Showing posts with label palestine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label palestine. Show all posts
Monday, June 18, 2007
The Palestinians vote democratically for horrible leadership, we respond by financially cutting them off. Gun battles and a state of emergency suspending the elected government means we pour in money. I don't absolutely disagree btw. Our dishonest claims of holding democracy up as the highest virtue in the middle east has been exposed for a lie. We would rather have a friendly dictatorship in Saudi Arabia too. Who knows what democracy might bring. Venezuela?
Sunday, March 18, 2007
RUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States said on Sunday its ban on direct aid to the Palestinian government would remain in place but it broke ranks with Israel by authorizing contacts with some members of the new unity administration.
The U.S. consulate in Jerusalem said Washington would continue to shun Hamas ministers in the power-sharing Palestinian cabinet but permit contacts with non-Hamas members on a case-by-case basis.
The decision to allow some contacts marked a shift in U.S. policy and a split with Israel, which said it would boycott the new government in its entirety, including non-Hamas ministers.
That is very white of us. Because of course, economic sanctions have worked so well in the past to make countries love us. I mean take a look at Cuba for example. The policy will work as soon as we can pay off Castro's doctors.
The people of Palestine voted for Hamas. I disagreed with their decision, but the choice was theirs to make. They took the unprecedented step of actually compromising, and allowing some powersharing with Fatah that lost the election. What more do we want here exactly? A revote? Best two out of three?
Do we honestly think that several more years of living in squalor is going to teach the Palestinians a lesson and they will embrace us for giving them the tough love they needed? What is the objective of this policy? Where in the past has following this policy produced the results that are desired? Or are these the actual desired results? More conflict in Israel and Palestine means more unstable mideast which helps keep oil prices high. You don't have to be a radical conspiracy theorist to believe that the Bush administration is doing about everything in it's power to destabilize the region. Incompetence or Evil?
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Sad story from the BBC about an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man who committed the crime of falling in love.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - The Hamas-led government resigned Thursday to make room for a new, more pragmatic coalition with the rival Fatah movement, Palestinian officials said after defusing a last-minute crisis over cabinet posts and Hamas' private militia.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas travelled to Gaza and met with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, who handed in his resignation. Abbas was expected to then authorize Haniyeh to form a new coalition government.
Shortly after the resignation, the United States informed Abbas that it will shun a future unity government with Hamas because it will not explicitly recognize Israel, Abbas aides said.
Let me get this straight here. Hamas was voted in by the Palestinian people. We have legitimate gripes with how the Palestinian people voted. We have applied sanctions. In response, Hamas decided to power share with the more moderate Fatwah faction and we have already informed them that we don't give a crap, and we are still not deal with them.
This reminds me of, oh I don't know, yesterday. President Bush said he wouldn't negotiate with Iran because it wouldn't guarantee concessions from Iran. Reason #5335 why these people in the White House are idiots. The whole point of diplomacy is to negotiate with your enemies. Why negotiate with your friends? I know it's a new millenium, but rocket scientists like Bush and Condi Rice think that the sweep of human history including the whole point of diplomacy can be swept aside on their say so and things won't go to hell in a handbasket.
The Palestinians made an effort to reach half way. Blindly rejecting any chance of talks is going to guarantee more strife in the region. We could try to negotiate and either succeed or fail, but thanks to this policy, it is guaranteed.
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