Global Paradigms

Interesting piece in the NYT today on Noted Arab Citizens Call on Israel to Shed Jewish Identity. Here is the full text: By ISABEL KERSHNER JERUSALEM, Feb. 7 — A group of prominent Israeli Arabs has called on Israel to stop defining itself as a Jewish state and become a “consensual democracy for both Arabs and Jews,” prompting consternation and debate across the country. Their contention is part of “The Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel,” a report published in December under the auspices of the Committee of Arab Mayors in Israel, which represents the country’s 1.3 million Arab citizens, about a fifth of the population. Some 40 well-known academics and activists took part. They call on the state to recognize Israeli Arab citizens as an indigenous group with collective rights, saying Israel inherently discriminates against non-Jewish citizens in its symbols of state, some core laws, and budget and land allocations. The authors propose a form of government, “consensual dem...

Highly recommended Norman Birnbaum's Israel on the Potomac: power under pressure. Among other things he makes the following points: After the six-day war of 1967 war, the Israel lobby was able to count on the support of the media, the marginalisation of Israel's critics, and overwhelming support in Congress. A politician who incurs the anger of the Israel lobby is taking a risk. One example of many is from the 2004 presidential campaign, when Howard Dean called for American "even-handedness" in the middle east - and then retreated, in haste and under fire. A problem here is that American Jewry has allowed itself to be represented by persons who in manner and personality resemble not the Nobel prizewinners, writers and thinkers of whom it has every reason to be proud, but an earlier generation's formidable gangsters, who are not above descending to vulgar ethnocentrism for the sake of defending Israel. This can be manifest in the tension between the claim of full ...

Read his thoughts on the plans to attack Iran . I liked this part: At this moment, people in Washington and in Jerusalem are thinking about a war in Iran. Not if it should be started, but when and how. If this is to be an American war, its consequences will be many times more grievous than the war in Iraq. Iran is a very hard nut. The Iranian people are united. They have a glorious national tradition, a highly developed national pride and a tough religious ideology. One can bomb their oil facilities, but it is a big country, not dependent on a sophisticated infrastructure, and it cannot be subdued by bombing alone. There will be no alternative to a military attack on the ground. Bush is already preparing the war. This week he instructed his soldiers in Iraq to hunt down and kill all "Iranian agents" there. That is reminiscent of the infamous "Kommissarbefehl" of June 6, 1941, on the eve of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, in which Adolf Hitler ordered the su...

Who is therefore my kind of guy. Read his GREAT piece in the New York Review of Books. Here is one section which reads as though it was authored by someone working in a libertarian think tank: The noninterventionist alternative to the policies followed in the United States since the 1950s is to minimize interference in other societies and accept the existence of an international system of plural and legitimate powers and interests. One would think the idea that nations are responsible for themselves, and that American military interference in their affairs is more likely to turn small problems into big ones than to solve them, would appeal to an American public that believes in individual responsibility and the autonomy of markets, considers itself hostile to political ideology (largely unaware of its own), and professes to be governed by constitutional order, pragmatism, and compromise. A noninterventionist policy would shun ideology and emphasize pragmatic and empirical judgment of ...

I was a guest today on the To The Point radio show hosted by Warren Olney. You can listen (I hope) to program "The Arabs, the Jews and American History" here.

Check out my: Expanding the War to Iran: Another “Urban Legend?” Leon Hadar | January 26, 2007 IRC Right Web Rejecting the notion that the United States was planning to attack Iran and Syria, White House Spokesman Tony Snow called it a myth or an “urban legend.” “I want to address [a] kind of a rumor, an urban legend that's going around,” Snow told reporters at a White House briefing two days after President George W. Bush vowed to go after Iranian terrorist networks involved in Iraq violence. “What the president talked about in his speech on Iraq strategy is defending American forces within Iraq,” Snow insisted. In his January 11 televised speech on U.S. policy in Iraq, Bush had accused Tehran and Damascus of fueling the insurgency in Iraq and expressed disagreement with proposals, including from the Iraq Study Group (ISG), to negotiate with both countries as part of an effort to reach peace and stability in Iraq. He said: “We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We'll i...

In the New York Times today. The writer, Michael Oren seems to be a bit confused. I don't recall that Syria was placed on the "axis of evil." But never mind.. And of course he is actually opposed to Israel-Syria talks but doesn't say so. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 24, 2007 Op-Ed Contributor What if Israel and Syria Find Common Ground? By MICHAEL B. OREN ISRAEL’S newspapers are rife with reports of a peace agreement secretly forged between Israeli and Syrian negotiators. Though both the Syrian and Israeli governments have denied any involvement in the talks, past experience shows that such disavowals are often the first indication of truth behind the rumors. Certainly, there is nothing new about the details of the purported plan, which involves a staged Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, occupied since 1967, and the full normalization of relations between Damascus and Jerusalem. Nor is there a preced...

(original lyrics by Natalie Cole): Gimme some time [ like six months or more ], Baby I know you're thinking that I'm playing [ neocon games;politics ] But I'm saying that I wouldn't hurt you for the world, oh no [ did I ever lie?] I'm not so blind, Baby [ I see we're like winning in Iraq ] I need your lovin' and you know it (yes, I do, well) 'cause I'll show it, well I don't wanna be hurt you [ and I'll love you in the morning ] If you want me to I'll keep it a secret [ we're good in that ] But please let me get through your door [ or I'll use the Patriot Act ] 'Cause I guarantee that once we get started You'll soon be begging for more [ troops ] We want the whole world to know that we are one [ spreading freedom everywhere and stuff ] So why don't you gimme some time, Baby [ please...] Let's take advantage not for granted for the good things [ mess in Iraq ] (We got for the good thangs) I don't want to be hurt...

I've learned from the Israeli press that my old friend, Alon Liel (seen above), a former Israeli diplomat, has been conducting secret negotiations with Syrian representatives: Last update - 21:57 18/01/2007 Alon Liel: Israel rejected Syrian bid for wartime talks By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press Syria is serious about resuming peace talks with Israel and even proposed holding secret high-level talks during the war in Lebanon last summer, which Israel rejected, retired diplomat Alon Liel said Thursday. Israel's leaders quickly distanced themselves from reports leaked by Haaretz earlier this week that former Foreign Ministry director general Liel held unofficial talks with a Syrian. Liel, going public for the first time Thursday, said he briefed government officials every step of the way. He said he believed his counterpart, Syrian-American businessman Ibrahim Suleiman, also had channels to the Syrian government. "Our testimony is that it is very...

I liked The Children of Men about a fascist world of the future in which all women are infertile and and in which there is a lot of violence as groups fight against the government and against each other. The movie is based on a book by P.D. James which was published in the 1990's. For James who is politically conservative and is opposed to abortion that the human sperm count went to zero is a metaphor for the collapse of the family structure, loss of faith and the dying western civilization. But in the movie the end of the human race is leading to violence, terrorism and wars, with the world looking like a huge Baghdad/Gaza Strip. So... here is my problem: According to the popular Youth Bulge theory "one of the strongest indicators of whether a country will be prone to military conflict, general destabilization or revolt, is its demographics. More specifically, if it has a large proportion of generally poor and dissatisifed, young men, the likelihood increases by a landsli...

(Stimulate a hormonal surge that drives high concentrations of certain nutrients, deep into the muscle cell. Biotest Surge is designed to switch on anabolism and halt catabolism when its absolutely most important, post workout. Speed up your bodys ability. Check here for info. It says that "this product was discontinued." We wish...) On a serious note. I'll be posting something longer on the topic in the next day or two. But in a way my earlier post on Iran-Israel-U.S. ties, including my Osirak Redux? tie neatly into what Bush is proposing. If you read his comments on Iran and Syria, it's becoming clear that the administration is preparing to escalate the war and expand it to Iran and Syria. The Cambodia analogy was raising by many pundits today, including by Senator Hagel during Condi's testimony on Capitol Hill : Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a twice-wounded Vietnam veteran, called Bush's speech "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder since Vietnam - ...

Please read my new analysis in The American Conservative on how An Israeli strike on Iran would pin the U.S. down in Iraq and resuscitate the neocons.

Check-out my Brace Yourself for 2007.

Reason Online asked several contributors, including yours truly to choose their Person of the Year. My choice was Jim Webb (above) and here is why: Democratic senator-elect James Webb of Virginia. Earning a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts in Vietnam is Impressive. Authoring best-selling thrillers with juicy sex scenes is hot. Being one of the first public figures to Bash Bush's War is cool. "Maccacing" a would-be Republican presidential candidate in a Senate race in GOP stronghold is big. Providing the final Senate seat that tilted Capitol Hill to Democratic control is huge. Being a bit rude to the Chicken-Hawk-in-Chief is no vice. And having big balls in Washington, DC, is rare. Watch out status-quo buffs! On a related topic. Please read my 2006: The Year of the Nationalist which was published in the Business Times of Singapore. Since access to their site is difficult, I'm pasting it here: AFTER examining the way American pundits have interpre...

BILL MAHER: neo-connections.com This is a very, very funny clip.

Are you having one of those days? Who are the "shites?" And the "Sunimis?" I wish Dick was here... Are you irritatedibalized? I really have to go to the potty... Can't find your way? The WMD's are in Rummy's tuches..heee...heee... Well, that's what happens when you occupy countries in the Middle East for a very long time. You are probably suffering from post-occupation depression (POD). And when you need a Surge, you take Surgpill! Indeed, the anti-POD Surgpill stimulates the birth of new brain cells in rats jumping from ships aka Ken Adelmans, scientists have found. A similar effect in humans might explain how the drug has helped hundreds of of emperors world-wide to cope with POD. There are no sexual side-effects! One in five members of the Bush Administration are likely to suffer from POD in the next two years, yet medical opinion is divided as to its cause. Some believe it is a genetic disease (stupidity) or a chemical imbalance (recovering alc...

Check-out Surge Fever -- Catch It! on Stop the Spirit of Zossen, which has a link to an interview in an Israeli newspaper with Meyrav Wurmser. Unbelievable. Among other things this gems: Many of Wurmser's friends believe the disaster is not only in Iraq, but in the entire region. They are also very frustrated over the way in which Israel embarked on the war against Hizbullah this summer, and on the way it returned from it. "Hizbullah defeated Israel in the war. This is the first war Israel lost," Dr. Wurmser declares. Is this a popular stance in the administration, that Israel lost the war? "Yes, there is no doubt. It's not something one can argue about it. There is a lot of anger at Israel." What caused the anger? "I know this will annoy many of your readers… But the anger is over the fact that Israel did not fight against the Syrians. Instead of Israel fighting against Hizbullah, many parts of the American administration believe that Israel should h...

I've been receiving a lot of emails and phone calls from very depressed people who want to know what I think is going to happen now that W seems to have rejected Baker-Hamilton and whether we'll ever get out of all this mess in Iraq, the Middle East, etc. As I've written in the past, the modus operandi of the Bush Administantion's foreign policy is Muddling Through. The Bush administration has no idea what it's doing. Starting with 9/11, it has been an opportunistic policy that lacks an coherent strategic overview. It's basically based on the assumption that if we can do it, we'll do it! If there are counterpressures at home (election 2006) and abroad (Iraq), we'll try to cut our costs, buy some time and wait for an opportunity to push "forward." The only way that Baker-Hamilton plus the results of the mid-term could have had any effect of the Bushies is if the Democrats in Congress and/or a coalition of Democrats and Reublicans -- a majority i...

(Thanks to Dr. Strauss from www.stiftungleostrauss.com) For much of the Cold War the Horn of Africa was a central battlefield and Ethiopia and Somalia switching sides between the US and the USSR. So it's kind of interesting that now that the Islamists in Somalia and Ethiopia are about to go to war , the American Hegemon isn't even pretending to be doing something about it. Why? Read Robert Samuelson's Farewell to Pax Americana. I think that he exaggerates American benign intention during the Cold War and makes it sound that Americans were responsible for all the progress that took place during that time. But Samuelsom makes some good points.