7 Comments

Namesake: you are clearly on to something–it is genuinely difficult to come to grips with the ossification of the department of state–FSO1s have the equivalent rank of four star general in the military service–in fact, that estimable Ambassador, Joseph Wilson, I believe held that rank–to make matters worse, the Dept of State has its own “intelligence service” (NOT necessiarily an oxymoron)–It’s called the Department of Intelligence and Research (INR)–

The assembled suits of the DOS pass cables around (now, probably email) pontificate, and are basically out of control–these idiots also are the arabists of the State department who continue to tilt to the Arabs over the state of Israel–Perhaps its the oil thing; perhaps its the idiocy of the Foreign Service–Whatever the case, trust NOT the foreign service. I hope that Secretary Rice continues to shovel out the augean stables that are the department of state.

What article was it where it said they marched to and screamed outside of Abbas’s office telling him and the rest of the Tunis Gang that they should resign and leave that they do not believe in or trust him or any of his corrupt Tunis (Mafia) cohorts.

This is what Khaled Abu Toameh has been saying for years. The Tunis gang must go for starters and the people can not stand them.

Wow I am sick of listening to Bush speak. His and Rove’s attempt to sound like a full of shit Clinton speech, which he mastered is nauseating.

He proposed a 20% increase in funding for cleaner and alternative energy.
Since we spend close to nothing now that after his big long into about our dependence etc.. etc.. blah blah blah that is FING NOTHING!
Anyone else catch that too?

Mike

Give him a chance, Mike – at least he has started to bring up the subject. As steadfast as Bush has been in the WOT, he has had to do a lot of work to overcome his oilman roots. Don’t forget that his father’s right-hand man in foreign policy was Jim “Fuck the Jews” Baker, who sucked up to Saddam almost until the day he invaded Kuwait.

Roger,

The Hamas victory in the election may well be the BEST possible outcome. The Palestinians have been able to live at a comfortable distance from that which they claim to desire, control over themselves.

Now, they have voted for themselves a government that will impose the Sharia. The exercise of the Sharia over their lives will provide some rude shocks, just as it has in Iran.

Recall, it was not long ago that some cities in Iraq were ‘favored’ with their own local Sharia governments. In the end, after the murders and oppression they thought they’d been relieved of under Saddam, they simply found themselves under a new management with the same methods.

When the very first bomb that targeted Iraqis was reported, I said to myself, “We’ve won!”.
Indeed, it was not until the Iraqis, themselves, became targets of the ‘resistance’ that they began to realize the type of people the US and its allies had come to Iraq to battle. Lately, even the Sunnis have come to realize the nature of the fundamentalists that they invited to the hearth.

It won’t be pretty and a lot of folks are going to die in the course of this learning process, but, the Palestinians will come face to face with the dark side of Hamas. Like the Sunnis, the Palestinians will not like what they see. Then, perhaps, there will exist the possibilty for peace.

“The State Department Mind in its withering conventionality thinks because something has been done the same way (badly) for decades it must be right.”

Isn’t there a quote by some famous person about doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result?

Hamas will most likely feel pressured to adopt the language of international diplomacy – that’s if they want to be in a position to make any substantive progress. If they don’t do this, they will become ever more insular and will likely fall back on some of the hardline positions of the past.

We might conceivably see the emergence of Netanyahu as Israeli leader at some point down the road, and given his tendency to take a hard line approach we may be looking at the potential for serious confrontation.

The name “Hamas” is itself quite revealing – it is actually an Arabic acronymn meaning “zeal”. The revolutionary spirit is what has characterized this organization, and such an attitude doesn’t lend itself easily to the types of brokering and compromises required when dealing with Israel. Even Arafat (who many in Israel viewed as a monster) was considered soft and too compliant by some in the Hamas leadership.

The deep seated hatred of Israel is coupled with virulent anti-Jewish attitudes. Many in the organization buy into the most base types of caricatures – the type of nazi-era crap you find in texts such as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

How such an organization with a track record of terror in its dealings with Israel, can transform itself into a viable administration capable of dealing with Israel, the US and the larger international community , is indeed a conundrum.

It speaks volumes that shortly after their election victory, a Hamas spokesperson called for the replacement of the Israeli flag. If their diplomacy can’t even make an allowance for the flag of their hated neighbor, what chance does that leave for serious negotiations?