Best of the Web

Afghanistan

The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate leading up to the Aug. 20 elections. Amidst a rising civilian and military death toll, the election campaign is taking on farcical proportions. Assassinations of political elites have become a regular occurrence, and many of the people running in the election are former war criminals themselves, including Karzai’s vice-presidential candidate, Mohammad Qasim Fahim. Canadian brigadier general Jon Vance told Le Devoir last week that Canada has failed its mission. It remains unclear what role Canada will play after 2011.

• NATO is an unwelcome wedding guest by Linda McQuaig — Toronto Star

• Pundits putting spin on war by Scott Taylor — The Chronicle Herald

Israel-Palestine

As Obama presses to have “natural growth” settlements curbed, the New York Times reported this Monday that Palestinians are being illegally evicted from their homes. A member of the British Consulate is reported as being “appalled” by the evictions and the UN special Middle East coordinator described them as “totally unacceptable actions by Israel.”

On ZNet this week, Ali Abunimah suggests that a one-state solution is likely the best way forward. “As George Mitchell surely knows from his experience in Northern Ireland, when two national communities lay claim to the same land and one dominates the other by force, partition only changes the contours of the conflict.”

• Why Obama’s peace process is still going nowhere Ali Abunimah — The Electronic Intifada

• Web warfare team unveiled by Jonathan Cook — Information Clearing House (Originally published in The National — Abu Dhabi)

Honduras

Canadian defence minister Peter MacKay is pondering whether or not to cut funding for a handful of Honduran soldiers trained by the Canadian Forces while ousted president Manuel Zelaya has been refused the right to return to his country. Roberto Micheletti, the illegitimate and internationally unrecognized president who overthrew Zelaya in a coup, seems quite comfortable that Western powers will not be to stern on him, and a resolution to the situation seems highly unlikely in the near future. Meanwhile, the situation in Honduras itself continues to deteriorate.

• Media crackdown in Honduras worsens by Anastasia Moloney — Reuters

• Showdown in ‘Tegucigolpe‏ by Stephen Zunes — Common Dreams

For some very informative context on the coup:

• Obama’s First Coup d’Etat: Honduran President has been Kidnapped: Updates 1-17 by Eva Golinger — Venezuela Analysis

Others

On other global war fronts, Obama appears to be abandoning his approach of mutual respect for Iran as details emerge of U.S. proposals to cut Iran’s gasoline imports if nuclear talks are rejected. As Noam Chomsky points out, the very discussion of Iran’s nuclear ambitions in the face of massive U.S. and Israeli armaments—not to mention the major military occupations led by these states—is a clear indication of the extent of American propaganda efforts. That is to say, how can the U.S. justify itself in deepening sanctions against Iran while it busily occupies Iraq and pursues an agenda in the Israel-Palestine conflict in clear violation of international law?

Other developments merit attention, including the Venezuela-Colombia stand-off, military operations in Pakistan’s Swat valley and the country’s Supreme Court decision to charge Musharraf’s imposition of emergency rule in 2007 as unconstitutional. Developments in Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe also merit attention.