Why Obama Believes He Can Tame the Islamists and Why He’s Dead Wrong
What does theocracy look like? This is what theocracy looks like! *
Many people find it hard to comprehend what the Obama Administration thinks it’s doing in the Middle East. But it’s really very simple if you know the history of the arguments, read carefully administration speeches and documents, watch their actions, and talk to some of those involved.
Leaving aside a number of points I’ve made in a previous article (which would be good to read in conjunction with this one), I want to focus here on one concept: the idea that the U.S. government has outsmarted the Islamists.
After all, it has “lured” them into elections and a share of power, thus supposedly locking them into democracy and compromise, a permanent adherence to the rules of the electoral and democratic game.
And if the Islamists’ can’t deliver the goods–more jobs, housing, and cheaper prices–they’ll just lose the next election. Supposedly,...
Israel is separating Gaza from J&S
Slater confirms what Shaked said about separating Hamas from Fatah. But he explains it much more clearly. This also explains why Lieberman was bashing Abbas and saying he prefers him to be deposed. Looking good. Looking very good. Israel doesn’t have to blockade Gaza. It just has to bomb the shit out of them if they attack Israel with their new weapons. Also there will be no land corridor connecting them.
DEBKA noted previously,that this trade came about because
Those clauses, negotiated directly between Panetta and Hamas’ political chief Khaled Meshaal, entailed the shutting down of Hamas headquarters in Damascus in order to undercut Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iran and Hizballah and loosen their hold on the Palestinians. Meshaal who visited Tehran a week ago agreed to gradually downgrade his ties with Iran in return for American patronage of Hamas.
But the bigger question is, has the US thown “Palestine” under the bus? Ted Belman
Missiles pound S. Israel for third day
DEBKAfile Special Report October 31, 2011, 9:34 PM (GMT+02:00)
Beersheba, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Sderot were under missile attack from Gaza Monday night, Oct. 31 – hours after Israel’s Home Front Minister Mattan Vilnai stated the Jihad Islami offensive launched Saturday was over. Seven missiles flew across the border on Day 3 of the assault, one intercepted in Beersheba by an Iron Dome battery. Sunday night Israeli mayors and council heads of key southern towns questioned the military assessment and kept schools closed. The continuing barrage and the army’s decision to park an nterceptor battery in Rehovot, 32 kilometers northeast of the Gaza Strip, proved they were right.
debkafile reported earlier Monday:
Israel is seeing its first ever crisis of confidence between a large normally docile civilian population and the heads of the armed forces.Mayors and local council heads representing the three quarters of-a-million inhabitants of the southern towns of Beersheba,...
NCJA provides its own “Unity Pledge”
(plus translation of ADL/AJC pledge)
The two towering pygmies of American “organized” Jewish “leadership,” the ADL’s Abe Foxman and David Harris of the AJC, issued a call on October 19th, for Jewish organizations and individuals to join them in signing what they called the “National Pledge for Unity on Israel,” the aim of which was, they said, “to rally bipartisan support for Israel while preventing the Jewish State from becoming a wedge issue in the upcoming campaign season.” After receiving little support but lots of withering criticism, the twins pouted about being misunderstood and their message distorted.
We at the National Conference on Jewish Affairs offer for your viewing pleasure what we think is an accurate translation of their pledge, followed by our own pledge, which we think is pretty clear.
THE ADL/AJC UNITY PLEDGE, IN TRANSLATION
1. We shall be silent.
2. We shall be weak.
3. We shall be...
Goldstone: Israel and the Apartheid Slander
Of course this testimony won’t affect the bashers who care not for facts. If only Goldstone had taken his present advice when he authored his Report and said Israel was guilty of war crimes. Ted Belman
THE Palestinian Authority’s request for full United Nations membership has put hope for any two-state solution under increasing pressure. The need for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians has never been greater. So it is important to separate legitimate criticism of Israel from assaults that aim to isolate, demonize and delegitimize it.
One particularly pernicious and enduring canard that is surfacing again is that Israel pursues “apartheid” policies. In Cape Town starting on Saturday, a London-based nongovernmental organization called the Russell Tribunal on Palestine will hold a “hearing” on whether Israel is guilty of the crime of apartheid. It is not a “tribunal.” The “evidence” is going to be one-sided and the...
King Abdallah of Jordan on How No One Trusts Obama…
By Barry Rubin
Earlier this week, The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth interviewed King Abdallah of Jordan. Here’s how King Abdallah responded to Weymouth’s question, “Do you and other leaders in this area believe you cannot rely on the U.S.?”
He replied:
“I think everybody is wary of dealing with the West….Looking at how quickly people turned their backs on Mubarak, I would say that most people are going to try and go their own way. I think there is going to be less coordination with the West and therefore a chance of more misunderstandings.”
This is devastating. I’m not shocked that the king thinks that way but I am shocked that he says so openly. In other words he isn’t afraid of Obama’s being angry and thinks he has nothing to lose because things aren’t going to be better. That’s how far the situation has deteriorated.
Imagine that instead of going to Jordan (which is also an...
Israel’s Strategy – separate Gaza from J&S
I just posted an Oct 2011 article by Jerome Slater in which he clarifies what I took away from Shaked. Israel is killing the two state solution by making Hamas stronger and Fatah weaker. Gaza will become a state if they choose and the Arabs in J&S will have autonomy only. Ted Belman
By Ted Belman
Ronni Shaked is a veteran Israeli Journalist presently working for Yedioth Aronoth. He knows all the leading players in Israeli politics and in Hamas and Fatah. Today he gave a talk to international journalists at Media Central. I was there and the topic was Shalit, Hamas and Fatah.
My best take away was that Israel has no interest in trying to reach a deal and is merely playing the game. Of course many think the game is fraught with peril and that Israel should abandon Oslo and annex all or part of J&S. The GOI has a different view. They like the status quo of no state and no occupation. Its something in between. By no occupation, I mean, the Palestinians have full autonomy. They...
UN Votes to Make “palestine” Full Member of UNESCO
Laura: Fittingly on Halloween the ghouls, monsters and vampires in the UN have voted for the terror entity of “palestine” to become a full-fledged member of UNESCO. It’s time to cut the UN off. No American taxpayer money for anti-Semites and annihilationists.
Palestine becomes member of UN cultural body Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Palestine became a full member of the U.N. Cultural and educational agency Monday, in a highly divisive move that the United States and other opponents say could harm renewed Mideast peace efforts.
U.S. Lawmakers had threatened to withhold roughly $80 million in annual funding to UNESCO if it approved Palestinian membership. The United States provides about 22 percent of UNESCO’s funding.
Huge cheers went up in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization after delegates approved the membership in a vote of 107-14 with 52 abstentions. Eighty-one votes were needed for approval in a hall with 173 UNESCO...
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Ted Belman
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