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Taylor Marsh has been writing on line since 1996, with the archives provided here a representation of that work.

Tag Archives | Palestinians

The Meaning of ‘Special Relationship’: Israel vs. Saudi Arabia

By on 12 September 2011

Incoming from Arabia.

From Turki al-Faisal:

The United States must support the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations this month or risk losing the little credibility it has in the Arab world. If it does not, American influence will decline further, Israeli security will be undermined and Iran will be empowered, increasing the chances of another war in the region.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia would no longer be able to cooperate with America in the same way it historically has. With most of the Arab world in upheaval, the “special relationship” between Saudi Arabia and the United States would increasingly be seen as toxic by the vast majority of Arabs and Muslims, who demand justice for the Palestinian people.

Which “special relationship” is more special?

Strategic interests abound, domestic politics prominently weighing down the inevitable awkwardness and the predictable conclusion.

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Sunday Morning Early-Bird News Round-Up

By on 11 September 2011

Good morning and welcome to Sunday.

On this day in history, September 11, 2001, the U.S. suffered it’s worst terror attack on domestic soil as terrorists hijacked 4 planes and targeted NY and Washington D.C. for attack. The Sunday talk shows will be replete with commemorations, interviews, retrospectives, etc.

Some morning links:

~Here is a link to a video message from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about 9/11.

~Relations between Egypt and Israel have suffered another setback after a mob of Egyptian protesters stormed the Israeli embassy in Cairo, causing the Ambassador and his family to flee. Riots also broke out in Tahrir Square as protesters become disillusioned with the current military dictatorship. Speaking of which, Human Rights Watch says that the Egyptian military post-Mubarak has been trying thousands of civilians in closed-door military trials, consolidating their power and undermining and real attempt to transition to democracy.

~After 9/11 the Department of Homeland Security wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on pet projects that enriched the security/military industrial complex. Where’s the outrage from the fiscal hawks?

~A Wisconsin state employee has been fired for whistleblowing regarding voter suppression in the state. I certainly hope this person has their day in court and sues the pants off Wisconsin.

~Ohio Governor John Kasich is warning that the state’s union-busting, anti-worker law is overturned via referendum it would be very, very bad for Ohio. [read: bad for Big Business]

~Over at The Nation, Greg Mitchell rips NYT editor Bill Keller a new one for Keller’s way-too-late-and-still-clueless non-apology for the NYT being a shameless cheerleader for the Iraq War. You know, instead of being a journalistic venue that seeks to hold those in power accountable, particularly during times of crisis and fear, when the government is more likely than not to abuse that power.

~Barack Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are no longer speaking.

~Oklahoma state Republican Sally Kern is commemorating 9/11 by claiming that homosexuality is a bigger threat to the United States than terrorism.

~Dick Cheney, still a liar.

~Speaking of Dick Cheney, I wonder what his response to this would be?

~The ACLU has released a detailed report about the devastating impact the government’s response to 9/11 has had on civil liberties.

~Along those same lines, Justin Elliot looks at how the Obama administration has used “terrorism” to selectively silence and criminalize certain speech.

~NBC’s twitter feed was hacked.

~The issue of Israel looms large over the race for Anthony Weiner’s former Congressional seat. Here are some of the questionable GOP ads/mailers they are sending out. The WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin is helping out the GOP candidate in the race by smearing Obama’s record with/on Israel- she does so by “interviewing” Bill Kristol of the Emergency Committee for Israel but she neglects to disclose that she is a founding member of that decidedly partisan group.

~A positive story- the program ‘Give Back A Smile’ provides free dental care for survivors of abuse whose teeth have been broken or damaged. It may not seem like much but I am sure for the women who can’t ordinarily afford the services, it is very important. Here is the website for the program.

~In Madisonville, Tennessee students are trying to get school officials to allow them to form a gay-straight alliance, due in large part to the pervasive bullying of glbt students. The school officials are refusing. What year is it again?

~Mel Gibson seems to be trying to rehabilitate his [anti-Semitic] image with a new film about the Jewish historical figure Judah Maccabee. Some aren’t buying into this conversion.

~A moose in Sweden apparently got drunk on fermented apples and got himself stuck in a tree. He was ok after they got him down.

~Will the Democrats really step up to the plate and formally embrace gay marriage as a policy stance? That seems overly optimistic.

~The House of Representatives passed a resolution to “never forget 9/11.” That’s all well and good but it’s time to get past the symbolic gestures and do some actual, you know, work.

~Obama’s re-election team is hoping to raise $55 million in just the third quarter. Many are saying this will be a billion dollar election. That’s obscene and it doesn’t speak well for our democracy.

The End.

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Sunday Early Bird News Round-Up

By on 04 September 2011

Good morning and welcome to Sunday, I’m Stacy and I’ll be your host.

On this day in history, September 4, 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus called in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

I’ve perused the internets for some good reads, to save you the trouble:

~The AP is reporting that the CIA worked with Moammar Gadhafi’s intelligence services when we rendered terrorism suspects to Libya to be, you know, tortured. Part of the reason the U.S. is so nervous about the “Arab Spring” is that as word continues to leak out about how we enabled these dictator’s repression of their own people, it’s a good bet the governments that are eventually formed will ensure that they are never again beholden to the United States for anything.

~Late last week a WikiLeaks cable was released which seems to raise the question of whether Iraqi civilians were massacred by U.S. forces, followed by a cover-up. For all those people in the media who were saying “there’s really nothing new in the WikiLeaks documents,” here you go. But don’t expect David Gregory or Candi Crowley to discuss this today on the Sunday talk shows. No, instead, we will hear more endless speculation about whether or not Sarah Palin is going to enter the 2012 race.

~Yet again, President Obama sides with big business and ties the hands of the EPA by putting a halt to tougher smog/pollution rules. Why? Because the Republicans and the pollution lobby opposed it, that’s why. So, now that Obama has done their bidding are they grateful and willing to compromise on something? No, of course not. Now, they want more environmental regulations rolled back.

~The head of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, is hoping for a bold new jobs plan from President Obama next week. Is there some other Obama he knows who is coming out with a job creation plan?

~A very interesting interview with Gen. James Cartwright by Josh Rogin over at The Cable. It demonstrates several things about Obama’s leadership style and how Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen did everything they could to ensure that Obama had no other choice than to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan rather than take the advice of Cartwright and Joe Biden, who believed that a surge would accomplish little and instead advocated a smaller U.S. footprint. And guess who turned out to be right?

~The total deterioration in ties between Turkey and Israel is not only bad news for the region, but is bad news for the Obama administration. The administration apparently expended a great deal of effort to get the two sides together, but was unsuccessful, again demonstrating to the entire world that the U.S. no longer has the influence it once did in the Middle East.

~Dana Priest has another great piece of investigative journalism [part of the Top Secret America series of articles] in the Washington Post. The article describes how the Joint Special Operations Command has morphed into a very large, top secret army that seems to operate without any accountability to anyone.

~The American Spectator’s Matthew Vadum thinks that registering poor people to vote is unamerican because they are nonproductive and a burden on society.

Sorry puppy, this cat is so over you:

~The S&P continues to give triple A ratings to subprime mortgage-backed securities. You know, the same ones that helped spawn the global financial crisis.

~Between January and June, approximately 24,000 Afghan soldiers went AWOL.

~There is no state in this country with a more deplorable, ethically-challenged implementation of the death penalty, than Texas. And yet few are raising questions about this particular case, where Governor Rick Perry denied a stay of execution of a man (Cameron Todd Willingham) who many say, was innocent [based on scientific/forensic evidence]. While all the talk of Perry’s extremism, swagger and gaffes are interesting, when will someone in the elite mainstream media ask Perry about this directly?

~As everybody who has electricity is aware, Dick Cheney is doing the talk show circuit in order to generate buzz for his egotistical tome, In My Time. Putting aside the fact that only in this particular democracy could a former Vice President go to each cable news station and openly boast about his role in an impressive list of crimes and deceits, here’s a question- when is someone in the elite media going to actually ask him a tough question? Have you noticed that the David Gregory/Jake Tapper/Bob Schieffer types seem totally intimidated by Cheney? While Glenn Greenwald posted this commentary about how Cheney is profiting off “the fruits of elite immunity” last week, if you didn’t see it, it’s worth a read.

~Political whiz and democratic consultant Joe Trippi is now doing public relations work for the autocratic, un-democratic, human-rights-abusing Kingdom of Bahrain.

~You know, I truly love doing the news round-up but sometimes as I read all these stories, I find myself getting utterly disgusted with not only the Washington, D.C. polls and lobbyists, but also the navel-gazing media who pander so shamelessly to them. Imagine if the MSM actually did their job?

~Did the Obama administration snub The General Who Can Do No Wrong? While focusing on these petty tit-for-tat episodes is a favorite pastime of the beltway, if the Obama administration really has or had suspicions about Petraeus’ motives, then perhaps they shouldn’t have placed him at the head of the Central Intelligence Agency?

~Is anyone in the White House reading all these commentaries about what a capitulating wimp Obama is? Anyone? All signs point to Obama putting forth a meager, uninspired jobs plan after Labor Day. You know, so the plan will have a little something that Republicans everyone will like.

~Now here is a story absolutely no one can relate to- a private unmanned space ship funded by the billionaire CEO of Amazon, was destroyed during a test flight due to a systems failure.

~Obama’s union problems are about to get a whole lot worse.

~The administration continues to flail around in its latest efforts to prevent the Palestinians from going to the U.N. this month in a bid to declare statehood.

~The President’s Chairman of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, is exhibit A with whats wrong with our economy. GE is doing a wonderful job creating jobs- overseas.

~A happy story: The penguin Happy Feet was successfully reintroduced into the ocean off the south coast of New Zealand.

The End.

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The Sunday Early Bird News Round-Up

By on 07 August 2011

Good morning and welcome to Sunday!

Quote of the Day:

“No risk of that, no risk.”

– Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during an interview in April, discussing the risk of the U.S. debt being downgraded.

Some links to go with your morning coffee/tea:

~China, our banker, is angry at the U.S. about the downgrade. I guess more administration-China ass kissing diplomacy is in order.

~The Super Duper Debt Committee will just cause more problems than it solves, for obvious reasons.

~The biggest US single-episode loss of life in the Afghanistan War took place Friday as insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter carrying 38 members of US special forces and 7 Afghan soldiers. More here.

~Also on Afghanistan- The International Crisis Group has issued a report which concludes that despite dumping billions of dollars into nation-building in Afghanistan, the U.S. and its allies have failed to stabilize the country. I think the billions of dollars they are talking about does not include the money spent on the actual war effort there-in other words, just the military and civil rebuilding and stabilization efforts.

~In today’s WaPo there is an article about the origins of the debt showdown and how Eric Cantor took advantage of the House’s new Tea Party recruits to turn the debt ceiling debate into a standoff over the role of government.

~The Wikipedia conference is currently taking place in Israel and the Wikipedia founder talked about how the community tries very hard to keep Wiki entries as neutral as possible. That’s not easy in an era where as soon as there is a political controversy, groups run to the site to get their version of the story out.

~Up to 12 million people’s lives are under direct threat in the Horn of Africa as drought, famine and war take their toll. Much of the world looked away when the predictions of an extreme famine were first put forth. However, the terror group al-Shabab claims there is no famine taking place in Somalia but of course, that could be because the group is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the men, women and children who are currently starving to death and as a result, they bear direct responsibility.

~A Navy vet and former defense contractor in Iraq explains why he is suing Donald Rumsfeld over the Bush administration’s torture policy- but here’s the thing- in a crazy twist, he was tortured by Americans in Iraq.

~In much of the media’s coverage about the S&P downgrade, there seems to be a tendency to ignore the impact of the refusal to add ANY revenue-generating provisions in the debt deal. There was plenty of blame to spread around to both parties, but there are some interesting tidbits in the S&P statement about revenues. It would seem that the GOP is giddy about the downgrade because throwing a Molotov Cocktail into our already depressed economy was always the GOP plan leading up to 2012.

~While the S&P is certainly correct that Washington is completely dysfunctional and getting them to do anything constructive for the good of the nation is a bit like trying to herd cats, there is no denying the politics of what is taking place. Firedoglake has a good summary of some of the things that may have actually been behind S&P’s decision to downgrade the US credit rating.

~So, how is Saudi Arabia doing on the human rights front? Really, really well. [/sarcasm]

~Despite a lot of people giving Obama props about being willing to put defense cuts on the table, the truth of the matter is that the Obama administration shows no interest in curbing out-of-control defense spending as evidenced by his new Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, publicly complaining all last week about how disastrous defense cuts would be. Once again, fear trumps reason. Interestingly, when asked, Leon Panetta can’t seem to articulate any reason why any proposed cuts would be so dangerous to our nation’s security:

~Over 300,000 people took to the streets in Israel this weekend to protest the high cost of living. Good for them. We need to do that here in the U.S.

~The Obama administration will likely squander yet another opportunity to take a serious stand on environmental issues. The Alberta tar sands pipeline is currently being reviewed by the State Dept. and the review itself has been mired in controversy from the start. The pipeline’s chief lobbyist is a former Hillary Clinton deputy campaign director and Secretary Clinton made the none-too-subtle remark long before the review process even started, that she was “inclined to support” it. That made environmentalists and even many Congressional Democrats hopping mad. Of course, the buck doesn’t stop there and environmentalists and congressional democrats are urging the administration to not approve the project. Good luck with that, the fix is in.

~Speaking of the environment, some say that the current Congress is the most anti-Environment since about the 1950′s. Impressive.

~All eyes are on Wisconsin which is in the midst of the largest number of recall elections in U.S. history. Huge amounts of cash have been flooding in to the state via special interest groups from both the left and the right. Some see Wisconsin as a dry run of sorts for what may happen in 2012, ie. did the Tea Party types go too far?

~Gov. Rick Perry’s prayer rally certainly won’t endear him to moderates or independents but I have a feeling that’s ok with Rick Perry.

~Things are still not well in Sudan/Southern Sudan. There is still a long, long way to go.

~The repressive, human rights-abusing Communist Chinese government continues to throw fuel on the fire of religious freedom with respect to Buddhists in Tibet. Even if Americans know very little about this right now, it is a very big issue and could lead to bloodshed when the current Dalai Lama dies. And when that happens, Washington will be forced to take notice but by then it will be too late.

~The death toll in Syria continues to rise as government forces continue the siege on Hama. As Assad’s forces continue to slaughter his own people, the Syrian foreign minister comes out and makes the ludicrous statement that the Assad government will allow free legislative elections by the end of 2011. Yeah, and unicorns are real.

~Both Palestinian and Israeli security forces are frustrated with the politicians in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Washington DC. This is something I have heard over and over again. The Israeli and Palestinian security forces have been training and had unprecedented security cooperation over the past 8+ years, with impressive results, while the politicians piss away every opportunity for a reasonable solution to the conflict.

~Sean Hannity thinks it’s wrong to require insurers to cover birth control but guess what he thinks they should cover…Viagra. Indeed.

~Fox News is out of control with race-baiting.

~Politico continues with its status quo hackery and prints an op-ed from GOP Representative Duncan Hunter, who fear-mongers about cutting defense spending. Ok, no problem there because people can write opinion pieces from various points of view. The problem is that a) he makes patently false claims about the role of defense spending in our current debt crisis and b) Politico knew, or should have known, that Hunter has a conflict of interest when it comes to defense spending given most of his top campaign contributions come from defense contractors. If Politico readers knew that, they might be a little bit more discerning when it comes to taking Hunter’s claims at face value.

~Demonstrations turned violent in Tottenham, England, as people marched to the police station to protest the shooting of a 29-year old man Mark Duggan by police last week. Racial tensions have historically been high in the Tottenham region and as of last night, the situation was still not under control.

~Some in Israel are concerned about a bill that is poised to pass the Knesset and which seeks to provide guidance to the courts such that they would be expected to privilege maintaining “the state as the Jewish nation state in ruling in situations in which the Jewish character of the state clashes with its democratic character.” Israeli journalist Noam Sheizaf and other critics of the pending legislation have argued that proponents of the bill seem to be saying that maintaining a Jewish state and upholding democracy are at odds. It’s an interesting debate.

~Donald Trump really embodies the corporate greed and entitled attitude that seems to have infected this nation. His most recent stunt is to vow to do everything in his power to prevent the building of an offshore wind farm in Scotland because it will obstruct the beautiful view from the golf course he is currently in the process of building.

~Whatever you do, don’t read Thomas Friedman’s silly editorial about the financial crisis in today’s NYT, it’s five minutes of your life that you’ll never get back which is why I read it for you. It’s loaded with dumb analogies and really obvious points like “[r]egarding growth, we surely need a much smarter long-term fiscal plan than the one that just came out of Washington.”

The End.

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The Sunday Early-Bird News Round-Up

By on 17 July 2011

Good morning and welcome to Sunday!

On this day in history, July 17th, 1918, Czar Nicholas II of Russia and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.

Some news for you on a fine Sunday morning:

~President Obama has decided not to nominate Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

~This week Jeremy Scahill of the Nation did a fine bit of investigative journalism and revealed that the CIA is running secret prisons in Somalia, which if true, means that we still basically have a rendition program. And how did the fawning corporate media respond to the revelation? Well, two ways- 1. they largely ignored it and 2. when they didn’t, they dutifully jotted down administration talking points denying the allegations in the article. Naturally, they gave administration officials total anonymity to do this, lest said officials be held accountable at some future date. You know, for lying. Glenn Greenwald wrote a must-read article about how the administration uses the MSM to attack real investigative journalism that it finds inconvenient. For my part, I stalked followed David Gregory around Twitter on Friday asking him repeatedly if he would cover the story on MTP today. Naturally, that wasn’t on his agenda. Because foreign policy is hard.

~Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s maiden voyage to Iraq and Afghanistan was, shall we say, less than spectacular. Les Gelb has more here. Just what the White House needs, another wishy-washy consensus-builder.

~Sobering statistics: The Minimum number of people killed by CIA drone attacks in Pakistan last year was 607. Number of those who appeared on a U.S. list of most-wanted terrorists- 2. Hearts and minds people, hearts and minds…

~Did Obama lie about his dying mother’s battle with health insurance coverage? It appears he did. Does it matter? Probably. Why do politicians always do this and think that they can get away with it? As someone who did have a mother who was denied insurance coverage for potentially life-saving cancer treatment, I find his “misstatements” crass, politically expedient and insensitive.

~The GOP plan for the economy? Blow it up and blame it on Obama. This Red State article has been boomeranging all over the right-wing blogosphere and was apparently passed around at the House GOP caucus meeting. The fact that the Democrats, and the WH in particular, can’t use this to their advantage shows that after almost three years, their political messaging still sucks.

~Rupert Murdoch is very sorry that his media empire is an unethical, corrupt wasteland.

~The White House and State Department deflected questions all last week about whether President Obama or Secretary Clinton would meet with the Dalai Lama, who has been in Washington for over a week. Then, Friday evening, the WH released a statement saying Obama would meet with him- on Saturday (yesterday), and no photographers or press would be present. In response, China said that Obama’s meeting with him harmed Sino-U.S. relations and get this…”hurt the feelings of the Chinese people…”

~Good God, Michelle Obama eats a burger and fries for lunch while attending the opening of a eatery called “Shake Shack” and the self-righteous food nazis go nuts!

~Michelle Bachmann left her controversial Church not long before announcing her Presidential run. Coincidence? Does it matter?

Cats crash Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s interview in Istanbul:

~Thank goodness the GOP is keeping track of the important issues, like ensuring that the energy-draining incandescent light bulb sticks around for a while longer.

~The U.S. has formally recognized the Libyan rebels as the government of Libya. That sounds messy.

~Think Progress interviews the former head of the American Jewish Congress about the Mideast peace process and the Palestinians’ UN bid for statehood. He says the U.S.-sponsored peace process is a fraud and one of the main obstacles to peace is actually the United States itself. It’s a great interview, check it out here.

~Doctors Without Borders has formally spoken out against the CIA’s use of a fake vaccination program for children in Afghanistan, which they used to obtain information on Osama Bin Laden. DWB says it harms public health efforts undertaken by NGO’s in the region. Our MSM is not covering this issue at all.

~Sebastian Junger writes a powerful opinion piece for the NYT about the psychology of war.

~Meet the pay for play conservative nonprofit that writes a LOT of pro-energy industry laws around the country- The American Legislative Exchange Council. Democracy for the highest bidder.

~Remember the people who sold us all the lies about Iraq’s WMD’s? They are like bad pennies, they keep turning up. Only in Washington could such losers keep failing upward. Doug Feith, the man who Gen. Franks referred to as the “stupidest guy on the face of the earth” is now a foreign policy adviser to Rick Perry.

The End.

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Let’s Play ‘Who’s More Pro-Israel?’

By on 03 July 2011



Let’s see, Gaza or gossip, which shall it be? For almost every news outlet this week it was the latter, while the former is where the action is. From James Zogby writing over at Huffington Post:

When it comes to issues involving Israel, politicians in Washington can become quite hysterical, making the dumbest remarks or doing the most illogical things. Evidence of such bizarre behavior abounds, and this week provided several examples.

Taking top prize would be newly-elected Republican Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois. Kirk wants the U.S. to use military assets to stop the humanitarian flotilla on its way to Gaza. He wrote that the United States should “make available all necessary special operations and naval support to the Israeli Navy to effectively disable flotilla vessels before they can pose a threat to Israeli coastal security or put Israeli lives at risk”.

[...] … All this might just be dismissed as “political pandering” or more “harmless hot air” from politicians who specialize in both. But it is dangerous and has consequences. In the first place, actions and statements like these send absolutely horrible messages overseas about the inability of American politics to deal fairly with any Middle East issue that involves Israel. And so these behaviors end up undercutting U.S. diplomacy. Secondly, these actions, and the bizarrely skewed, one-sided politics they reflect, tie the hands (or, at times, force the hands) of Administrations, negatively impacting the ability of policymakers to act. And finally, in the end, these comments and actions embolden hardliners in Israel and the Arab World, who both come to believe that there are no restraints on Israeli behavior and no way that Arab concerns will be heard or respected in U.S. policy debates.

However, it’s just not on the radar of the American media. Too dangerous. Controversial. Inflammatory. It makes network heads uncomfortable.

Instead it’s all about Who’s more pro Israel?, one of the most dangerous political games we play in this country. But at every presidential election, play it we do. Stacy has an “In the News” diary up about Sec. Clinton announcing administration talks with the Muslim Brotherhood, which on cue is freaking out the Right.

There’s nothing more serious than Middle East politics and it shouldn’t be treated as a political parlor game, but that’s exactly what Politico did this week. In a long, gossipy piece, Ben Smith traded on 2008 canard that Obama is an iffy friend of Israel by mining staunchly pro Clinton Jewish quarters to stir the currents of discontent. It’s a continuation of the conservative campaign to discredit Pres. Obama and portray him as soft on Israel, which is a falsehood, but some media outlets just can’t resist.

Smith has written about this before. Here’s an example of the well from which Smith drew his alleged proof:

“I’m hearing a tremendous amount of skittishness from pro-Israel voters who voted for Obama and now are questioning whether they did the right thing or not,” said Betsy Sheerr, the former head of an abortion-rights-supporting, pro-Israel PAC in Philadelphia, who said she continues to support Obama, with only mild reservations. “I’m hearing a lot of ‘Oh, if we’d only elected Hillary instead.’”

Even Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who spoke to POLITICO to combat the story line of Jewish defections, said she’d detected a level of anxiety in a recent visit to a senior center in her South Florida district.

[...] The qualms that many Jewish Democrats express about Obama date back to his emergence onto the national scene in 2007. Though he had warm relations with Chicago’s Jewish community, he had also been friends with leading Palestinian activists, unusual in the Democratic establishment. And though he seemed to be trying to take a conventionally pro-Israel stand, he was a novice at the complicated politics of the America-Israel relationship, and his sheer inexperience showed at times.

Why does being “friends with leading Palestinian activists” make Obama less pro-Israel?

It takes a friend to tell you the truth sometimes, with Obama’s stance on Israeli settlements something that most experts agree must be dealt with by PM Netanyahu, though on the denial goes.

All of this precipitated by anxieties from a very small but vocal minority, with all hell breaking loose again when Pres. Obama stated, then defended, that Israelis and Palestinians should begin with the 1967 borders, with land swaps.

Now it appears Obama’s supporters are readying to hit back at this continuing media meme. From Greg Sargent:

A group of well-known figures in the Jewish community has been in discussions with senior Obama adviser David Axelrod about how to respond to the criticism, which is expected to intensify as the campaign heats up. Among them: Alan Solow, the former head of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; former Congressmen Mel Levine and Robert Wexler; and executive Penny Pritzker.

“We will have highly credible spokespeople and surrogates speak out in a general manner in support of what this administration has done, and articulate it in a way that we think will resonate with voters who care about this issue,” Solow said in an interview. “We will meet with supporters who have expressed concerns or want to be briefed on these issues on a one-on-one basis.”

“We got close to 80 percent of the vote among Jewish Americans in 2008, but we had to aggressively bat down efforts to divide the community and to inflame,” David Axelrod told me. “Plainly we have to be at least as assiduous about it this time. If we’re passive in response it would be a mistake.”

Politico’s Smith got in the usual comments, with divisions quickly revealed or satisfied when the name of Dennis Ross is invoked:

The qualms that many Jewish Democrats express about Obama date back to his emergence onto the national scene in 2007. Though he had warm relations with Chicago’s Jewish community, he had also been friends with leading Palestinian activists, unusual in the Democratic establishment. And though he seemed to be trying to take a conventionally pro-Israel stand, he was a novice at the complicated politics of the America-Israel relationship, and his sheer inexperience showed at times.

A Philadelphia Democrat and pro-Israel activist, Joe Wolfson, recalled a similar progression.

“What got me past Obama in the recent election was Dennis Ross — I heard him speak in Philadelphia and I had many of my concerns allayed,” Wolfson said. “Now, I think I’m like many pro-Israel Democrats now who are looking to see whether we can vote Republican.”

Pres. Obama has deep challenges for 2012, but “pro-Israel Democrats” voting Republican isn’t a main one.

Our media is incredibly juvenile when it comes to covering the Middle East. Intramural political gossip substituting for serious mining of the challenges in the region continue to be the norm.

James Zogby noted what’s said around here a lot.

And so, far from being harmless hysteria or just plain dumb, all this posturing can be damaging and dangerous. It is a good part of the reason why we are in the mess we are in the Middle East and why a just resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict appears to be so intractable.

Every time the media chooses gossip over big stories like what’s happening surrounding the Gaza flotilla, solving problems in the Middle East gets a little further away, which doesn’t help anyone, especially Israel.

That President Barack Obama would have popularized the phrase “audacity of hope,” after which we named our boat, now seems a cruel hoax, particularly as many of us recalled the high hopes we had once harbored for Obama the candidate. Instead of an “audacity of hope,” Obama the president has often displayed a “paucity of courage.” – Ray McGovern

The politics of “Israel versus the Palestinians,” which is the way the U.S. media reports on this region, as well as how our politicians play it, puts Pres. Obama in an untenable position.

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Tim Pawlenty’s Neoconservative Spring

By on 28 June 2011

It’s like the ghost of George W. Bush, but with smoother segues. …and so it begins:

Now is not the time to retreat from freedom’s rise.

[...] Yet at the same time, we know these revolutions can bring to power forces that are neither democratic nor forward-looking. Just as the people of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria and elsewhere see a chance for a better life of genuine freedom, the leaders of radical Islam see a chance to ride political turmoil into power.

The United States has a vital stake in the future of this region. We have been presented with a challenge as great as any we have faced in recent decades. And we must get it right. The question is, are we up to the challenge?

My answer is, of course we are. [...]

But President Obama has failed to formulate and carry out an effective and coherent strategy in response to these events. He has been timid, slow, and too often without a clear understanding of our interests or a clear commitment to our principles.

And parts of the Republican Party now seem to be trying to out-bid the Democrats in appealing to isolationist sentiments. This is no time for uncertain leadership in either party. [...]

There’s the obligatory chastising of Pres. Obama, because he’s mean to Israel:

In 2008, candidate Barack Obama told AIPAC that he would “always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel.” This year, he told AIPAC “we remain committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.” So I have to ask: are all the options still on the table or not? If he’s not clear with us, it’s no wonder that even our closest allies are confused.

The Administration should enforce all sanctions for which legal authority already exits. We should enact and then enforce new pending legislation which strengthens sanctions particularly against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who control much of the Iranian economy.

And in the middle of all this, is Israel.

Israel is unique in the region because of what it stands for and what it has accomplished. And it is unique in the threat it faces—the threat of annihilation. It has long been a bastion of democracy in a region of tyranny and violence.

Oh, and you’ll love the part on Syria. Mr. Pawlenty has a domino theory of sanctioning nations, with the U.S. providing Wilsonian intervention wherever needed.

The fall of the Assad mafia in Damascus would weaken Hamas, which is headquartered there. It would weaken Hezbollah, which gets its arms from Iran, through Syria. And it would weaken the Iranian regime itself.

Daniel Drezner weighs in saying it was a “a reasonably coherent speech.”

You can likely imagine what the part on Palestinians reads like, but here’s the bottom line: It’s all the Palestinians’ fault.

When the Palestinians have leaders who are honest and capable, who appreciate the rule of law, who understand that war against Israel has doomed generations of Palestinians to lives of bitterness, violence, and poverty – then peace will come.

If you like your neoconservatism rebooted, T-Paw’s for you. A more accessible, well spoken George W. Bush, whose record at least shows a hint of competency.

John McCain’s got to love this guy.

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Israel Drops Threats Against Journalists Covering Gaza Flotilla

By on 27 June 2011

If there was anything dumber for the Israeli government to do I don’t know what it could have been. Threatening journalists who are covering the Gaza flotilla backfired, as it should.

Netanyahu said in a statement that the policy for journalists covering the flotilla should not be the same as against infiltrators and those who enter Israel illegally.

Members of the Israeli media and international journalists will be embedded in Israeli Navy vessels in contact with the flotilla “in order to create transparency and credible coverage of the events,” said a statement issued Monday from the Prime Minister’s Office.

“We are pleased to see that Israel has recognized the value of allowing reporters to cover an important news event, and understands that journalists should be treated differently from political activists. We urge the government to continue to do its utmost to promote freedom of the press as core values of a democratic society,” the Foreign Press Association said Monday in a statement. It had previously criticized the threats made to journalists covering the flotilla.

Max Blumenthal has written a piece over at Mondoweiss about the extremist Rev. Hagee funding the group Shurat Hadin, among others, trying to sabotage the mission of “The Audacity of Hope.” Max covers the story below in detail, complete with video exposing Hagee.

Sources in the Shurat Hadin (Israel Law Center) on Sunday took responsibility for lodging an anonymous civil complaint against the American-flagged ship, The Audacity of Hope, which is a part of the flotilla expected to sail towards Gaza later this week, Army Radio reported. The complaint, filed to Greek harbormasters, alleged that the boat was not seaworthy and accused the organizers sailing the ship of aiding terror, according to the report. – Group says its responsible for flotilla complaint

From the Christian Science Monitor:

This flotilla is attempting to reach Gaza in a dramatically changed regional context from May 2010, before the uprisings collectively known as the Arab spring. With the chance for real democratic change in Israeli neighbors like Egypt, organizers are hoping to press home their argument that the Palestinian residents of Gaza are as deserving of basic freedoms as any of their neighbors. “It’s even more relevant this year,” says Robert Naiman, a US activist waiting to board in Athens. “There’s a revolution of popular expectations and we’re playing out on a stage in which governments in the region feel more pressure to respond to public opinion.” – Intense Israeli lobbying stalls Gaza flotilla

Gaza flotilla activists on one ship are alleging sabotage:

One of the ships due to participate in the Gaza flotilla was deliberately tampered with while it was docked in Greece’s Piraeus port, Gaza flotilla activists told Haaretz on Monday. The ship, due to carry Greek, Norwegian, and Swedish passengers to Gaza, was found with its propeller shaft broken, the ship’s spokesman Israeli activist Dror Feiler told Haaretz.

There’s also a story in Haaretz about Turkey and last year’s flotilla worth reading:

Turkey has asked Israel to agree to a toned-down version of the UN Secretary-General’s report on last year’s flotilla to Gaza, according to a senior government official in Jerusalem.

According to the official, the Turks are “very worried” about the harsh criticism of Turkey they expect the report to contain, and want Israel to agree to a softened version as part of a package deal to end the crisis between the two countries over the flotilla, which took place in May 2010.

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Sunday Morning Early Bird News Round-Up

By on 12 June 2011

Good morning and welcome to Sunday!

On this day in history, June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court in the landmark case Loving vs. Virginia, struck down state laws prohibiting interracial marriages.

I’ve rounded up some news links, you know, so you can sound smart and on top of the news at breakfast or lunch…

~Joe Lieberman tries to undermine the President’s foreign policy.

~As everyone who hasn’t been stranded on a deserted island knows, Representative Weiner is taking some time off to get some sort of treatment for something (they didn’t say what), do some soul-searching and probably more to the point- sit back and hope this all blows over so he can stop the flow of fellow Democrats calling, one after the other, for his resignation. Anyone care? No? Ok, moving right along…

~What is wrong with the Democrats that they can’t make this a political issue? The GOP is waging war on Elizabeth Warren of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)- could the GOP make it any more obvious that they don’t give a damn about the average American, preferring instead to create a platform based on enriching the very people that caused the collapse of the global economy? And yet what are the Democrats doing to get this message out? All I hear is *chirp* *chirp*

~GOP Rep. Dana Rohrbacher has been asked by the Iraqi government to please leave their country after he publicly called for Iraq to repay the U.S. for the cost we incurred invading and occupying their country.

~John Aravosis of AmericaBlog calls out CNN’s Roland Martin for defending Tracy Morgan’s homophobic rant. It’s worth a read.

~So, how much have the Bush tax cuts cost the U.S. thus far? $2.5 trillion. And yet the Democrats and the media continue with the farce that the GOP is serious about deficit reduction. They weren’t during the Bush years and they aren’t now. Rather, they are interested in gutting social programs they never liked to begin with and are using the deficit as an excuse. Anyone who takes defense spending completely off the table can’t be taken seriously about deficit reduction.

~Alabama has passed a draconian anti-abortion bill based on a “fetal pain” rationale. Naturally, there is no exception in the case of rape or incest.

~I’d like to introduce you to Texas Governor and possible GOP Presidential candidate Rick Perry.

~The neocon hawks who want to “bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” don’t really understand the Green Movement there although they are more than willing to use their purported concern for the Green Movement to try to make it sound like their war-mongering is born of humanitarian concerns.

~A major bump in the road to reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.

~After the death of Osama Bin Laden, will Obama take advantage of the opportunity to make a significant reduction in troops in Afghanistan or will he follow the advice of the departing Secretary Gates and General Petraeus? The question everyone should be asking is ten years from now, will we still be saying “we’re making some progress but if we leave we could lose what gains we’ve made”? I can’t help but think the answer to that is “yes.”

~The real reason the WH rejected the French proposal to hold a Mideast peace summit with the Palestinians and Israelis- the administration is afraid another country might actually act like an honest broker and mediator.

~Dana Milbank provides a good example of everything that is wrong with the Washington press in this piece. Note he makes sure to tell us he knows Goolsbee personally and that Obama’s economic policies were initially “extreme” (the stimulus that didn’t have enough stimulus?).

~Daniel Ellsberg of “Pentagon Papers” fame reminds us just how crappy our government really is. He notes that much of what Nixon did would be legal today under an expanded definition of Executive power and laws like the PATRIOT Act. By the way, the Pentagon Papers have finally been declassified.

~The Obama administration’s war against whistleblowers was dealt a major blow in the NSA leak case. The government’s case fell apart in an effort to not have to expose some evidence to public scrutiny. Former NSA employee Thomas Drake was charged under the seldom used Espionage Act, which many felt was a draconian way to go after whistleblowers such as Drake, who exposed a multi-billion-dollar government boondoggle of waste and fraud and in the process, also revealed the NSA’s illegal (at the time) domestic surveillance data mining operation. If that isn’t the definition of “whistleblower” I don’t know what is. If we actually had a major media figure with some guts, they would actually dain to ask President Obama exactly what his definition of “whistleblower” is, particularly given he lauded them as champions of justice as a 2008 Presidential candidate. Oh, but he said a lot of things in 2008, didn’t he.

~Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ripped NATO in his farewell speech.

~No, Hillary doesn’t want to be President of the World Bank. Guessing her next move after Secretary of State has become a full-time parlor game in DC.

~I agree with Senator Harkin- Obama has fallen into the GOP trap of prioritizing the deficit over job creation.

~Rep. Giffords has released her first set of photos since the Arizona shooting in January. She really has made an amazing recovery thus far. She’s a very strong woman.

~The Obama admin. is funding a mobile-phone compatible shadow internet for dissidents to use to get around their own government censors.

The End.

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Daniel Levy on Assad Brutality, Israel and Preferred Devils

By on 08 June 2011

Daniel Levy wrote a very important post for Foreign Policy yesterday, After Golan clashes, is Israel rethinking the Assad (or Palestine) file? Here’s a snippet:

[...] And Israel is none-too-enamored of the alternatives in Damascus. One alternative to the Assad regime — a democratic Syria with greater soft power diplomatic heft and perhaps with Islamists as part of a governing coalition — is as unappetizing a prospect for an Israel intent on maintaining its belligerent posture to the Palestinians and to the region (including its occupation of the Golan heights), as the Egyptian version of the same is shaping up to be. Another alternative — that of Syria becoming a largely ungoverned chaotic space and forming an arc of fitna (or sectarian strife) with Iraq and Lebanon is also unattractive.

For the peace rejectionist government of Prime Minister Netanyahu, the survival of an embattled, desperate, and thoroughly discredited Assad regime apparently hits that Goldilocks sweet spot — just the right outcome.

If you take the time to read the whole piece carefully what Daniel reveals is the reason for U.S. policy being so hopelessly skewed and interminably incoherent, even as events continue to unwind. From Levy:

At least until Sunday’s events, Israel’s position on revolution in Syria hued closely to the status-quo conservatism that has so characterized the shared Israeli-Saudi response to the Arab Spring. Both Israel and Saudi had been critical of the “premature” abandonment of the Mubarak regime, especially by the U.S. Unlike Mubarak, of course, Assad is not an ally (for either the Israelis or the Saudis), but he is part of an ancien régime for which Israel had effective management strategies in place.

Fox News contributors take whacks at Sec. Clinton for her, let’s call it a softer approach to Assad, but considering Israel’s own stance it’s rather ironic conservatives don’t get what’s going on.

On Sunday, June 5, marking Naksa Day (the Arab “setback” in the 1967 war), protesters — mostly Palestinian refugees and their descendents — marched to the Israel/Syria disengagement line representing the border between Syria and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. According to reports up to 22 unarmed Syrian-Palestinian protesters were killed when Israeli forces apparently resorted to live fire (Israeli laid mines may also have been detonated and may have caused causalities, the exact unraveling of events remains sketchy). In most respects, this Sunday’s events were a repeat performance of the outcome of May 15′s Nakba Day commemorations (which Palestinians mark as the anniversary of their catastrophe in 1948).

Israel’s initial response to the wave of regional anti-regime protests reaching Syria was, according to reliable reports, to privately root for the “devil we know” approach — encouraging allies, including the U.S., to go easy on the Assad regime.

The backdrop for all of this is the notion of a U.N. vote for Palestinian statehood this fall, which will change nothing without negotiations, something that the “peace rejectionist government of Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Daniel’s description that I am hereby adopting, has no intention of engaging seriously.

But if anyone thinks this is good news for Israel they’re wrong.

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The Sunday Early Bird News Round-Up

By on 05 June 2011

Good morning and welcome to Sunday!

On this day in history, June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles. Also on this date in 1967 the Six Day War erupted between Israel and the surrounding Arab states.

Here are some morning links for your perusal:

~Former U.S. diplomat Lawrence Eagleburger died yesterday at the age of 80 years.

~The Yemeni President is in Saudi Arabia for medical care. That could be awkward for the U.S. For now, power has been transferred to the Vice President.

~Defense Secretary Gates is in Afghanistan saying his “goodbyes” and reassuring the Afghans that we will be there for the long haul. Obama has set himself up to have to battle not only the GOP on a myriad of issues but now his own party on Afghanistan. The troop surge didn’t work and the underlying problem- a corrupt, illegitimate government that is playing both sides- won’t be “fixed” by counterinsurgency.

~Speaking of Secretary Gates, why does the media help perpetuate the myth that Gates has been a leader in terms of cutting defense spending? Because really what he’s done is just moved money around. If people like David Gregory had stones they’d confront Gates with this but instead they fawn all over him in a rather embarrassing manner.

~The heroes of Jopin, Mo.

~Question: if the U.S. is willing to entertain the idea of having talks with the Taliban, a group that is killing Americans as we speak, why is negotiating with Hamas under certain conditions such a taboo? I’m not being sarcastic here, I’m honestly just asking the question.

~Are you tired of hearing about the Weiner scandal? Well, here’s the thing- we know the media loves anything having to do with sex, or anything that even hints of sex, because it’s so much easier to cover than, say, the latest Supreme Court decision. But it’s also a morality tale of sorts. Whoever was advising Rep. Weiner to go on the teevee box and give winding, circular, vague non-answers to basic yes or no questions should be fired or voted off the island.

~Just what President Obama needs, more photos of him on the golf course.

~Operation Cupcake.

~Donald Trump is jealous that Sarah Palin and her American history lessons are getting more attention than he has been of late.

~Yesterday was the 22nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Any mention of the anniversary is forbidden in China and they have done everything in their power to erase the tragedy from China’s history.

~You have to hand it to Fox News, they really take on the big issues!:

~Never under estimate the ability of far right conservatives to dumb down almost any issue. They are allergic to nuance and prefer instead to see everything as Black or White, Good vs. Evil. That’s all well and good and it certainly makes for much easier political messaging but at the end of the day, that’s not how the world works.

~I realize that Sarah Palin supporters get really, really angry whenever someone criticizes her but I simply don’t understand why someone would defend someone with such a limited grasp on national and foreign policy. Every politician makes mistakes or stretches the truth and no politician can be an expert on every subject, but Palin’s statements are simply incomprehensible and it is just not acceptable for any candidate or political figure to blame their lack of basic knowledge entirely on the media.

~Ambassador Chris Hill has an interesting commentary about the Mideast peace process, or lack thereof. There seems to be a widening gap between long-time diplomats and foreign policy experts and politicians in both the U.S. and Israel. Regardless of where one stands on this issue one thing is certain, the current politicization of the peace process won’t help resolve the conflict or keep either the Israelis or Palestinians one iota more secure.

~The administration and the media have reacted dismissively to Sy Hersh’s New Yorker article about Iran’s supposed nuclear capability. It would seem that the media really haven’t learned anything since the Judith Miller, Scooter Libby days of reporting in the run-up to the Iraq War. Glenn Greenwald rips Politico for their journalistic hypocrisy and their acting as stenographers to those in power. The way in which the media has responded to the Hersh article is more proof that the media don’t report the news so much as decide what is and isn’t worthy of national debate. Irrespective of what one believes about Iran or Hersh’s reporting on this issue, it’s interesting how the administration and those in the media seem unwilling to even allow a debate to take place.

~Richard Cohen gets paid to write this stuff? Actual money?

~Meet GITMO’s evil twin, Bagram.

Ok, this is your daily dose of cute- the video went viral but in case you haven’t seen it, it’s hard not to smile as you watch it:

~While few people are watching, the situation in Sudan worsens.

~The Iraqis must be so thankful to us for fixing their country.

~Rather than screaming non-stop about the debt, which has been a problem in the making for well over a decade, we should be screaming for campaign finance reform so that voting isn’t just window-dressing for democracy.

~This is interesting- some religious Christians are questioning the morality of the GOP budget proposals. Apparently some people think selfishness and screw the poor isn’t a great Christian rallying cry. Good for them. A politician’s faith is/should be a personal matter unless they make it a center piece of their political platform and in that case, questioning some of the more blatant hypocrisy is justified.

~It’s official, hardly anyone in Congress agrees with Obama’s Libya strategy. Of course, the irony of the GOP maneuver is rather rich given most of them never met a war they didn’t like. The wording of the congressional resolution should have been applied to the authorization for the use of force in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The End.

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Netanyahu Dismisses Fatah & Hamas Deal

By on 27 April 2011

“You can’t have peace with both Israel and Hamas,” Netanyahu said, in remarks directed at Abbas. “Choose peace with Israel.” – Fatah and Hamas agree to historic Palestinian reconciliation deal

Haaretz (and Reuters) calls it “historic.” PM Netanyahu’s reaction proves he doesn’t want to deal with the Palestinians at all (as if we needed it). He slams Abbas’s efforts to form an interim government with Hamas, when we all know that if Abbas did a straight deal with Israel Hamas would balk. After Bush pushed the Palestinians on elections, which put Hamas in power in the first place, it’s a bit hard to un-ring that bell. Much more at the link above, with Abbas doggedly moving forward on having Palestine declared whether Netanyahu likes it or not.

MJ Rosenberg on the matter:

Netanyahu, who rarely gives any indication of favoring any agreement with the Palestinians that would require ceding the West Bank (i.e., any agreement) may be worried that a Hamas-Fatah deal makes negotiations more likely rather than less.

Elliott Abrams proves why the Council on Foreign Relations matters less now than it ever has before.

This deal, if it is real, will be interpreted in Israel as a choice by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to make peace with Hamas rather than with Israel.

If Abbas and Hamas aren’t squabbling it sort of puts the spotlight on Netanyahu, which is exactly what he doesn’t want, which Mr. Abrams certainly knows.

Any movement towards an agreement between the factions of the Palestinians is a step in the right direction.

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War Hawks and Neocons

By on 23 April 2011

Security forces in Syria met thousands of demonstrators with fusillades of live ammunition after noon prayers on Friday, killing at least 81 people in the bloodiest day of the five-week-old Syrian uprising, according to protesters, witnesses and accounts on social networking sites. – Security Forces Kill Dozens in Uprisings Around Syria

We will never be rid of the curse.

The Washington Post’s shameful op-ed eviscerating Pres. Obama over “inaction” in Syria isn’t worth reading, but it goes nicely with John McCain playing president in Libya.

Welcome to another edition of America’s amateur foreign policy hour.

Having Sen. McCain say in Libya that “for the United States to withdraw our unique offensive capabilities at this time would send the wrong signal” is not only inappropriate, but reenforces the notion of an empire nation, which is the biggest reason our country hangs in continual economic limbo, something conservatives never consider when thinking of national security that must include our economic health.

The BBC is reporting that NATO has utilized armed Predator drones, with Pres. Obama approving the action earlier, which now have struck inside Libya for the first time. Unarmed drones have been used for intelligence and reconnaissance missions.

Pres. Obama could not have approved the use of anything that is a worse symbol of American imperialism than a hell fire missile coming from a Predator. This type of action has already proved counterproductive in Pakistan, but then U.S. policy has been in a perpetual state of chaos for over 10 years.

As an aside, I don’t watch Chris Matthews much anymore, but took a moment yesterday to do so only to hear him trip over himself opining that Predator drones might signify a way out of Libya, something that made him sound so incredibly ignorant I wanted to immediately turn off the TV, but curiosity stopped me, because I wanted to see how he was going to get out of this mess. As he interviewed Richard Engel, he asked the significance of the armed drones being utilized instead of an AC-130, with Engel saying the armed drones were like “a kite” in comparison, something Matthews didn’t know. What’s worse is that he didn’t bother to find out before he went on the air or do any homework on the matter, at least none that was evident. It’s no wonder people are stupid on foreign policy with the likes of Chris Matthews dispensing opinions that armed drone attacks might be the end, instead of simply positing questions and letting the experts tell you what is and is not true.

It seems to me the American people have to get reacquainted with a new thought, which war hawks and neocons are not going to like and neither are humanitarians.

Our standard for bombing or becoming militarily involved in another country that has not attacked us must have at its core that a clear and present danger to the United States must exist.

Unless genocide or ethnic cleansing are happening we stay out, with the ugly reality in geopolitics that you also need proof that it is. We shouldn’t bomb countries before something has happened, preemptively involving ourselves in something that is only a threat.

It’s horrific to read and hear about the carnage erupting throughout the Middle East, but we simply cannot be involved in every skirmish, no matter how gut wrenching the reports. The founding of our own American freedom came through a lot of bloodshed and chaos, with the result of fighting for your own country part of what rebuilds a nation’s character. New American discipline needs to be instilled in our leaders to engage with the world community to bring thugs to justice, without everyone expecting U.S. military involvement for which taxpayers are on the hook.

I’d start with George W. Bush for Iraq, but then I’m a liberal, not one of the mealy-mouthed Democratic elite.

Released last night, Pres. Obama’s statement on Syria:

The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of force by the Syrian government against demonstrators. This outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now. We regret the loss of life and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims, and with the Syrian people in this challenging time.

The Syrian Government’s moves yesterday to repeal Syria’s decades-old Emergency Law and allow for peaceful demonstrations were not serious given the continued violent repression against protesters today. Over the course of two months since protests in Syria began, the United States has repeatedly encouraged President Assad and the Syrian Government to implement meaningful reforms, but they refuse to respect the rights of the Syrian people or be responsive to their aspirations. The Syrian people have called for the freedoms that all individuals around the world should enjoy: freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and the ability to freely choose their leaders. President Assad and the Syrian authorities have repeatedly rejected their calls and chosen the path of repression. They have placed their personal interests ahead of the interests of the Syrian people, resorting to the use of force and outrageous human rights abuses to compound the already oppressive security measures in place before these demonstrations erupted. Instead of listening to their own people, President Assad is blaming outsiders while seeking Iranian assistance in repressing Syria’s citizens through the same brutal tactics that have been used by his Iranian allies. We call on President Assad to change course now, and heed the calls of his own people.

We strongly oppose the Syrian government’s treatment of its citizens and we continue to oppose its continued destabilizing behavior more generally, including support for terrorism and terrorist groups. The United States will continue to stand up for democracy and the universal rights that all human beings deserve, in Syria and around the world.

This is why there is The Hague.

The president of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh has reportedly offered to resign in exchange for immunity.

I used to say about George W. Bush and the neocons that if they’d been around during the Cuban Missile Crisis we’d have wasted Cuba. But after Libya, I’m not so sure if Barack Obama doesn’t deserve his own sub-category, even as Sec. Clinton has already said we will not become engaged in Syria. The inconvenient geography of Syria renders it absolutely impossible, making a mockery out of the “humanitarian” angle of Libya, which never should have been uttered, let alone engaged militarily.

The problem with all of this is that Pres. Obama’s foreign policy makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why Libya and not Syria? It’s not about “inaction” in Syria as much as it is irreconcilable stupidity for going into Libya, a decision that looks like the height of hypocrisy when reading, watching or hearing about the carnage in Bahrain.

Pres. Obama doesn’t have a Middle East strategy, policy or anything resembling a foreign policy road map, which is now nakedly exposed.

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PM Netanyahu Invited to Congress

By on 21 April 2011



The invitation came from Republicans, announced by Rep. Eric Cantor.

“People seem to think that whoever goes first gets the upper hand,” said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator and a director at the New America Foundation. Using Mr. Netanyahu’s nickname, he said: “If Bibi went first and didn’t lay out a bold peace plan, it would be harder for Obama to say, actually, despite what you said to Congress and their applause, this is what I think you should do.” – Invitation to Israeli Leader Puts Obama on the Spot

The chaser, the op-ed of Turkey’s Abdullah Gul.

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The Sunday Early Bird Round-Up

By on 10 April 2011

Decorah Eagle and Eaglet- see link below for livestream

Good morning and welcome to Sunday.

On this day in history, April 10, 1912, the ill-fated Titanic set out on it’s maiden voyage.

I’ve rounded up some news so you don’t have to:

~The GOP continues to put its thumb on the scales in favor of big business. Because, you know, if they don’t look out for those poor, beleaguered CEOs who will? On Friday House Republicans voted to overturn net neutrality rules. While they will have a harder time in the Senate and a Presidential veto would be likely, it raises the stakes in 2012. It’s become obvious that the GOP assault on “Big Government” is really a red herring to allow them to erode consumer protections while boosting corporate profits by getting rid of those meddlesome regulations which reign in corporate abuse.

~The situation in Gaza continues to worsen with dozens of rockets entering Israel and war planes over Gaza and some are worried that this could be the start of Cast Lead II. UPDATE: As of this morning, Israel has offered a cease-fire.

~An interesting opinion piece by the NYT’ Richard Cohen about Judge Goldstone’s Washington Post editorial from two weeks ago. While many are claiming that Judge Goldstone has done a total reversal, that view doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny and Goldstone himself has said he won’t seek to nullify the report. Cohen points out that Goldstone seems to misrepresent the findings of the independent report issued by Judge Mary McGowan Davis. To add to the confusion, Ynet published an article quoting the head of the South African Zionist Federation stating that intense pressure from South African Jewish groups played a role in Goldstone’s change of tone regarding his report. Regardless of one’s view of the report, the debate it provoked isn’t going away.

~Ok, so we have a nice, new, warm, fuzzy budget “compromise.” Or not. Here is one of the definitions of the word compromise: a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, etc., by reciprocal modification of demands. Is that what this budget deal was? Because other than pap smears and family planning, I’m not sure what the GOP compromised.

~Nick Kristof takes aim at the cowardice of the democrats during the budget debate and Paul Ryan’s refusal to take on the obvious need to end the Bush tax cuts.

~If this is the best Obama’s political advisers can do in the wake of the budget deal then they all need to be replaced.

~Saturday marked the 8th anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein. Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr and about ten thousand of his followers sent a message to the U.S. by warning that if the administration doesn’t stand by it’s December 2011 pull-out date then he will reactivate his army and target not only U.S. military, but civilians (ie. contractors and diplomats) who stay in the country. Well, we sure made things better there, didn’t we? But, as is always the case, timing is everything — Secretary Gates took a quiet trip to Iraq this week and essentially offered Iraq the option of requesting some U.S. troops stay beyond the December deadline. WTF?!?

By the way, the new U.S. embassy in Iraq is roughly the size of Vatican City, cost the U.S. taxpayers roughly $600 million, has gyms, a cinema, polls, it’s own electricity grids and water systems (when most Iraqis only have electricity for part of the day) and is a provocative symbol of American hubris and it has rubbed Iraqis the wrong way. Operating costs for the Embassy are expected to be around $1.2 billion a year. How big is the home for the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq? 16,000 square feet. Cozy. It will have a private security force (aka private contractor Army) of about 5,500. And did the construction of this monolith create American jobs? No, a Kuwaiti contracting firm oversaw the project.

~Even if you don’t click on a single link in this round-up, click on this. It’s a 24/7 live-stream of the Decorah Eagles taking care of their 3 brand new hatchlings in Iowa. I just checked in on them. Mom is watching them sleep, dad is off flying around (getting breakfast?)- she’s sitting on top of them to keep them warm. Every once in a while she stands up to check on them. When they are all awake they are too funny. That photo at the top of this post is of the Decorah Eagles.

~We simply cannot forget about Egypt. There has been escalating violence between protesters and the military in Tahrir Square and the Egyptian people seem to be turning against the military. This poses a problem for the U.S. government, which has been a bit too complimentary of the Egyptian military’s “restraint” and we have been awfully quiet about the allegations of torture, sexual abuse and other forms of violence perpetrated by the military and security forces.

~In case you missed it, Steve Clemons over at the Washington Note recently pointed out the total lack of discussion over the incredible cost of the Afghanistan War, particularly in light of the fact that Hamid Karzai and his buddies are funneling huge amounts of U.S. taxpayer dollars into offshore accounts almost as fast as the U.S. hands it over, while at the same time the U.S. builds Afghan infrastructure, schools etc. while neglecting those things here at home. How in the world can any politician have a serious debate about reigning in spending without a honest discussion about Afghanistan? To make matters worse, as we speak, the usual suspects [Gen. Petraeus, Gates, etc.] are lining up to blow sunshine up our backside by telling us something along the lines of “the surge is working, it’s a tough slog, but if we leave now we’ll lose whatever ground we’ve gained.” You know the deal-you’ve heard it before. Get used to it, we could be hearing it 20 years from now.

~It is becoming very clear that the situation in Cote d’Ivoire is long past a humanitarian crisis- bloodbath is more like it. In fact, it’s starting to look like a Rwanda-type situation. Human Rights Watch has reported mass killings and rape by President-elect Alassane Ouattara’s loyalists. The Obama administration has released several strongly-worded statements about the violence in Cote d’Ivoire over the past few weeks but given the growing number of atrocities taking place, I can’t help but have a hard time finding any consistency in President Obama’s foreign policy when it comes to humanitarian intervention, particularly in light of our actions in Libya.

~Big banks win again. Change you can believe in.

~Will the real Barack Obama please stand up?

~The blazing headline on Politico today “The GOP’s Winning Streak.” Maybe someone should pass the link onto Obama.

~In Libya, Gadhafi’s forces gain more ground.

~According to the Joint Chiefs, the repeal of DADT isn’t causing the slightest bit of concern in the military. Sorry John McCain.

~Almost half of the U.S. Senate signed a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging him to focus more on anti-pornography/obscenity cases. Uh, ok.

The End.

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It’s Sunday. It’s Your Early Bird Round-Up

By on 03 April 2011

Good morning political junkies, welcome to Sunday.

On this day in history, April 3, 1865, Union forces occupied the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

Here are some links to start off your morning:

~Guess what? Obama is going to announce he wants to run for re-election.

~In yet another shift away from the values and themes he championed as a candidate in 2008, Obama’s reelection campaign will focus more on big-money donors unrestrained by spending limits, as opposed to focusing on the type of small donor, grassroots fund raising he bragged about in 2008.

~So how does the Côte d’Ivoire fit into the Obama administration’s claim that “we are not just going to sit back and watch a government slaughter their own people”? Whether one agrees or disagrees with our military engagement in Libya, I don’t think there is any denying that both liberals and conservatives are scratching their heads looking for some sort of over-arching foreign policy theme. Secretary Clinton called for Laurent Gbagbo to “step down immediately”- this is the strongest condemnation from the administration to date.

~This morning there is breaking news that French forces have taken over Abidjan airport in Côte d’Ivoire.

~The White House is reportedly divided over how to deal with Syria.

~Arianna Huffington announces what has been obvious for some time now- the HuffPo is not a progressive site anymore. I don’t know how I’d describe it- another corporate news experiment, shameless Search Engine Optimizer, ad revenue generator?

~Did the U.S. get Saudi and Bahraini support for military action in Libya by agreeing to not speak out against Saudi troops going into Bahrain to quash democracy protesters?

~If this is true then the military is moving pretty quickly on repealing DADT. That’s good because if the GOP makes more gains in 2012 (or should I say “when”), things could get tricky.

~Israeli President Shimon Peres will be in Washington this upcoming week to work with President Obama to try to find a way to prevent the UN from recognizing a Palestinian state in September. You know, because this conflict hasn’t gone on long enough, we want to draw it out a bit longer.

~Speaking of Israel and Palestine, the International Crisis Group (ICC)released a report last week that details the rise of extremism in Gaza and how it has been influenced, in part, by rival factions within Palestinian politics but also, notably, the Gaza blockade itself has not only not stemmed the militant tide in Gaza but may actually have increased it. We tend to view Palestinian politics through the lens of Hamas and Fatah but the report details the rise of Salafi-Jihadi groups who are more extremist than Hamas. Given that Hamas did not claim responsibility for the recent murder of the Fogel family and the bombing in Jerusalem, it is actually possible that they in fact weren’t responsible, but rather some of these more extremist groups were. The ICC argues that the situation in Gaza makes it more important than ever to reach a quick, just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict- in other words, the recent violence should not be seen as a reason to not make peace.

~The pointless, provocative burning of the Koran by that malcontent Pastor Jones in Florida continues to reverberate around the Muslim world, not just in Afghanistan. Some believe Afghan President Hamid Karzai may have added fuel to the fire on Thursday when he openly condemned the burning and called on the U.S. to arrest Jones. Then on Friday during morning prayers, various Imans and Mullahs urged people take action in response to the Koran burning, which clearly was taken to mean “do violence,” whether or not that was the original intent (and it may have been). It was on Friday that the worst violence took place, with nine killed and over 80 wounded at the United Nations headquarters in Afghanistan.

~Our attention has been diverted away from Egypt, but there is trouble brewing as this article makes clear. Pretty soon the U.S. is going to have to pressure the Egyptian military to stop the torture, detentions and repression that continues to take place to this day. The U.S. has a very close relationship with the Egyptian military and in my view, we’ve been giving them a bit too much credit for their “restraint” when in fact, the same repressive system that existed under Mubarak continues to hold [and abuse] power. It’s difficult to see them voluntarily giving up all the power and the perks that go along with military dictatorship.

~Political history according to Newt Gingrich.

~So, is the Capitulator In Chief going to allow the GOP another huge victory by agreeing to over $70 billion in budget cuts, much of it targeted at social programs and the usual stuff that the GOP hates. Naturally, the Defense Department gets a pass on this one. You know, because there is no waste, fraud and abuse there. Maybe Obama should stand up for something and allow the GOP to shut down the government? Oh wait, but he doesn’t stand for anything. Does Obama want to help the average middle class American or does he just want to be liked by the GOP and moderates? Because at this point, his military and economic policies are anything but “progressive” and they still can’t stand him. It’s time for Barack Obama to accept that no matter what he does, the GOP will say “no.” Apparently Obama thinks that “compromise” means giving the GOP almost everything they want and getting little to nothing in return. The compromising of late has been rather one-sided.

~Glenn Greenwald does a nice job illustrating why Obama is totally willing to take the progressive vote for granted- because some Obama supporters, just like the G.W. Bush supporters of yore, will rationalize everything Barack Obama does, even if they don’t agree with it. In another recent post, Glenn Greenwald exposes Obama’s hypocrisy and total about-face on the limits (or lackthereof) of Executive Power, particularly as it relates to war and national security.

~Senators have sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanding she insist the Palestinians cease their incitement against Jews and Israel in their media, schools etc. No argument there. Incitement by definition throws fuel on an already-smoldering file. But over at Foreign Policy, Mathew Berkman argues that BOTH Palestinians and Israelis should be urged to cease incitement and that Congress, and Israel, tend to have a double standard on this issue.

~Israel will ask the United Nations to retract the Goldstone Report after Judge Goldstone wrote an op-ed in Friday’s Washington Post where he reconsidered some of his conclusions. Ethan Bronner of the NYT has a pretty balanced take on Judge Goldstone’s op-ed.

~592 American soldiers have died since President Obama announced the surge in Afghanistan.

~I hope you don’t mind a little pesticide in your water.

~Fox News lowers the bar. Again. They have given The Donald a regular Monday segment where he say outrageous things without having to explain them while promoting himself as a potential Presidential candidate. They are rationalizing that this ok because he’s not a paid contributor like some of their other Presidential candidates.

~Speaking of The Donald, Glenn Beck has…get this…dismissed Donald Trump as a “showboat” candidate. Hahahahaha. And what would Glenn know about showboating?

~More fun with Fox News- A Fox News executive admits he lied on air about candidate Obama during the 2008 election. Now, if this were any other “news” agency heads would roll. But this is Fox, a place where such biased nonsense is not only encouraged, but rewarded.

~The National Organization for Marriage is warning Virginians and whoever else that will listen, that pretty soon Virginia will have “mandatory gay adoptions” whatever the hell that means. Does that mean gay people will be mandated to adopt? Or does it mean straight people in Virginia will have to adopt gay people? Apparently what it actually means is that there shouldn’t be discrimination in the adoption process. The problem is that the religious right and anti-gay groups have mobilized around this issue and could tilt the balance against what appears to be an entirely reasonable regulation.

The End.

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Julian Schnabel’s ‘Miral’ Premieres in Washington

By on 02 April 2011

After reading Judge Richard Goldstone’s remarkable piece in the Washington Post today, it’s a further reminder of just how impossible it is to tell any story of Israelis and Palestinians without chasing narratives that inevitably end up colliding.

“Miral” is just such a collision.

Based on the autobiographical novel by Rula Jebreal, the Washington, D.C. premiere of “Miral” included a discussion afterward with the film’s director, as well as Ms. Jebreal, who also wrote the screenplay. Schnabel and Jebreal are partners in life, as in art. Amjad Atallah and Daniel Levy of New America Foundation were the hosts, with an educated foreign policy audience keyed in to what was happening on the screen.

Ms. Jebreal said she has “no resentments” of the First Intifada, but she’s now 37 and wants to know just how long this will have to go on without a resolution. Daniel Levy answered her when he said that “since Oslo we’ve gone back” and it’s come to the point that “hearing the other narrative has an illegality to it.”

Jebreal’s story, which is “Miral,” is compelling and heartbreaking. She is a brilliant, compelling and a deeply passionate woman about peace. At one point Schnabel made a comment that he’d like to see Jebreal sit across from PM Bibi Netanyahu and interview him instead of Piers Morgan, which would be something to see.

The accusations that the film is pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel mystify me, because that’s not what I saw at all. As with all of Mr. Schnabel’s films, “Basquiat,” “Before Night Falls,” both of which I’ve seen (“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” I have not), he easily maintains his “It’s not Hollywood, it’s an abstraction” quality, to quote the director, while infusing the characters with heart so that empathy is easily felt.

“If you empathize with the characters the movie does its job,” was the bar Schnabel set for his film, which I believe he reached. When he admits that “you’re watching one kind of movie, then you see another scene and you ask ‘what the hell is happening here?’”, it is the best description of “Miral” that no movie reviewer can replicate. The film is a complicated collage of events that begins in 1947 and goes through Oslo, but does so in a compilation of quick abstractions.

The first large section of the story is the preamble to Miral’s entrance, played by Freida Pinto of “Slumdog Millionaire.” It quickly skims Israel’s creation, introduces Willem Defoe as a token American serviceman, though he has no purpose in the film, which Schnabel admits, but like Vanessa Redgrave’s cameo, both actors are present to give support for Schnabel’s efforts at telling this Palestinian story, which is simultaneously one of an Israeli, something people often aren’t able to digest. It’s Regrave’s known Palestinian support that likely helped inflame some against “Miral,” but it’s hard not to honor artists who want to be part of such an endeavor when many big Hollywood names wouldn’t be caught near the subject for fear of ruining their image. Schnabel noted this after the film.

Of the women who come before Miral in the film, the famous Palestinian icon and heroine Hind al-Husseini deserved much more weight in the screenplay, which is one of the problems from the start, as Jebreal’s talent for fleshing out the female characters is weak and is often put second to scripted political messaging.

“Miral” begins here:

ONE COLD DAY in April 1948, 31-year-old Hind al-Husseini happened upon a group of 55 young children outside the Holy Sepulchre church in Jerusalem’s Old City. They had been dumped in the Old City and wandered near the church after having survived—and been orphaned by—a massacre in their village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Deir Yassin, by members of the Irgun and the Stern Gang.

Hind rescued the children immediately, bringing them to two rooms she rented for them nearby. Every day, Hind would visit the children with food and spend time with them. She soon brought them to the Sahyoun convent on the Via Dolorosa, following conversations with the head of the convent, who was worried about Hind’s safety en route to visiting the children in their two rooms. Palestine was in the midst of a war, and the Old City of Jerusalem was not spared from attacks. Indeed, shortly after Hind removed the children from the two rooms she had rented, those very rooms were bombed. So, within 10 days, the children had narrowly escaped death—first at their homes in Deir Yassin, and then in the Old City.

After the first cease-fire, Hind brought all 55 children—mostly all under the age of nine—from the convent to her family home, a mansion built by her grandfather in Jerusalem in 1891. Hind had been born there on April 25, 1916. On her 32nd birthday, just two weeks after the massacre of Deir Yassin, she renamed the house the Dar Al-Tifl Al-Arabi (Arab Children’s House), founding it as an orphanage for the young survivors. “It was the worst of times,” she recalled, adding, “It was the end of the Mandate.”

As for other lead female characters, Nadia, Miral’s mother, is a troubled drunk who ends up in prison; the next femme is Fatima, a female terrorist, who meets Nadia in jail. Jamal, Fatima’s brother, ends up raising Miral after her mother’s death. Alexander Siddig, who plays Jamal, whom some of you may remember from episodes of “24,” ends up grounding the entire story, after you get through the beginning narrative.

What struck me from the start of the film was the arc Schnabel was attempting to construct. When I asked him how he managed to edit a piece with such a wide expanse down to 90 minutes he simply replied, “Talent.” It wasn’t a question meant as the set up line it became, but when he quipped “You know the famous line, If I’d had more time it would have been shorter…” I knew his self-satisfaction for getting this ambitious project of love finished, but also getting Harvey Weinstein behind it, which was made possible in part because of the Oscar success of “The King’s Speech,” Schnabel said, was a feat for which he’d be proud, critics be damned.

The critics have not been kind. One reason is because the arc of the film falls in on itself before Miral is even introduced.

One of the things I believe kills the hook to audiences that a storyline requires to support the artistry of “abstraction” is a way in to relate early on so you can jump in and follow the narrative. If you’re hooked on Vanessa Redgrave you’re in, but if you’re not you’ll spend the first chunk of the movie baffled, with Willem Defoe’s cameo nothing akin to what you expect of him in any film making it worse. Even understanding that any ticket buyer is going to be predisposed to “Miral” or they wouldn’t go, the arc of beginning in 1947, while constructing a narrative of a Palestinian girl’s life, then ending at Oslo, with all the inherent politics in between, requires a great deal of athletic film viewing, even by the most dedicated person.

The film poster asks “Is this the face of a terrorist?” It’s the question that no doubt puts some people off seeing the film, while drawing people to it, as the answer seems so obvious, because the girl can’t possibly be that evil. So what makes a terrorist?

We find out through Miral’s boyfriend in the film, because regardless of Hind al-Husseini’s warnings for her to stay away from politics it’s impossible. To be a Palestinian or Israeli in Jerusalem is to be political. It’s inescapable.

TM Note: The Washington Post sat down with Schnabel and Jebreal the day after the Washington screening. Christian Science Monitor reviewed “Miral,” as did the NYTimes.

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Rationalizing Libya

By on 27 March 2011

“It was not — it was not a vital national interest to the United States, but it was an interest and it was an interest for all of the reasons Secretary Clinton talked about. The engagement of the Arabs, the engagement of the Europeans, the general humanitarian question that was at stake”… Defense Secretary: Libya Did Not Pose Threat to U.S., Was Not ‘Vital National Interest’ to Intervene

Pres. Obama letting emotions be his guide is how we got into Libya. It’s also the leading reasoning behind others who back him.

Juan Cole has a post up today “unabashedly cheering the liberation movement on”, applauding Pres. Obama’s interventionism into Libya, his war of choice. As much as I respect Juan Cole, his arguments are unpersuasive, as he cherry picks his way through rationalizing the President’s actions.

The United Nations Security Council authorization for UN member states to intervene to forestall this massacre thus pitched the question. If the Left opposed intervention, it de facto acquiesced in Qaddafi’s destruction of a movement embodying the aspirations of most of Libya’s workers and poor, along with large numbers of white collar middle class people. Qaddafi would have reestablished himself, with the liberation movement squashed like a bug and the country put back under secret police rule. The implications of a resurgent, angry and wounded Mad Dog, his coffers filled with oil billions, for the democracy movements on either side of Libya, in Egypt and Tunisia, could well have been pernicious. [...]

Among reasons given by critics for rejecting the intervention are:

1. Absolute pacifism (the use of force is always wrong)

2. Absolute anti-imperialism (all interventions in world affairs by outsiders are wrong).

3. Anti-military pragmatism: a belief that no social problems can ever usefully be resolved by use of military force.

For a man who has called Afghanistan another Vietnam, while never understanding the human rights as women’s rights argument, it’s astounding Cole is ignoring a major element on Libya. One that has convinced me that we’ve done what we can in Afghanistan and while we’ll continue to aid them, our military must disengage.

There is absolutely nothing about Libya that is in American’s geopolitical interests.

Cole’s flippant refusal to consider the Sudan because military intervention would have required more effort than Libya is to say that preventing genocide can only be done if it’s easy. Genocide often happens in out of the reach places where the perpetrators think they can get away with it, as they did in Rwanda.

The other very real issue is focus and what taking our eye off of the geopolitical ball can mean. Distractions are dangerous and that’s exactly what Libya is.

From Steve Clemons, who is correct on Libya and has the most cogent analysis of anyone:

However, the nation of real rather than imagined national security consequence to the U.S. in the region is Egypt. Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations and others — including myself — are worried about the ‘bandwidth’ of the White House to deal with multiple major challenges at the same time. Libya will soon be NATO protectorate and focus of significant attention — adding some ‘stretch marks’ to the stress NATO members are already feeling on Afghanistan.

But what of Egypt which is going through extraordinary changes in turbo time? Senior officials in the Department of State tell me “we are on it.” And I believe they are in the sense of working with Egyptian authorities to offer counsel on strategies to transform the Constitution and set the terms for significantly broader political stakeholding in the country — but there is no doubt that the system that President Obama has established for exhaustively internally inclusive national security decision making has less space for Egypt today than Libya.

Meanwhile, Sec. Clinton said today that the U.S. would not intervene in Syria.

Clinton said the elements that led to intervention in Libya — international condemnation, an Arab League call for action, a United Nations Security Council resolution — are “not going to happen” with Syria, in part because members of the U.S. Congress from both parties say they believe Assad is “a reformer.”

Leaving aside for now the absurd notion that Pres. Assad is a “reformer,” I cannot find any through line from the Administration on why Libya and not Syria.

Sen. Joe Lieberman did and it reveals the problem in Juan Cole’s analysis, which opens up a whole can of worms. Via Reuters:

Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent, suggested the United States and other countries could intervene militarily in Syria if President Bashar al-Assad, who came to power after the 2000 death of his father, Hafez, attacked protesters with greater ferocity.

“There’s a precedent now that the world community has said in Libya, and it’s the right one, ‘we’re not going to stand by and allow this Assad to slaughter his people like his father did years ago,’” Lieberman told the “Fox News Sunday” program.

Of course we feel for the poor and workers of Libya. If Gadhafi had been allowed to clash with protesting Libyan civilians it would have been gut wrenching to watch.

But what about human rights violations in China? In North Korea?

If the U.S. is spread any thinner our national security interests will become vulnerable, our interests unprotected, because we will now be embroiled in Libya, along with Afghanistan and Iraq. While Egypt, which is much more critical to American interests than Libya, will not get the attention it warrants.

It’s being reported that NATO will indeed take on duties beyond the no-fly zone, arms embargo, but also protecting civilians. But NATO’s “Needs America To Operate” history means we won’t be completely hands off, because this mission is not over. Never mind we still do not know the ultimate intent, which Obama states is “Gadhafi must go,” while admitting he has no intention of forcing the issue.

The entire endeavor has been fraught with inconsistensies from the start.

Juan Cole is understandably emotional about Libya, which is how Pres. Obama got dragged into this war of choice in the first place.

There are many tensions breaking open and what’s required right now is clear, tough-eyed realism. Bleeding hearts will compromise American interests and get us embroiled while our adversaries plot.

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The Sunday Early Bird News Round-Up

By on 27 March 2011

Good morning early birds and welcome to Sunday!

On this day in history, March 27, 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon set his eyes on what is today known as Florida.

I’ve rounded up some links so you don’t have to:

~Coalition airstrikes against Gaddafi on Saturday provide enough cover for the rebels to retake the city of Ajdabiya in the East.

~A quarter of a million people take to the streets in London to protest the government’s draconian “austerity” measures. Just as in the U.S., the British banking system received billions in bailouts and now the people made to suffer are the usual suspects- the middle and lower classes.

~Protests in Syria turned violent after government forces gunned down dozens of unarmed protesters.

~You would think that the cable news media could walk and chew gum at the same time given it’s a 24 hour news cycle which gives them more than enough time to cover more than one or two stories non-stop. For example, one would think they could cover the military action in Libya and the ongoing crisis in Japan. If you thought that, you would be wrong. Since the initiation of military action in Libya, coverage of the continued problems with the Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan has slipped off noticeably. Luckily print/web media is still covering the crisis.

~This seems to becoming more and more of a frequent occurrence- NATO air strikes kill more civilians, including children.

~On a similar note if you haven’t seen the documentary, The Pat Tillman Story by Amir Bar-Lev, go run out and rent it. There have been several documentaries about his death, but this one is the best by far- I know it’s been available on DVD for some time now but I just watched it last night and it was incredible- and enraging. It’s all the more relevant given what has gone on in Afghanistan since Tillman died- it’s incredible to see just how many of the top brass involved in the cover-up failed upwards and not only were not held accountable, but got promotions. Of course, the people doing the promoting (in the Bush administration) seemed to also be involved in the cover-up.

~Hamas announced that Gaza militants had agreed to stop launching rockets into Israel if Israel would stop launching strikes against targets in Gaza in return. That seems unlikely. Tensions are rising daily and I can’t help but have the feeling that we are about to see the Second Act of Operation Cast Lead. I hope I am wrong.

~In today’s NYT Thomas Friedman tries to put a positive spin on the outcome of the Iraq War which he supported and argued for in 2002 and 2003 and argues, unconvincingly in my view, that the wonderful democracy that flourished there bodes well for the Arab Spring.

~While polls show that more and more Americans are supporting equality for gays and lesbians on a variety of fronts, it looks like the all of the likely GOP hopefuls are decidedly anti-gay. So, who is outside the mainstream now?

~What is it about some small government conservatives loving big government in our bedrooms?

~European countries seem to be getting fed up with the United States’ primary role in the Mideast Peace process (or lack thereof). They want the United Nations to take over the peace negotiations and I can’t help but wonder if this is related to a) Angela Merkel’s extraordinary phone call with Bibi Netanyahu where her aides described her as being “furious” with him, b) the revelations in the Palestine Papers, which received much, much more coverage in Europe and other parts of the world than they did in the U.S. and c) the U.S. being the only country to veto the Security Council resolution condemning settlement expansion? Here’s the thing, the U.S. won’t hand over its leading role in “mediating” negotiations and coming up with a solution because Israel wants us in that position- in fact, Bibi doesn’t want anything to do with the Quartet. I’ve believed for a long time that the international community needs to play a larger role in all of this because it’s clear that due to domestic political considerations, the U.S. is incapable of being an objective, honest broker, which is what is necessary if the conflict is ever to end.

~Is this NJ nuclear reactor an accident waiting to happen?

~Glenn Beck has a new documentary (*yawn*) which I guess came out some time in February 2011 and guess what it’s about? **spoiler alert** Basically, the world is ending and those evil Muslims, socialists and atheists are responsible. It seems to focus a lot on Iran getting a nuclear weapon in the next 10 minutes and it contains a lot of commentary from people who have made a career out of fear-mongering and being a little bit crazy. Media Matters has some good information on Beck’s chosen “experts.” Sorry if I ruined it for you. Here’s a little taste:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4NVBVG5--c]

~War-monger John Bolton has a swell idea- war with Iran. And soon. This is nothing new of course because I don’t think Bolton could name a single country in the Mideast region (other than Israel) that he doesn’t want to bomb. I’ve noticed something about neoconservatives- they seem to treat U.S. troops like expendable chess pieces on board which they control. If we end up in another war I think it will be time for a draft. Or how about a war tax since all this sh*t costs money? I think we’ve become an entitled, lazy nation that expects only about 2% of the population to sacrifice anything when it comes to war and thus it’s much easier to support something when most of us have no skin in the game. Remember back in the old days when our leaders demanded sacrifice from ALL Americans, not just service members and their families? Women worked in the factories and joined WAVES, certain food items and products were prohibited because they were needed for the war effort, people bought war bonds and people signed up for service in droves. These days what do our leaders ask us to do in a time of national crisis and war? They ask us to go shopping. Who doesn’t like shopping?

~Hey, it’s almost tax time, how much do you owe in federal income tax? If it’s more than $1 you owe more than Bank of America does. It’s called failing upwards. Where is the MSM (television, preferably) on this? The hypocrisy of the small government, budget-cutting, anti-tax crowd is unbelievable- Middle America is being the only one asked to sacrifice economically while the nations largest corporations (not just in banking) not only pay ZERO federal income tax, but receive BILLIONS- yes, billions- in tax relief while they use offshore accounts to dodge tax federal tax laws. Now there’s a loophole the size of the Grand Canyon that needs fixing. But nowhere in this budget debate is any of this being discussed. Now, not all corporations pay no taxes of course, but the idea that we actually have a truly free market system with all these corporate subsidies is a myth- and that’s without even bringing up the issue of bailouts.

~Yemen’s long-time President is possibly stepping down sooner rather than later.

~Over at Foreign Policy there is an interesting and somewhat critical commentary about Angela Merkel’s economic and foreign policy leadership.

~Whether one agrees or disagrees with military intervention in Libya there is no denying that very real and very important questions are being raised about its foreign policy implications. For example, this commentary asks why, if the intervention in Libya is based primarily on humanitarian grounds, the world and UN have largely ignored the growing violence and murder of large numbers of civilians in Côte d’Ivoire by the ruthless Laurent Gbagbo.

~Speaking of questions being raised about the foreign policy implications of military intervention in Libya, here Mark Sheetz arguing that Europe (and in particular France) alone should have handled this one. Agree or disagree, he raises some interesting questions.

~Careful what you wish for Floridians, you just might get it. Howie Klein of Down with Tyranny has a great post up about how Florida Governor Rick Scott has a plan to make Florida one of the states most hostile to public workers/unions, the poor and pretty much every living thing except large corporations. And given what’s been happening in Wisconsin, that’s quite an achievement!

~Speaking of Wisconsin and union-hating political leaders, Governor Walker has decided that following court orders is for lesser humans and the GOP is going to go ahead and ram the anti-union bill into effect. So much for being a law and order Republican. I keep wondering when middle America, including conservatives, are going to wake up and smell the hypocrisy. When ever you hear the Tea Party crowd talk about a) transparency, b) small government, c) cutting spending and d) the importance of the Constitution and the Rule of Law, be sure you read the fine print because there is a long list of self-serving exceptions to all of the above.

~Does the treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning raise the possibility that despite Barack Obama’s executive order prohibiting torture, it is still being used at the discretion of the DoD/CIA? Why has the MSM not asked hard questions about this, particularly given the fact that Obama’s executive order has exceptions that have been interpreted to mean that torture is permissible in certain circumstances. Also, given the firing resignation of State Dept. spokesman PJ Crowley several weeks ago, you would think the MSM would connect some of the dots. I guess that’s just to much to ask of David Gregory, John King and others.

Baby Cheetah:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnXRyO84TH4]

~On Monday Der Spiegel published shocking photos of US troops posing by dead Afghan civilians whom they had killed. The photos are graphic and horrible. The US soldiers involved are on trial for murder (one of them just sentenced to 24 years) but I am wondering, did I miss something or has the US media largely ignored this story (there were a few reports including the AP) and if so, are they doing so at the request of the US government?

~Thank goodness for Nicholas Kristof, who in today’s NYT is bringing more attention to the horrific story of the Egyptian women who were subjected to torture and a “virginity test” by the very same Egyptian military that the U.S. has been lauding for being so restrained and professional.

~It’s looking more and more likely like there will be a government shutdown.

~Kathleen Parker has an interesting piece in the WaPo about Nikki Haley and internal South Carolina politics.

~Dana Milbank mocks a Haley Barbour presidential run.

~Defense Secretary Gates said in a pre-taped interview (to air today on Face the Nation) that Gadhafi may be moving dead bodies in an attempt to claim that coalition air strikes have killed lots of civilians.

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Peter Beinert’s Right, It’s The End Of An Empire

By on 25 March 2011

Some commentators love the Libya war; others hate it. But most agree that it’s profoundly unnatural that we were pushed into it by… France. Welcome to the post-American world. In the age we’re entering, most of the time, the choice will no longer be between humanitarian interventions controlled by the United States and humanitarian interventions where other nations take the lead. The choice will be between humanitarian interventions where other nations take the lead and no humanitarian interventions at all. – Peter Beinert

Pres. Obama is walking away from what Pres. Bill Clinton believed about the U.S. in foreign affairs. That we are the indispensable nation. In the year of the Arab Spring, that’s simply so ’90s.

This is what’s causing Republican heads to explode, with GOP presidential wannabes seeing this as their opening.

Rarely agreeing with Mr. Beinert, what he writes about today is the most important aspect of what’s going on over Libya, as Arab uprisings continue to spread and unwind.

He also has the most classic analysis of Gates since he uttered his own “on the fly” description of Obama’s war of choice in Libya.

I don’t know what it took to convince an obviously reluctant Robert Gates to permit American involvement in the Libyan no-fly zone, but it’s a reasonable bet that had Barack Obama not been able to promise that it would be a mostly European affair, Gates would now be a military analyst on Fox News. It’s not the 1990s anymore. The American public’s appetite for humanitarian war has always been meager. And now the American government’s capacity for waging it is meager, too.

Old school Republicans like Haley Barbour, Mitt Romney and to a lesser degree Newt Gingrich, as well as Sarah Palin, who simply doesn’t have the depth of foreign policy knowledge or study to do anything but parrot neoconservative ideology, are all caterwauling about Pres. Obama’s alleged lack of leadership. The problem with Newt’s fumbling analysis is that it reveals he’s absolutely paralyzed with fear at being humiliated in his quest for the Republican nomination, which seems baked into the plot. With Romney willing to say whatever it takes to nab the nomination this time around. The others simply refuse Obama’s premise.

Obama’s incoherence on Libya, especially Pres. Obama’s arrogant slight of Congress, is unquestionable. Sending Sec. Clinton out to do his job hardly puts to rest the argument that the women guided him into Libya, in fact it reinforces it. No doubt he’ll be center stage whenever this ill fated foreign policy misadventure concludes, taking credit, of course.

But Pres. Obama is attempting to transition the United States into a more humble foreign policy based on practicalities, not the least of which is our terrifying fiscal insolvency, even if Obama’s own mathematical solutions are as bad as Republican.

As impossibly scatterbrained as the Obama administration’s foreign policy is, looking at Republicans and their regurgitation of 20th century national security talking points that long outlived reality, is enough to scare anyone to death. Not only are they clueless about the emerging Arab world, but these fiscal numbskulls can’t even swallow that our means of making war can’t ever be again to deploy tens of thousands of troops. Modern warfare nimbleness hasn’t cracked their thick skulls yet.

But then Pres. Obama’s own stubbornness on Afghanistan is just as bad.

Beinert’s analysis of Europe is also noteworthy, as it’s the bookend change to what’s exploding in Arab nations. Part of it is due to Europe’s own experiences of war on their own soil, something America hasn’t faced. We still see bombs as flowers to people in countries we are invading to “save” for freedom, while European nations focus on the human carnage war making manifests.

Jeffersonianism has landed in Washington, which is why Obama’s taking such a hit politically.

Which leads us back to Beinert: Jeffersonians, to borrow Walter Russell Mead’s phrase, believe that preserving America’s economic and political solvency requires reining in American empire.

Ah, but countries have egos. The Republicans want to continue feeding ours, while Pres. Obama is trying to starve it.

If Pres. Obama wasn’t delivering confusion and chaos through his clumsy transition to America sharing the world’s stage with France and the rest of Europe, instead of making the case directly, which is a good one, the American people just might buy it.

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