Blogging the democratic revolution
As the Bush administration moves towards disengagement in the Middle East from those regarded as extremist — including Syria, Iran, Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias in Iraq, Hamas in Palestine, and Hezbollah in Lebanon — the result has been a vacuum of power left from the absence of traditional diplomatic channels. In the post Cold War era, this meant typically working with, and in the least, involving the United States. But in recent months as American policy becomes more rigid and inflexible, Middle Eastern diplomatic channels have rerouted outside of Washington and back into the Middle East proper. In this…
PostGlobal hosted by the Washington Post poses a question for its readers that I think many here would find interesting to discuss: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has said bread is more important than democracy, and he may be preparing to try to dissolve the Hamas-led Palestinian parliment. Does a leader have a right to bypass democratic institutions to ensure his people are fed and secure? What we see now in the Palestinian Territories has been long coming ever since Hamas won the parliamentary election last year. Every attempt has been made — from cutting off funding to airstrikes to internal…
There may be an Arabo-Iranian Cold War brewing, if the Arabs make themselves relevant again As the Arabs furiously try to guilt Syria into curbing Hezb Allah????????s activities and ???????rejoining??????? the Arab world, one cannot help but see an almost laughable, but certainly pathetic, last ditch attempt at salvaging what influence the Sunni Arab states have in the Middle East. Ever since the American invasion of Iraq, the strong men of the Sunni Arab world have become less and less relevant in a region that has become increasingly polarized on various fronts. On the one hand, with the liberation of…
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has declared the latest attack by terrorist group Hezbollah an act of war. Israel has confirmed that two IDF soldiers were kidnapped, and they are currently searching for them in Lebanon. You can buy the IDF some pizza and soda, although it would seem to me far more useful if one could buy the IDF some bullets. You can also make a donation for a variety of uses to the IDF through LIBI.
Two weeks of all out assault on the Hamas government has led to the group on its knees pleading for peace. Interior Ministry offices were blown to bits, members of parliament were arrested, entire parts of Gaza were temporarily reoccupied, and and Prime Minister Haniya was hiding for his life. A declaration of ceasefire should be no surprise. Hamas has been rendered completely incapable of governing, brought to the realization that it cannot exist unless Israel recognizes it, and not the other way around. It should also not come as a surprise that Israel has declined such a generous offer.…
On Wednesday, Hamas and Fatah signed on to what is called the prisoner’s document, which included an “implicit” recognition of Israel’s right to exist. Yet no more than two days earlier did militants linked to the former kidnap a soldier serving in the Israeli Defense Forces, Corporal Gilad Shalit. The result? All out war on the Hamas government. In the past few days alone, Israel has launched a major incursion into the Gaza Strip, performing airstrikes and raids on militant targets. Several dozens Hamas MPs have been arrested and will stand trial. Missiles were fired at the Interior Ministry. Furthermore,…
In all the societies of the Arab world in which there has been a serious push for democratic reform, success has been mixed, but in none of them has it turned out so disastrously as in Palestine. Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza last summer and the Palestinian elections earlier this year brought to power the Islamist terrorist movement Hamas, and result which was greeted with wide dismay in the free world. What was less noted was that the favored Fatah, the secular nationalist party of the late Yasser Arafat, is also terrorist. It has maintained its own terrorist wing, the…
A quote from Michael Totten’s latest dispatch from Ramallah: ???????What do you think about the prospects for peace now that Hamas won???????? I said. ???????The Israelis have an opportunity,??????? he said. ???????A piece of the puzzle was missing before. Permanent peace must have the signature of the Islamists. Now the Israelis can get it.??????? The Israelis can get it if the Islamists will give it, and if they will give it sincerely. That doesn????????t look even remotely likely any time soon. I asked Yossi Klein Halevi if it was even possible to be optimistic under the circumstances. He said ???????I????????m…
I have previously remarked on Algeria????????s growing ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and President Bouteflika????????s fiery rhetoric towards France on the issue of colonial apologetics. Both of these issues is contrary to Algeria????????s national interest, though on different scales. The first is an issue of independence in foreign policy, which has been a hallmark of Algerian foreign policy since independence. That is, how to balance relationships with international heavy hitters, be they First, Second, or Third World nations, while still maintaining flexibility on the world stage. Today this issue is similar to Algeria????????s domestic politics; will Algeria side…
The sweeping victory of Hamas in the Palestinian parliamentary election has the Bush administration and foreign policy experts on their toes. Isn????????t democracy supposed to be what frees the entire region from tyranny? That????????s how the meme goes. Yet fairer elections in Egypt gave one quarter of the seats to the Muslim Brotherhood, and now Hamas rules the territories. If we define democracy on these terms alone, then what we have on our hands is a political census that shows the possibility of many countries electing Islamic extremists to power. I seriously doubt the world wants to handle more than…
The BBC Radio ran an interview with Natan Sharansky on its “Taking A Stand” program. There’s no transcript of the interview, so you’ll just have to listen to the report. He talks about his time in the Soviet gulag, his release, his career in Israeli politics, and most interestingly his take on Hamas’ victory in the Palestinian elections. His position is that though the election obviously represented the true choice of the Palestinian people, it is not good for democracy. His book, The Case For Democracy, focuses extensively on the issue of promoting democracy in the Palestinian territories. He says…
The Washington Post published an editorial over the weekend entitled, “U.S. Policy Seen as Big Loser in Palestinian Vote” that is well worth a read for anyone who wants to know exactly what it’s like to be completely oblivious to what democracy actually is and the institutions that are needed to sustain it. Staff writer Glenn Kassler attempts to critique Bush administration policy toward the Palestinians, in which there are probably many. But it ultimately turns into a condemnation of America’s policy of trying to spread democracy in the Middle East and becomes a declaration that the Palestinians, Egyptians, Iranians,…
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei’ and his cabinet (most of which are Fatah) announced their resignation following the January 25th elections. With a voter turnout of 77% preliminary results show Hamas with a substantial victory, taking 76 of the 132 seats, and proving that pollsters were clearly off in their predictions which favored a Fatah majority. According to the Israeli online news site Ynet, Hamas leader Mahmoud A-Zahhar continues to say that they will not change their call for the destruction of Israel. He also said, “The issue of weapons is related to the occupation. We will not receive dictations…
OK, so Hamas won the Palestinian election. Probably better to deal with straight-up terrorists than with terrorists who are widely considered to be peace-seeking politicians. Although, I suppose, certain members of the press corps will continue to endorse the AK-toting “activists.” We all know how bad the education system is — my theory is that most journalists just don’t know how to spell “atavists.”
Note: I have been posting articles from my friend Richard Chesnoff on Bloggledygook. His latest is on the Palestinian elections. It is reproduced here in total. Chesnoff is a former correspondent for Newsweek. He currently writes for the New York Daily News and US News & World Report. He lives in New York and France. THE HAMAS GAME by Richard Z. Chesnoff, NY Daily News, 1/25/05 Final results of yesterday????????s Palestinian legislative elections are still trickling in. But one thing is sure: Yasser Arafat????????s chickens have come home to roost. After decades of dictatorial and corrupt control by the late…
The first-ever participation of Hamas in the Palestinian elections on Wednesday poses significant policy challenges to the United States, Europe, Israel and the region. Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel and is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the E.U. A Hamas victory could lead to the creation of the first Sunni jihadist state in the modern Middle East, paralleling the Shiite theocracy in Tehran. Hamas is a local offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, a regional extremist network that threatens Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. While Hezbollah represents only one sect in Lebanon, Hamas threatens to overwhelm…
While Canadians voted in a new Conservative leader today, the Palestinians are holding their first election since 1996 which many believe is key in the Palestinian push for statehood. Hamas candidates have entered the race and their popularity makes them running a close second to Fatah. While campaigning, Hamas says a truce could be on the table, yet in one ad which was rebroadcast by CNN, Hamas shows footage of militants and states: “We will not rest as long as one inch of our holy land is in the hands of the Jews. Our flags will fly over the minarets…
I just spat my drink out through my nose, or would have if I’d been drinking, when I came across this subtitle at Reason: Palestine, not Iraq, is the best shot at an Arab democracy. I suppose in part that’s because I was recently planning on using the same comparison to make the point that externally imposing democracy is more likely to succeed than, well, anything at all in Palestine. After running through the usual pie in the sky hopes naive liberals commonly hold of a peaceful Palestinian people laying down their arms and taking up democratic politics, or at…
Amid the heaviest fighting since the intifada, the Palestinian government of PM Qureia is coming under ÄfigurativeÅ fire for its inability to deal with parallel military authorities like Hamas. Policeman stormed the parliament building to protest the government’s inability to equip and train them properly to deal with the problem, while legislators themselves voted that Qureia should be replaced within two weeks if this doesn’t happen soon. About 40 Palestinian policemen broke into the Palestinian parliament building in Gaza City on Monday, firing in the air to protest what they said was the humiliation police are facing because of attacks…
Israel began its “disengagement” from the Gaza Strip five weeks ago, essentially removing all Jewish settlers within a week, although the withdrawal of the IDF from all Palestinian areas was not completed for a few weeks afterward. Prior to the withdrawal, there were some, including myself, who argued that withdrawing from Gaza without an agreement with the Palestinian Authority to disarm terrorist groups – especially Hamas – would lead to not only more attacks on Israel, but increased internecine Palestinian strife, possibly even the implosion of the PA itself, requiring a bloody reoccupation by the Israeli military. (If it helps…
A reader named “Cynic” made a response to my post, The Atlantic Monthly on Yasir Arafat, which raised both a valid factual point and an argument that needs to be rebutted, to explain why it is wrong. Cynic wrote: What is known and not discussed is that the State Department went along with the Arab League and the EU, in the 80s, and ???????elected???????? Arafat, and his PLO, as sole representative of the Palestinians. Now had this not come about, how many lives could have been spared? Imagine if the the families of the dead and the maimed could take…
An exceptional example of good journalism, the current issue of the Atlantic Monthly has a front cover article on Yasir Arafat, “In a Ruined Country: How Yasir Arafat Destroyed Palestine.” It is very detailed, and I think it would be especially enlightening to those who haven’t followed Arafat closely over the years, but even if you have it is worth reading. Written by David Samuels, it is based not simply on documentary records but on a series of interviews with old Arafat companions following his death. This is what makes it entertaining. You can’t read it online without a subscription,…
Now, let’s be all dramatic like most of the headlines which say, “Middle East Ceasefire Shattered.” Because honestly, the truce was a big lie anyway. Now the possibility exists that the Palestinian government will have to succumb to more terrorist leadership or kill it outright. Policeman of the PA and Hamas terrorists are fighting now in Gaza as Abbas has declared a state of emergency. The fighting began when the government confronted Hamas after it attacked Israel. The Palestinian Authority declared a state of emergency in the Gaza Strip last night, hours after an Israeli woman was killed when a…
Reality Check Time on the Israeli/Palestinian Front – Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, now scheduled for next month, is leading the Israeli-Palestinian peace process – if such a thing exists – toward disaster. Ironically, the withdrawal, known in Israel as the “Disengagement Plan,” has wide support everywhere in the world outside Gaza itself – from most Israelis, from other Arab governments, especially Egypt, which is helping in the implementation, from the European Union, the United Nations and from the United States. I originally supported it myself, but it has become clear to me that this will lead to a…
Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Abbas offered Hamas to take part in the government cabinet so that a stable situation can be built post-Israeli pullout. At least that’s the reason he gives. In any case, it didn’t take much brain power to know that they’d refuse this offer. Palestinian mujahid group Hamas rebuffed an invitation to join the Palestinian cabinet, snubbing President Mahmoud Abbas who wants a unity government to help him control Gaza after Israel’s planned pullout. Hamas spokesman Mushir al – Masri said that Forming a unity government at this late time will not be useful. But…