Day: March 2, 2011

Now Would Be A Good Time

The Middle East is just a powder keg waiting for the right fuse……dissension aimed at long time despots is rising and not too calmly……the media and the government has their fingers crossed that democracy will a foothold and blossom so that a once volatile part of the world ….all with the hope that the US long time partner and friend, Israel, could finally find a peaceful existence…….

For 40 years, every American president has attempted and failed at finding the correct path to a lasting Middle East peace……..meeting after meeting and finally failure after failure…..but now might be a good time to act like peace with ones neighbors is a good idea……

Reuters is reporting:

The official, who declined to be named, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might seek a “phased path” toward a permanent deal rather than a treaty that resolved all the core issues as envisaged by the United States and European allies.Analysts say this staggered approach would involve offering Palestinians the chance to establish an independent state in part of the West Bank and in the Gaza enclave, with the possibility of extending their territory at a later date.

Israel has been worried about its growing international isolation and last month narrowly escaped a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning settlements as illegal after the United States vetoed the draft which all other members endorsed.

The US has failed in the past…so has the UK….France…..Arab League…etc…..etc….etc……could this be a good sign for the area?  Is this yet another wild shot into the air?  Or are the Israelis serious this time?

So yes!  Now would be a good time to find a solution to the situation on the West Bank and Gaza……a solution that Israel is truly a democratic partner in the Middle East.

The Acts Of A Despot

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Revolution/Despots/ Dictators

The recent election in Iraq has shown that democracy is possible….all that before the present day dissent took hold…..the problem was that Maliki had to form a government out of warring factions….he did so and now we can be proud that we forced democracy onto the Middle East……

With all the dissent in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Algeria and Libya, though Libya is more of a revolution than a call for democracy, they want to do away with Qadafi…..but we can hope that if Qadafi gets whack then maybe democracy will be the next stage…..

But this post is more about the country in the Middle East that McCain said would never see protests like the rest of the Middle East because it is now democratic….

Don’t you just hate it when events make you out a complete idiot?

Well, McCain was mistaken…..riots, protests and armed intervention have come home to Iraq….their “Day of Rage” consisted of police intervention the deaths of several, the burning of buildings, etc…all the usual acts when people are fed up….but the Maliki government hads turned to the tactics of a despot…..

The government is rounding up the usual suspects in Iraq….this from a report in the WaPo:

Iraqi security forces detained about 300 people, including prominent journalists, artists and lawyers who took part in nationwide demonstrations Friday, in what some of them described as an operation to intimidate Baghdad intellectuals who hold sway over popular opinion.The Iraq protests were different from many of the revolts sweeping the Middle East and North Africa in that demonstrators were calling for reform, not for getting rid of the government. Their demands ranged from more electricity and jobs to ending corruption, reflecting a dissatisfaction with government that cuts across sectarian and class lines.

Yet the protests were similar to others in that they were organized, at least in part, by middle-class, secular intellectuals, many of whom started Facebook groups, wrote and gave interviews supporting the planned demonstrations.

The democracy in Iraq that McCain is so proud of does not act like a democracy…..it does not allow dissent, jails intellectuals and uses force to quell dissent…is this what 4000+ Americans died for….is this the democracy to be proud of?  Is this what McCain considers a good democracy?

And the US still has NOT addressed the violence in Iraq……we have condemned everyone else in the area but since this is our butt boy…..we will remain silent……..

These are the tactics of a despot….a authoritarian leader….we have seen this time and time again……jailing anyone that could form an opposition…..sorry NOT a democracy!  It may be McCain’s definition of a democracy….but it is NOT mine!