick up with an iron box on the back. Almost twenty of us. It was 3.30 in the morning, I saw the clock on the car."

C: "there was a jumble of arms and legs and bodies. They were beating one man who couldn’t get in because it was too full, so we pushed up to make space for him. There was a community feeling in there. People were trying to help each other. Some people without handcuffs heaved me up to help me sit."

F: "our driver told me we were driving towards the airport."

They were driven to a building that was much cleaner and seemed better organised. They believe it was the headquarters of the foreign intelligence service.

C: "It was smarter than the other places, better organised, less chaotic… It was good we hadn’t been driven out of Tripoli into the countryside."

F: "I saw one of the guys who arrested me at Tajoura last Friday. He said Feras you again and punched me on the side of my head."

G: "There was a big operation going on. Lots of people. I could hear screams coming from the second floor. I could see people being taking to other parts of the building hooded and handcuffed."

C: "I could hear howls and yelps of pain [coming from the building]. There was a lot of coming and going."

Outside the building they were lined up facing the wall, and told to bend their heads and not look up. One of them screamed at Chris when he did look up. A man moved down the line with a small sub-machine gun equipped with a silencer.


Chris: "As you walk up the steps there was a big entrance and I was last in line. There were four of us including the driver. We were lined up against the wall facing it. I stepped aside to face a gap so they wouldn’t be able to smash my face into the wall. A man with a small sub machine gun was putting it to the nape of everyone’s neck in turn. He pointed the barrel at each of us. When he got to me at the end of the line, he pulled the trigger twice. The shots went past my ear… "


"They all laughed as though it was very funny. There was a whole group of them in plain clothes."


"After the shooting incident one man who spoke very good English, almost Oxford English came to ask who we were, home towns and so on. Big fat chap. He was very pleasant, ordered them to cut off our handcuffs. When he had filled in the paper work, it was suddenly all over. They took us to their rest room. It was a charm offensive, packets of cigarettes, tea, coffee, offers of food."


F: "One man said to me, sorry it was a mistake by the military. But he said you were wrong first because you went out without permission."

They sat there for another seven hours until they were returned to the Rixos hotel and released.

Obama's Mistake in Libya

Obama's Mistake in Libya

Saif Cracker: How Libya Blackmailed the West

In this 2007 interview, Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif tells Newsweek's Christopher Dickey about Libya's ransom demands for five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor held eight years and sentenced to death on trumped up charges.

Open Mic: Petraeus and Gates Joking about Attacking Libya

A revealing exchange as Defense Secretary Robert Gates was greeted by Gen. David Petraeus upon landing in Afghanistan on March 7:

Petraeus:  Flying a little bigger plane that normal. You gonna launch some attacks in Libya or something?

Gates: Heh-heh, yeah, exactly.