Commentary: Iran - paper tiger or real threat?
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 18:39
Responding to a United Press International (UPI) article published last week on Saudi Arabia's worries over mounting Iranian influence in the Arab world, a well-informed Saudi source said the reality on the ground offered a very different picture.
"The situation has radically changed in the Gulf, and especially between the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] and Iran. Iran is, at best, a second-grade power and slowly slipping into a third-grade power," said the source, who requested anonymity.
He added, "Saudi Arabia is more than ready at present to directly deal with the Iranians in many different ways, and this is what has got them so nervous.
metimes has more....
France denies Chirac urged Israeli attack against Syria
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 18:37
France vehemently denied on Monday press reports that President Jacques Chirac had encouraged Israel to attack and destabilize Syria during the Israeli-Lebanese war last July and August.
Asked to confirm information that was published regarding the above assertions in the Israeli newspaper "Maariv," the French Foreign Ministry dismissed the reports out of hand.
"We categorically deny this information which is devoid of all foundation," Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Denis Simmoneau said at a briefing.
U.S. and Israel Disagree on Palestinian Contacts
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 18:36
via New York Times : U.S. and Israel Disagree on Palestinian Contacts
ISABEL KERSHNER notes :
"The first fractures surfaced Sunday in the Israeli and American approaches to the new Palestinian unity government, with Israel’s cabinet voting overwhelmingly to boycott it, while the United States Consulate here refused to rule out contacts with some moderate Palestinians who are now serving as ministers. The American position, while not a change in policy, added to the sense that the new unity government, officially announced Saturday after many weeks of negotiations, had created potential openings with the West, raising the possibility of a resumption of direct international aid and damaging Israeli efforts to maintain a solid boycott."
Iraqis do not trust U.S. Forces
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 18:33
via Yahoo News : Few Iraqis trust U.S. forces four years on
Claudia Parsons notes :
"Four in five Iraqis have little or no confidence in U.S.-led forces and most think their presence is making security worse, but despite that only about a third want them to leave now, a poll showed on Monday.
The poll of more than 2,000 people, commissioned by the BBC, ABC News, ARD and USA Today, indicated Iraqis have become less optimistic about the future compared to a similar survey in 2005 when respondents were generally hopeful, the BBC said.
Asked whether their lives were overall better or worse than before the invasion, 43 percent said better, 36 percent worse and the rest about the same. Expectations for how things will be in a year were much lower than in 2005, with only 35 percent expecting improvement compared to 64 percent in a 2005 survey."
The survey showed sharp geographical variations, with confidence in U.S.-led forces highest in the north, at 46 percent, and non-existent in Baghdad, where 100 percent said they had not very much or no confidence in U.S.-led forces.
Overall, 18 percent of Iraqis expressed confidence in U.S. forces and 69 percent said their presence made security worse.
The “burqini”
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 12:58
via The Arabist : The “burqini”
I’m not trying to make fun of this — people can wear what they want — but why call it burqini? A burqa is a rather extreme form of fundamentalist gear that is not found in much of the Muslim world outside of Afghanistan and, to a much less degree, India and Pakistan. Is the Taliban what they want their product to be associated with?
Incidentally, this “burqini” is now standard issue for Muslim female lifeguards in Australia.
Diplomatic boycott of Palestinian gov't eases
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 12:57
Reuters reports :
"A year-old diplomatic boycott of the Palestinian government eased on Monday when Norway's deputy foreign minister met in Gaza with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.
The meeting was the first between Haniyeh and a senior European diplomat since Western powers imposed an economic and diplomatic blockade on the Palestinian Authority in March 2006 to pressure the ruling Hamas group to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept interim peace deals.
Israeli officials played down Johansen's meetings with Haniyeh and the new Palestinian foreign minister, Ziad Abu Amr, saying economic anctions against the Hamas-led government remained in place.
An opinion poll in Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper showed 39 percent of Israelis supported talks with the new Palestinian unity government. Another 17 percent backed talks with only Fatah ministers.
Suicide attack on US Embassy convoy in Kabul
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 12:56
via Times of India
A suicide attacker drove an explosives-filled car into a US Embassy convoy in the Afghan capital on Monday, wounding some embassy staff and at least one child, officials said.
The attack on the road to the eastern city of Jalalabad was the first suicide bombing inside Kabul this year, after several deadly blasts last year blamed on Taliban insurgents.
“There was a vehicle-borne IED (improvised explosive device) that struck a US embassy convoy on Jalalabad Road,” embassy spokesman Joe Mellot said.
“There were some injuries, including one seriously injured who has been evacuated for treatment.”
Ambassador Ronald Neumann was not in the convoy.
The Israeli Cabinet approves Ehud Olmert's call to boycott
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 11:11
The Israeli Cabinet yesterday overwhelmingly approved Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's call to boycott the new Palestinian government. Shortly thereafter, the United States said it was ready to work with members of the new Palestinian government "who are not from the ruling Hamas movement".
In fact, the moves by Washington and Tel Aviv were expected. Israel has repeatedly called for the international community to uphold a boycott of the entire government until it "explicitly agrees to international demands" including recognition of the Jewish state and "renunciation of violence".
That ignores the fact that Hamas was elected in a democratic process described by the United Nations and foreign observers as fair and transparent.
Nevertheless, the first Hamas government didn't survive the international boycott and led to the starvation of the Palestinian people, the bankruptcy of the government and eventually bloody clashes between Hamas and its rival Fatah movement, led by President Mahmoud Abbas.
Hamas was forced to form a new unity government to ease the restrictions. Fatah ministers now hold powerful posts, in accordance with the Makkah agreement that ended the clashes. With that, Hamas has done its part of the deal. It is now upon the Arab League and the UN to lift the restrictions imposed on the Palestinian government last year.
Few expect Israel to make life easy for the Esmail Haniya government as long as Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. But it will be painfully surprising to see Arab and European governments follow the Israeli-American line.
The Palestinians look forward to this month's Arab summit in Saudi Arabia for a strong and unambiguous statement of support. It is the only way to bring Hamas into the peace efforts.
The world, particularly the US, must know that by continuing to isolate Hamas, they are only empowering the radical elements within the movement.
via Gulf News
The Arab Mindset And The Conspiracy Theory
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 10:53
For any person concerned with the world of ideas, particularly as they relate to the social sciences and the dynamics and distinctive systems of ideas governing different societies, some issues acquire greater resonance than others. An issue that has been at the forefront of my concerns for some years now is the prevalence in Arab societies in general, including Egypt, of the conspiracy theory. As far as many millions of Egyptians and Arabs are concerned, the following propositions have become virtual articles of faith:
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The blueprint for our recent history and present reality was drawn up by the great powers, and what we are now living through is the product of their machinations.
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The powers responsible for this grand design were Britain and France in the past and the United States, aided and abetted by its protégé, Israel, in the recent past and the present.
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The plans were prepared in great detail by those powers, leaving little room for manoeuvre to those at the receiving end, including ourselves, who had no choice but to follow the course charted for them.
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Accordingly, we bear very little responsibility for what happened in the past, what is happening in the present, indeed, according to some, for what will happen in the future, all of which is the predetermined result of a grand design it is beyond our power to change.
When the element of Israel is added to this theoretical buildup, the picture becomes even more inflammatory and provocative.
heggy.org has more...
If Elected, Hillary Clinton Vows to Keep US Troops In Iraq
munaeem | 19 March, 2007 08:35
In a calculated bid to position herself for the 2008 Democratic nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton told the New York Times Wednesday that, if elected president, she would keep significant US military forces in Iraq for the foreseeable future. Based on a half-hour interview with the New York Senator and putative front-runner in the Democratic presidential contest, the Times reported that Clinton “articulated a more nuanced position than the one she has provided at her campaign events, where she has backed the goal of ‘bringing the troops home.’”
Clinton told the newspaper that there are “‘remaining vital national security interests in Iraq’ that would require a continuing deployment of American troops.”
The US troops, according to Clinton’s plan, would be used to “fight Al Qaeda, deter Iranian aggression, protect the Kurds and possibly support the Iraqi military.”
Indeed, as the Times notes, Clinton’s proposal closely resembles the position taken by Dov Zakheim, the Pentagon’s comptroller under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He estimated that such a “limiting” of missions would reduce the number of troops required to 75,000.
