Obama and the Middle East

Seen on: The Economist

A new approach to the Middle East is necessary, says Dr Claire Spencer of Chatham House. But first, Barack Obama must lower expectations.

The Most-Wanted List

On Feb. 13, Imad Mughniyeh, of Hizbollah, was assassinated in Damascus. "The world is a better place without this man in it," State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said: "one way or the other he was brought to justice."

Joy was unconstrained in Israel too, as "one of the U.S. and Israel's most wanted men" was brought to justice, the London Financial Times reported.

Under the heading, "A militant wanted the world over," an accompanying story reported that he was "superseded on the most-wanted list by Osama bin Laden" after 9/11 and so ranked only second among "the most wanted."

The terminology is accurate enough, according to the rules of Anglo-American discourse, which defines "the world" as the political class in Washington and London (and whoever happens to agree with them on specific matters).

Following the Terror Trail
In the present case, if "the world" were extended to the world, we might find some other candidates for the honor of most hated arch-criminal.

The Financial Times reports that most of the charges against Moughniyeh are unsubstantiated, but "one of the very few times when his involvement can be ascertained with certainty [is in] the hijacking of a TWA plane in 1985."

Car Bomb
the 1985 Tunis bombing was a severe terrorist crime, or the crime for which Moughniyeh's "involvement can be ascertained with certainty". But even the Tunis bombing had competitors for the prize for worst terrorist atrocity.

One challenger was a car-bombing in Beirut right outside a mosque, timed to go off as worshippers were leaving Friday prayers. It killed 80 people and wounded 256. Most of the dead were girls and women, who had been leaving the mosque, though the ferocity of the blast "burned babies in their beds," and "blew away three children as they walked home from the mosque."

The intended target had been the Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, who escaped. The bombing was carried out by Reagan's CIA and his Saudi allies, with Britain's help, and was specifically authorized by CIA Director William Casey, according to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward's account in his book Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987.

Killing without Intent
Another allegation is that Moughniyeh "masterminded" the bombing of Israel's embassy in Buenos Aires on March 17, 1992, killing 29 people, in response to Israel's "assassination of former Hizbollah leader Abbas Al-Mussawi in an air attack in southern Lebanon." Israel proudly took credit for it.

The world might have some interest in the rest of the story. Al-Mussawi was murdered with a U.S.-supplied helicopter, well north of Israel's illegal "security zone" in southern Lebanon. He was on his way to Sidon from the village of Jibshit, where he had spoken at the memorial for another Imam murdered by Israeli forces. The helicopter attack also killed his wife and five-year old child.

This is only a small sample of facts that the world might find of interest in connection with the alleged responsibility of Moughniyeh for the retaliatory terrorist act in Buenos Aires. The more vulgar apologists for U.S. and Israeli crimes solemnly explain that, while Arabs purposely kill people, the U.S. and Israel, being democratic societies, do not intend to do so.

"Terrorist Villagers"
A third competitor for the Mideast terrorism prize was Prime Minister Peres' "Iron Fist" operations in southern Lebanese territories then occupied by Israel. The targets were what the Israeli high command called "terrorist villagers."

Peres's crimes in this case sank to new depths of "calculated brutality and arbitrary murder" in the words of a Western diplomat familiar with the area, an assessment amply supported by direct coverage.

To repeat once again, we can distinguish three categories of crimes: murder with intent, accidental killing, and murder with foreknowledge but without specific intent. Israeli and U.S. atrocities typically fall into the third category.

Thus, when Israel destroys Gaza's power supply or sets up barriers to travel in the West Bank, it does not specifically intend to murder the particular people who will die from polluted water or in ambulances that cannot reach hospitals.

If, for a moment, we can adopt the perspective of the world, we might ask which criminals are "wanted the world over."

Adapted via Chomsky.info

In Time: Iraqi scuds hit Israel

1991: Iraqi Scud missiles hit Israel
Iraq has attacked two Israeli cities with Scud-missiles, prompting fears that Israel may be drawn into the Gulf-War.

Israel's largest city, Tel-Aviv, and Haifa, its main seaport, were hit in the attacks, which began at 0300 local time, when most residents were asleep.

In-Context
Iraq fired Scud missiles at Israeli cities again the next day and throughout the Gulf War, but failed to provoke Israel into unilateral retaliation.

After more than a month of intensive air attacks, the Allies launched a land offensive on 24 February. One day later, the Iraqis began retreating.

Via BBC

Ahmadinejad Scorns US & Israel

Iranian President Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad has accused US President George Bush of "sowing the seeds of division" during his recent Middle-East visit.

"The Zionist entity is not lacking new weapons in its arsenal, but I believe it will not save it from its doomed collapse," - Ahmadinejad

Mr Ahmadinejad said Mr Bush had brought a "message of confrontation" during his tour, during which he warned Arab allies that Iran posed a threat.

Israel says Tehran could have a nuclear bomb by 2010 and has warned an Iranian nuclear weapon would threaten its existence.

George-Bush Online

President George W. Bush is to answer-questions submitted through the official White House Website about his week-long trip to the Middle-East.

Via AFP

The Truth About Iran

Re > “Bush Urges Unity Against Iran”

President-Bush continues to beat a dead horse in his attempts to persuade the Arab world to take a hostile stance against Iran. The Arab states of the Gulf region are deeply tied to Iran by historical ethnic and economic ties.

The United Arab Emirates alone are the repository for hundreds of millions of dollars (and euros) of Iranian investment. Powerful bilingual trading families span the Gulf, with members in both Iran and Arab states.

The idea that a little jawboning by a United States president could change centuries-old patterns is patently absurd.

The United States would do well to first understand the culture of the regions in which it hopes to hold sway, and then work with the existing cultural-patterns, rather than trying to turn-nations against those with whom they have longstanding interdependent relations.

William O. Beeman

Minneapolis, Jan. 14, 2008

Chairman of the department of anthropology at the University of Minnesota.

Via NYT

Sarkozy & the Saudis

The big-news is that Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni may be married now.

The second-biggest news is that, Nicolas-Sarkozy arrived in Saudi Arabia, one day before George-Bush himself arrived there.

“France wants to be Arabia’s friend, she wants to be the friend of the Arab world, a friend that does not preach-lessons, but that tells the truth.”

For the French president, “here in Saudi-Arabia the relationship of Islam to modernity is being tested.” This is why “France does not want to be just a strategic economic partner, but also a political partner for Saudi Arabia.”

Sakozy's remarks, Via Le Figaro
Post via The Brussels Journal

Estimating 'Iran'

Seen on: YouTube

Is the Bush-Administration planning to manipulate the estimate for Iran?

What-Happened in the Persian-Gulf?

Doubts have intensified over the nature of an alleged aggressive confrontation by Iranian patrol boats and American warships in the Persian-Gulf.

The Persian Gulf was the focus of the Iraq-Iran War that lasted from 1980 - 88.

It has similarities with the incident in 88, when in the same Strait of Hormuz, the USS Vincennes shot-down an Iranian civilian-airliner.

Iranian version
The Iranians have issued their own video, in which one of their sailors, in a much higher and quite different voice from the one which issued the "warning", asks the US ships who they are and what course they are on.

He gets a dusty reply that the US vessels are in international waters.

Beyond the propaganda
Tensions between Iran and the US have diminished recently following the US National Intelligence Estimate that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.

There are still serious points of potential-conflict between the two, with Iran always determined to exert its influence in the region.

Via BBC/Guardian-Unlimited

Q & A: President-Bush

Q: Mr. President George Bush — you launched war against Iraq after the Iraqi leadership refused to implement UN resolutions.

My question now is, what is the problem to ask Israel just to accept and respect the United-Nations resolutions relating to Palestine?

Bush: Yes, but tell me the-part about the U.N. thing again?

> Read full-text from IHT

Has Olmert's time come?

King Solomon, the wisest man in the world, said that there is a time and a season for everything.

Yesterday, the Olmert-Barak-Livni government announced that it is going to begin-negotiations on the 'core-issues' with 'moderate' Mahmoud-Abbas.

Via Israel Matzav

Bush lands in search for peace

President-Bush opened his first presidential trip to Israel, seeking to build momentum for stalled Mid-east peace talks.

"We see a new opportunity for peace here in the holy land and for freedom across the region," Bush said at Ben-Gurion International Airport just before noon.

> Extensive coverage of George Bush's visit in Israel

Via AP

War on Terror

Seen on: YouTube

America and the War on Terror, what Bush did to get your mind of the War.

Related Link : War on Terror Widget

43 Years of Fatah

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that he was ready to "open a new-page" with Hamas if the Islamist movement gave up its control of the Gaza-Strip.

"I call on those who carried out the putsch... to open a new page," Abbas told Fatah officials gathered to mark 43 years since the secular party first declared itself an armed Palestinian resistance movement. Abbas also said that before talks could start Hamas needed to accept international resolutions and the 'Arab Peace Initiative', which calls for normalisation of relations between Arab states and Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from occupied Arab land.

Via AFP