What was the most significant event that transpired last week in the Middle East?
By any chance, was your initial thought: The announcement by the Jerusalem district planning commission to approve the construction of 1,600 housing units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of East Jerusalem during U.S. Vice President Biden's visit to Israel? Sorry, but it's already a non-event, notwithstanding Ambassador Mike Oren's characterization of the occurrence as the biggest U.S./Israel crisis in the past 35 years. Had it not been for: 1) Netanyahu's failure to nip the problem in the bud (he obviously didn't take Leadership 101, see: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/search/label/leadership) and, 2) the decision of the boys from Chicago to milk this "crisis" for all it's worth in order to ring concessions from the Israelis, this non-event would have been yesterday's news. PR man Axelrod, however, sees Ramat Shlomo as an opportunity to squeeze the Israelis into being more amenable to Palestinian demands, but what Axelrod and friends still don't understand is that no matter what Israel is willing to concede, the graft-ridden Palestinian Authority is not ready to acknowledge Israel's right to exist.
What else happened last week? On Saturday night, Walid Jumblatt, Lebanese Druze leader and head of the Progressive Socialist party, issued a formal apology to Syrian President Bashar Assad for past criticism of Bashar. Walid Jumblatt, whose father, Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt, was murdered by the Syrians in 1977 upon orders of Bashar's father, Hafez al-Assad, and who for many years had been allied with Western-leaning politicians in Lebanon, is now suing for peace with the tyrannical Syrian regime:
"One of Syria’s harshest critics in Lebanon in the past, Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblatt said Saturday his criticism of Syrian President Bashar Assad was 'improper' as he called for a new page in relations between the two countries.
Jumblatt’s harshest verbal attack against Assad came on February 14, 2007, in a speech marking former Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination, calling the Syrian leader a 'snake' and a 'tyrant' and demanding revenge against him.
'These comments were improper, unfamiliar and unsuited to political ethics,' Jumblatt said in a live interview with Al-Jazeera satellite channel late Saturday.
. . . .
Jumblatt was a major figure of the March 14 alliance that led massive street protests to demand the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon following Hariri’s assassination.
The Syrians pulled their army out of Lebanon in April 2005 ending nearly three decades of domination of their smaller neighbor. After the 2005 break with Damascus, Jumblatt became a staunch critic of Syria in Lebanon, calling for the overthrow of Assad’s regime and blaming Syria for the 1977 killing of his father."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=112734
Jumblatt's overtures to Syria come on the heels of the December 2009 visit to Syria of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, whose father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was assassinated in 2005 upon orders of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Following Obama's recent overtures to Damascus by way of appointment of a new ambassador to Syria, a post left vacant for five years following Rafik Hariri's assassination, both Saad Hariri and pragmatist Jumblatt now feel they have no choice other than to bow to a monster no longer to be kept in check by the U.S.
So what was the most significant piece of Middle East news last week? Yes, you're right, Jumblatt's apology to Assad, and indeed, you know more about the Middle East than Obama. What? I cheated and handed you the answer? I have news for you (something else that Obama and friends have yet to discover): As you should now know from the above, no one plays fair in the Middle East.
More patented, JG Caesarea, Middle East IQ Test questions to follow in the future.
Then my answer will be wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think, this 45 minutes hysterical call by Hillary is getting pretty important. I just watched CNN. They allow only very angry comments about Israel. The tone of the fragment is like US is preparing for a war with Israel. CNN promise that more will follow, and Hillary will call Netanyahu again this week. It is getting pretty nasty. Obama painted himself in the corner. He can not just swallow it. It seems, he is going to punish Israel some-how, just to save face. It is interesting that, by the recent Gallup poll, Israel is more popular in USA than ever, despite Obama's bias.
It's all about changing allegiances I guess. Iran and it's henchmen's stock is up in the Middle East. Israel's stock is swiftly depreciating to junk bond status. It probably should have taken more drastic steps to stop Iran's nuclear drive, but that opportunity (if it ever existed) came and went with the Obama administration. Jumblatt is a surviver and knows what's good for him. It's not as if Israel came to his rescue when Hizbullah cracked down on the Druze in may 2008. Now with Obama he understands he's alone. If you want allies you need to support them. Obama's siding with middle eastern radicals is not gaining him any allies though. It's beyond me why the Americans ever voted this ridiculous man in power.
ReplyDeleteChris:
ReplyDeleteSorry. I will not do it again!
The world turns against Israel pretty fast. It seems, American support was very important. However, I am still optimistic. More and more Americans consider Obama as impostor. It can help israel.
Marina: I agree. It's actually scary the way in which the world is turning on Israel. lately I notice that even formerly pro Israel newspapers are taking the easy route condemning Israel rather than bother to peel the onion beyond the first layer and expose how things are rarely as Israel's detractors present them. It's about post modern societies loosing their moral compass I suppose.Israel must seem really weak and isolated to the forces of hate in the region. That alone adds to the chances of an all out conflict. Still, from my world view I don't believe it will all be over one day soon for Israel but it's certainly in for a rough ride.
ReplyDeleteChris:
ReplyDeleteI do not think postmodernism is related with anti-Semitism, but collectivist ideology, including socialism, does. European collectivists (socialists, communists, fascists) often hate Jews. They (Marx and Hitler, for example) say - they do not like Jewish skepticism and pragmatism, lack of willingness for self-sacrifice. Anti-Semitism may be just a facet of the conflict between individualism and collectivism, where socialists and Muslims are on the side of collectivism.
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ReplyDelete