Recently in Mideast War Category
"The consequences of Bush and Rice's passivity were disastrous. Israel didn't lose the war, but it didn't win, either, and that's what it had to do to maintain its image of invincibility, which has long deterred hostile neighbors from contemplating aggression. Hezbollah didn't win, but all it had to do was not lose, and it clearly achieved that goal, enhancing its reputation as the power that had stood up to the Zionists and faced them down." In his discussion of the recent Mideast summit in Annapolis (which publicly aimed to kickstart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and privately aimed to pry Syria further away from Iran), Slate's Fred Kaplan brings up a crucial -- and missed -- opportunity for diplomacy last year, during the Israel-Lebanon crisis. "(By the way, this may have been the genesis of a new Israeli verb, lecondel—in Hebrew, 'to Condel,' short for 'to Condoleezza' -- meaning, as the New York Times' Steven Erlanger has explained, to come and go for meetings that produce few results.)" And, speaking of political linguistics, it turns out that Annapolis, however picturesque, might not have been the best place to hold the summit -- In Arabic, "Annapolis" roughly translates to "I am the Police."
"As for Iraq, it's no news that Bush has no strategy. What did come as news -- and, really, a bit of a shocker -- is that he doesn't seem to know what 'strategy' means." Slate's Fred Kaplan tears apart another dismal Dubya press conference. At this point, it's a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, isn't it?
"Seen the arrow on the doorpost saying, 'This land is condemned, all the way from New Orleans to Jerusalem.' I traveled through East Texas where many martyrs fell, and I know no one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell." Or Kind Willie Clinton, for that matter...a belated happy birthday to our ex-president, who turned 60 yesterday.
"There's a broader lesson here, and it speaks to the Bush administration's present jam throughout the Middle East and in other danger zones. If the British had adopted the same policy toward dealing with Pakistan that Bush has adopted toward dealing with, say, Syria or Iran (namely, it's an evil regime, and we don't speak with evil regimes), then a lot of passenger planes would have shattered and spilled into the ocean, hundreds or thousands of people would have died, and the world would have suddenly been plunged into very scary territory." In light of yesterday's foiled plot, Slate's Fred Kaplan points out one of the critical flaws of Dubya Diplomacy (which, thankfully, the British do not share.)
"Once again, Bush demonstrated that he doesn't understand what makes young democracies flourish or why Hezbollah has appeal even to many nonterrorists. He doesn't seem to realize that democratic governments require democratic institutions and the resources to make them thrive. He evinces no awareness that the longer Israel bombs Beirut into oblivion, the harder it becomes for Siniora (who has few resources) to retain legitimacy -- and the easier it becomes for Hezbollah (which has many more resources) to gain still greater power." Slate's Fred Kaplan parses yet another dismaying press performance by Dubya regarding the current international scene.
Update: "Scholars who enter the chambers of power should use their training as a tool to help them make decisions. Condi Rice is using hers as a chant to wish away the consequences." In a related piece, Kaplan examines Condaleeza Rice's tendency to hide behind her PhD when faced with tough questions. Well, she may be a "student of history," but as Sean Wilentz noted earlier, she's never been a very good one when you get right down to it (although, to her credit, she has been very busy creating work for future members of the profession.)
"This has constrained U.S. foreign policy in many damaging ways...The United States does not have effective diplomatic channels for managing the situation, much less resolving it." Former members of Bush administrations past and present criticize the Dubya White House for their complete lack of diplomatic avenues with Syria, Iran, the Palestinians, or anyone else that might be able to mitigate the current Middle East crisis. "As unattractive as they are, the Syrians are in a position to affect U.S. interests in Iraq and Lebanon...We should be having a broad-based dialogue with them -- not as a favor to them but as a favor to ourselves."
"'What about Kofi Annan?' Bush asked Blair. 'I don't like the sequence of it. His attitude is basically cease-fire and everything else happens.'" Dubya and Tony Blair get caught (apparently) off-guard and on tape discussing the escalating crisis in the Middle East. "Bush said that he feels 'like telling Kofi to get on the phone with [Syrian President Bashar] Assad and make something happen. We're not blaming Israel, and we're not blaming the Lebanese government.'" (A lot of news sources seem to be fronting Dubya's use of the S-word -- "See the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over." -- but, really, who gives a shit about his language?) "Bush also told Blair that he would be sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region soon. 'She's going,' Bush said. 'I think Condi's going to go pretty soon.'" Update: Watch it online, just to get a sense of how boorish and out-of-his-depth our president seems on the world stage. (Exhibit B: Dubya's ill-fated and cringeworth back-rub attempt.)
More grim news in the world-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket department: So, obviously, there now seems to be a full-fledged firing war going on between Israel and Hezbollah, one which has already set back Lebanon years and threatens to bring in Syria and Iran as official combatants (a.k.a. Hezbollah's main backers) if it keeps up. For his part, other than having Bolton spike a UN resolution condemning Israel for "disproportionate use of force," Dubya has been basically AWOL in terms of world leadership -- in fact, he's been more effusive about a German pig of late than he has a conflagration that threatens nothing less than full-scale war across the Middle East. Where have you gone Bill Clinton, our nation turns it lowly eyes to you?
