Backlog of stuff to read
I have been saving articles to read online for a few weeks, and I finally decided it was time to sort through them and post the ones of interest, so here I go. This first article discusses how the Palestinian Authority will begin getting money that had been withheld after the election of Hamas. The article says that the money will bypass the Hamas government, but it is not clear to me how this will happen. Good development, nonetheless.
But to dampen the mood of optimism, a recent poll shows that only 51% of Palestinians favor a peace agreement with Israel. The article is very short and only discusses how the poll was conducted...I am supplying the link as evidence that things are not getting better. Additionally, Israel believes that Fatah, Yasir Arafat's old party, could disappear in the Gaza Strip, leading to further instability and factionalism. Not that Fatah was necessarily a force for peace and stability, but at least it has a historical precedent of working with other international powers, including Israel, which probably makes Israel extremely nervous. To add to Israel's troubles, now there is pressure within Israel for an investigation into the handling of the conflict with Lebanon, plus allegations by Amnesty International that Israel committed war crimes.
I have stated before that I think the region will only experience more problems, and it appears that others with more expertise are saying the same thing. People's Daily Online found that the Arab press largely believes that the Middle East will only experience more violence after the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire.
But rest assured my friends, our president believes that it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world realizes that this conflict has weakened Hezbollah. Never mind that everyone else thinks Hezbollah emerged stronger and proved that it could stand up to the regional hegemon and its patron, the United States. I am sure the president has some very smart people reassuring him that this will not lead to a larger regional conflict, and that the best way to undermine Hezbollah is to continue the conflict in Iraq, or something weird like that. Whatever.
But to dampen the mood of optimism, a recent poll shows that only 51% of Palestinians favor a peace agreement with Israel. The article is very short and only discusses how the poll was conducted...I am supplying the link as evidence that things are not getting better. Additionally, Israel believes that Fatah, Yasir Arafat's old party, could disappear in the Gaza Strip, leading to further instability and factionalism. Not that Fatah was necessarily a force for peace and stability, but at least it has a historical precedent of working with other international powers, including Israel, which probably makes Israel extremely nervous. To add to Israel's troubles, now there is pressure within Israel for an investigation into the handling of the conflict with Lebanon, plus allegations by Amnesty International that Israel committed war crimes.
I have stated before that I think the region will only experience more problems, and it appears that others with more expertise are saying the same thing. People's Daily Online found that the Arab press largely believes that the Middle East will only experience more violence after the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire.
But rest assured my friends, our president believes that it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world realizes that this conflict has weakened Hezbollah. Never mind that everyone else thinks Hezbollah emerged stronger and proved that it could stand up to the regional hegemon and its patron, the United States. I am sure the president has some very smart people reassuring him that this will not lead to a larger regional conflict, and that the best way to undermine Hezbollah is to continue the conflict in Iraq, or something weird like that. Whatever.
posted by Courtney at 9:34 AM
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