Libya and the higher bilge (2)

It sounds like Peretz' point is that Israel is not the reason that the region is exploding. It's not even exploding over Arab governments' relationships or lack thereof with Israel. Israel is completely unrelated to the current blowup in the Middle East.

And it's true - this time. That does not mean that issues related to Israel are irrelevant to trying to create a peaceful future for the Middle East.

"It behooves both the Jews and the Arabs to settle their differences in a Christian manner!"

- The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

I'm conflicted.

I like the analysis in all these posts about Egypt and the Arab uprisings, but.........

"Lexington"?

@Henry Bemis

Too much foreign policy? Well, it was the shot heard round the world. But - point taken. I'm thinking of Lexing on California next week.

Here are the mixed messages coming from the latest UN Meeting...

- Israel remains committed to regional peace with all its neighbours, including the Palestinians and the only way to peace is through negotiations, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Office said overnight Friday after the US vetoed Palestinian resolution calling for condemnation of settlements

- The US stood alone among the 15 members of the Security Council in failing to condemn the resumption of settlement building. The 14 member countries backing the Arab-drafted resolution included Britain and France. Susan Rice said Washington's view was that the Israeli settlements lacked legitimacy, but added: "Unfortunately, this draft resolution risks hardening the positions of both sides and could encourage the parties to stay out of negotiations."

-The Palestinian observer at the UN, Riyadh Mansour, said the veto was unfortunate. "We fear that the message sent today may be one that only encourages further Israeli intransigence and impunity," he said.

I believe a truly independent and divinely mandated negotiator is required to preside over the goings on in Jerusalem. Righteous leadership is required during times of political, economic and social flux. People seek sanctuary in good leadership.

What is the circuit breaker ?

A regional conference should be called in Jerusalem. May 16th is the target date that many parties are aware of. As Napoleon said “Strategy is the art of using time and space well.” As prophesied, the centre of gravity is shifting to the Middle East and no matter what anyone does the momentum will only increase in the coming days and weeks. The various protests are a result of the status quo inhibiting young people’s ambitions. Managing from an ivory tower is never as good as actually engaging. A meeting in Jerusalem with various representatives from Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt with other nations present should be called. A peace treaty could be negotiated. Various GDP's in the region...Israel US$292.7 billion; Jordan $31.01 B; Syria $96.53 B; Lebanon $53.81 B; Gaza $4 B; Saudi Arabia $600.4 B; Egypt $452.5 Billion. The total GDP of these eight areas is approx. $1.5 Trillion. This can increase by at least 5% per annum over the coming years if trust and co-operation increases. Israel’s GDP grew by 5.2% last year. Peacemaking like business is a dynamic process. Stasis and stagnation is dangerous. The vacuum of true vision and leadership needs to be filled. Confusion often precedes understanding.

Thanks Lexington! I do enjoy your insights, so please continue with some foreign policy mixed in with the rest of the political craziness generated here in the states.

Peretz is a fool of long standing, and is best ignored. Surprize us next time.

Britons are cute. "Rot."
Peretz has been suffering from a bad case of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativity_bias for the past 4 years at least. Not too unusual in libertarian conservatives (! myself included - the waste becomes unbearable after a point !). Its not surprising that he sees The Economist & Moussa in light of one qualified complement that he probably read. I wouldn't worry so much about it.

Is the concept that maybe Arabs are pissed off about more than 1 thing THAT hard for Peretz to contemplate?
He's saying, "LOOK, Arabs are very unhappy about the dictators that rule over them. By the principle of, 'you can only be upset about one thing at a time,' Israel must not be a source of anger or discontent!"

Everybody in the Middle East benefits from an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Terrorism in Israel is like a fire - a peace deal would suck out the oxygen, leading to its gradual death as Palestinians focus on building a state. Check out Iraq - after a few elections in which votes were actually counted and power was given to those who won, the focus shifted from shooting to political wheeling and dealing. Palestinians need a state, and Israel could really use friendly diplomatic and trade ties with its neighbors.

You are both right and both wrong. Peretz is correct in saying that Israel wasn't the cause of all the region's woes and that it has been used to justify domestic oppression. That's obvious. Remember the first Gulf War when Saddam sent missiles at Israel to try to draw away our Arab allies. If you look, Yemen's President is blaming Israel for unrest there just as Qaddafi has alternated between blaming Al-Qaida and Israel (and the US). He's right about that but only diplomats pretended any of that kind of talk was true.

He's wrong about a peace process or about peace itself.

I think we're actually going to have a deal of sorts in the near future because the PA - meaning some people in Fatah really - have pushed the idea of recognizing Palestine with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as capital. The unsaid thing in there is people. There is simply no way that non-Muslim nations - outside of Venezuela and a couple others - will truly recognize Palestine without handling the people issue. By that, I mean what Western nations call "Israel's right to exist" and which the Palestinians call a "right of return." To be blunt, if Western nations actually recognize Palestine, there won't be a right of return ... and I think Fatah knows that and that they have set this course because they know this is the best thing to do for their people if you don't want to pursue a war of extermination.

I've been wrong probably 50 times predicting some movement by the Palestinians on the key issue. The closest they came was at Taba with Bill Clinton where they contemplated a deal but then couldn't. The only reason this time might be different is that international recognition could be imposed and that would mean the Palestinian people - meaning all those people confined in Lebanon and Syria for over 60 years or people controlled by Hamas - wouldn't be voting on a deal. There is absolutely no chance that these people would ever vote for a deal that doesn't destroy Israel. None.

Excerpt Yasmine Saleh:
CAIRO, March 9 (Reuters) – Thirteen people were killed in violence between Egyptian Christians and Muslims, the health ministry said on Wednesday, as sectarian tensions that appeared to evaporate in the country’s revolution resurfaced.
The health ministry said 140 people were wounded, state media reported.
The violence in Cairo on Tuesday night was the worst outbreak of sectarian strife since President Hosni Mubarak was swept from power on Feb. 11 by a mass uprising characterised by solidarity between Christians and Muslims.
It was not immediately clear how many of the dead were Christian or Muslim. The violence erupted following a protest by Christians over an arson attack on a church in Helwan south of Cairo.

Where did all the cheap talk about freedom and unity against a tyrant go? Is this what Lexington referred to as something better for the Egyptians?