The Diplomatic Times Review

Cobban: Israel 'Controls The Reality' in Gaza

Helena Cobban at Just World News" opined November 30, 2006, that, "Israel's draconian 'movement controls': the reality" in the Palestinian enclaves in the West Bank and Gaza.

Two Lame-Ducks Can't Solve Iraq's Problems

TIME magazine correspondent Aparism Garsh, writing from Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, says, "There's a reason why Iraqis aren't holding their breath over the Amman summit: Viewed from Baghdad, both [U.S. President] George Bush and [Iraqi Prime Minister] Nouri al-Maliki are lame ducks. As he winds down his second term," Garsh writes in a November 29, 2006, news analysis, "the American president is burdened with a hostile Senate and Congress — not to mention mounting public dissatisfaction with his performance. The Iraqi Prime Minister is less than six months into his first term, and already he faces the same problems."

To read more of this analysis, see "Bush and Maliki: A Summit of Lame Ducks."

'Does Anybody Have A Good Plan For Iraq?'

"Does anybody have a good plan for Iraq?" asks Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank in a November 30, 2006, post headlined "One War, No Answers."

"Not President Bush," he opined. "He arrived in Jordan yesterday [November 29, 2006] for a crucial meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, only for the White House to discover that the Iraqi was a no-show."

 "It was going to be more of a social meeting anyways," Bush aide Dan Bartlett told reporters at the Raghadan Palace in Amman," Milbank noted.

So, what's the point of meeting if its just a social call? The civil war in Iraq is too serious for that. But, being the good-little-caretaker that he is, Mr. al-Maliki will likely show up in Amman for a useless meeting with Mr. Bush.

Nouri al-Maliki Should Watch His Back

"Thomas Ricks and Robin Wright at WaPo examine the increasing tendency of the American political class to blame the Iraqis for the political turmoil there," notes Professor Juan Cole over at Informed Comment, his widely-read blog on "on the Middle East, History, and Religion."

"I see," Mr. Cole wrote in a November 29, 2006, post. "The US invaded their country, abolished their army, gutted their civil service, occupied their cities, and now it is the Iraqis' fault."

More specifically, the Bush Administration seems to be saying it's Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's fault that President George W. Bush can't defeat an insurgency he spawned with the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Mr. Maliki had better watch his back. If he doesn't there will be a knife in it that was made in America. See "Iraqi leader falls out of favour with US on eve of allied summit."

A FEW RELATED LINKS

Bush meets Maliki for last-ditch attempt to rescue Iraq from chaos ... The Independent, United Kingdom

Memo lays out the troubling truth --- Boston Herald, United States

Diplomatic Embarrassment or Simple Schedule Clarification? --- ABC News, United States

Dazed and confused --- Salon, United States

Leaked Memo Looms over Bush-Maliki Meeting --- National Public Radio, United States

Bush to Press Al-Maliki as Memo Questions Capability (Update2) --- Bloomberg News, United States

Belgravia Dispatch Editor Defends Father's Position On Iraq

On November 27, 2006, Gregory Djerejian, the well-informed proprietor of The Belgravia Dispatch, one of the best blogs on news and opinion about international affairs and diplomacy, defended his father, Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian, from an aspersion cast by Michael Rubin over at The Corner, a National Review online blog. He called the elder Djerejian "Edward "Cakewalk" Djerejian?" The insult was put it in the form of a question. Mr. Djerejian wrote:

Via Glenn Reynolds, I see that Michael Rubin is resorting to "dowdification" of late, which is to say, Rubin takes a truncated quote from my father out of broad context and tries to play pretend that my father thought the Iraq conflict would be, a la Ken Adleman, a "cakewalk." By way of brief background, my father, a 33 year veteran of the Foreign Service, served as the United States Ambassador to both Syria and Israel, as well as Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East and South Asia. He is (or was, as the case may be) on good terms with political figures in the Middle East ranging from Arik Sharon, Bibi Netanyahu, Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin to Hafez al-Asad, King Hussein (Abdullah’s father), Abu Mazen and Hosni Mubarak. (Incidentally, Rubin’s caricature of him as archetypal Arabist is wholly unpersuasive—as any of those Israeli leaders, past or present, would likely attest). Regardless and with apologies for being so plain about it, what a class of 1994 biology major from New Haven might think of him likely leaves him rather uninterested, I’m afraid.

Mr. Djerejian said, "Still, with Glenn Reynolds entering the fray and calling my father's predictions “naïve” (quite a charge coming from that famed Middle East specialist Instapundit(!)—seemingly always at the ‘aw shucks, sounds good’ ready to link whatever neo-con swill du jour), it appears I have to wade into this recriminatory morass, if for no other reason than to defend a family member I respect.

To read the entire post, please see "Did Somebody Say "Cakewalk" , Or "Naive"?

Mr. President, Iraq Is Engaged In Civil War

MSNBC Correspondent David Shuster reported November 27, 2006, that U.S.President [George W. ] Bush is now in the midst of an overseas trip that will take him later this week a meeting in Jordan with Iraq's prime minister [Nouri Kamal al-Maliki].  But behind in Washington, D.C.," he opined, "the nation's Capitol is now gripped by a ferocious debate over the term "civil war." Mr. Shuster added:

Today, as Air Force One was halfway over the Atlantic Ocean, a White House spokesman protested a decision by several American news organizations, including NBC News, to call the violence in Iraq a civil war." 

"While the situation on the ground is very serious, neither Prime Minister Maliki or us (Bush White House) believe that Iraq is in a civil war," said National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

The bottom line is that Mr. Bush nor Mr. Maliki has it to believe it. The facts speak for themselves. It's a civil war.

To read more, please see "Is conflict in Iraq a civil war? "

RELATED LINKS

Experts say civil war definition fits --- Bradenton Herald,  United States 

US can do little to stop civil war in Iraq, experts say --- San Jose Mercury News, United States

Civil War, Conventional Wisdom And Cronkite Moments --- CBS News, United States

'Iraq close to civil war' - Annan --- Irish Times, Ireland 

Annan urges action to avert civil war in Iraq --- Guardian Unlimited, United Kingdom

For US media, Iraq’s violence is a “civil war” --- Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates 

It’s Civil War in Iraq. Now What? (7 Letters) --- New York Times, United States 

UPDATE 1-NBC says Iraq in civil war, White House disagrees --- Reuters

US says Iraq in "new phase" but denies civil war --- Reuters, United Kingdom

A Matter of Definition: What Makes a Civil War, and Who Declares ... --- New York Times, United States 

UN envoy warns of Iraq civil war --- Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia 

Maureen Dowd: With Iraq in civil war, question is who gets control --- Pasadena Star-News, United States

Full-blown civil war adds to body count in Iraq --- Capitol Hill Blue, United States

Regime Change, Not War, Remains Only US Solution in Middle East --- Human Events, United States

Nouri al-Maliki Is In A Precarious Situation Not Of His Making

Nouri Kamal al-Maliki, "the Iraqi Prime Minister (seen in a June 12, 2006, photo meeting with President George W. Bush in Baghdad)  was looking increasingly precarious last night [November 26, 2006] as domestic factions worked to undermine him and Washington leaders came close to writing him off," reports Times of London correspondents Ned Parker in Baghdad and Tom Baldwin in Washington, the U.S. capital. See "War and failing confidence abroad weaken Iraqi leader."

They noted that Mr. al-Maliki "went on television to urge rival politicians to stop feuding and to plead with Iraqis to halt their country’s slide towards civil war." [Note: The country is already engaged in civil war.] 

"There were fears, however, that armed Sunni and Shia groups would go on the rampage today when a three-day ban on Baghdad traffic is lifted," the correspondents reported, adding:

"Mr al-Maliki announced that new measures would be taken to impose order, but did not give any details. Despite his appeals and several public appearances by Sunni, Shia and Kurdish leaders over the past three days, some government factions worked to promote a sectarian message."

The New York Times' Edward Wong, writing from Baghdad, quote Mr. al-Maliki as saying:

These actions are at most the reflection of political backgrounds and wills and sometimes the reflection of dogmatic, perverted backgrounds and wills. The crisis is political and the ones who can stop the cycle of aggravation and bloodletting of innocents are the politicians." See "Iraqi leader says politicians are causing violence."

Mr. al-Maliki is also catching hell from fellow Shiites for a situation that is not of his making. But since they can't get to Mr. Bush, or U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad,  Mr. al-Maliki, must bear the burden for Mr. Bush, who set the stage for the current carnage when he invaded Iraq in March 2003, and disturbed the social fabric that held for decades under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's iron-fisted ruled.

According to Los Angeles Times Correspondent Solomon Moore, writing from Baghdad, "Sunni and Shiite leaders say the U.S. is at the root of continuing violence and should withdraw its troops." See "Iraqi clerics call for end to hostilities."

As Louise Roug, another Times staff writer in Baghdad, notes, Mr. al-Maliki's plea "for national reconciliation at a memorial in Sadr City held for victims of a large-scale bombing attack last week" could not end Shias' calls for revenge against Sunnis. See "Angry Shiites hurl stones at Maliki's motorcade," 

In fact, according to Roug, "his pleas were met with shouts of "coward" and "collaborator."

To make matters worse, "Followers of the militant Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took over state-run television" November 26, 2006, to denounce the Iraqi government, label Sunnis "terrorists," and issue what appeared to many viewers as a call to arms," according to Hannah Allam and Mohamed al Dulaimy, Baghdad-based correspondents for McClatchy Newspapers.

They reported that, "The two-hour broadcast, from a community gathering in the heart of the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Sadr City, included three members of Sadr's parliamentary bloc, who took questions from angry residents demanding revenge for a series of car bombings that killed 200 people on Thursday [November 23, 2006].

Robert FisK: '...In Lebanon Nothing Is What It seems

"The Lebanese have been responding to the international outcry over [Lebanese Parliamentarian Pierre] Gemayel's murder with somewhat less rhetoric than President George Bush, whose promise "to support the Siniora government and its democracy" was greeted with the scorn it deserved," observed Beirut-based Robert Fisk, Middle East Correspondent for The Independent of London, in a November 23, 2006, dispatch.

"This," he added, "after all, was the same George Bush who had watched in silence this summer as the Israelis abused Siniora's democratic government and bombed Lebanon for 34 days, killing more than a thousand of its civilians. And the Lebanese knew what to make of [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair's remark - he who also delayed a ceasefire that would have saved countless lives here - when he said that "we need to do everything we can to protect democracy in Lebanon". It was a long-retired Christian militiaman, a rival of the Gemayel clan, who put it succinctly. "They don't care a damn about us," he said.

To read more, please see "Robert Fisk: Gemayel's mourners know that in Lebanon nothing is what it seems."

The National Interest Online: Time To Make hard Choices On Lebanon

The National Interest Online's Alexis Debat and Ghassan Schbley reported November 22, 2006, that "The assassination of Pierre Gemayel  signals that the time has come for the U.S. government and the world community to make hard choices in Lebanon."

They noted that, "Gemayel, a minister, rising politician and the scion of a very powerful Christian Maronite family, was assassinated a few hours after the office of Michel Pharaon, state minister for parliamentary affairs, was sprayed with bullets by unknown gunmen.

"Pharaon is also a Christian legislator and member of the anti-Syrian bloc within the Lebanese parliament, which currently holds a majority of seats," the added. "Taken together with the American-sponsored Syrian-Iraqi normalization, these two dramatic events indicate that the regime of Bashir al-Asad is sending the U.S. government and the international community a strong and clear message: choose between Lebanon and Iraq."

To read more, please see "Syria’s Gemayel Missive."

A FEW RELATED LINKS

Assassination heightens tensions in political arena --- The Daily Star,  Lebanon 

UN to help Lebanon investigate Gemayel murder --- The Washington Post, USA

Crisis-hit Lebanon pleads for UN help in finding minister's killer --- Times Online, UK 

Is Syria The Usual Suspect In Gemayel Assassination?

It seems that no matter what happens in Lebanon, Syria will be blamed. Take the November 21, 2006, assassination in Beirut of Lebanese cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel. The Financial Times says Syria did it. See the editorial "Syria the spoiler."

"The assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel on the eve of Lebanon's 63rd Independence Day heightened tensions Wednesday [November 22, 2006] between the Syrian-backed Hizbullah and pro-government leaders as angry voices quickly blamed Damascus," notes Naharnet News, the Lebanese news portal. See "Gemayel's Assassination Adds to Lebanon's Heightened Tensions.

Naharnet also said, "There was broad condemnation in the Lebanese press Wednesday of the assassination of anti-Syrian minister Pierre Gemayel and most papers agreed that it had wrongfooted Syria's local supporters.
Hizbullah and its allies had planned to take to the streets to demand the toppling of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government and its replacement with a government of national unity," the publication said. See  Lebanese Press: Syria's Supporters Wrongfooted by Assassination."

For a man who has created unprecedented chaos in Iraq as a result of his invasion and occupation of Syria's neighbor, U.S. President George W. Bush sounded rather hollow to this observer when he proclaimed:

Today we saw again the vicious face of those who oppose freedom. We strongly condemn the assassination today in Lebanon of Pierre Gemayel, who was a minister in the government of Prime Minister Siniora. We support the Siniora government and its democracy, and we support the Lebanese people's desire to live in peace. And we support their efforts to defend their democracy against attempts by Syria, Iran and allies, to foment instability and violence in that important country.

I call for a full investigation of the murder to identify those people and those forces behind the killing. We call on the international community to support Prime Minister Siniora's government. And one clear way to do so is for the United Nations Security Council to take all remaining steps needed to establish a special tribunal concerning the assassination of former Prime Minister [Rafik] Hariri, and to assure that those behind that killing and others that followed are brought to justice. I strongly believe the United Nations Security Council ought to act today. For the sake of peace, the free world must reject those who undermine young democracies and murder in the name of their hateful ideology. [For more, see "President Bush Visits with Troops at Hickam AFB in Hawaii"].

Professor Juan Cole at Informed Comment notes that, "The assassination of Lebanese cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel on Tuesday has thrown Lebanon "further into yet more turmoil," and views the crisis as "a further testament to the bankruptcy of George W. Bush's Middle East policy," he wrote in a November 22, 2006, post. He added:

Under the dishonest rhetoric of 'democratization,' what Bush has really been about is creating pro-American winners and anti-American losers in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon. Bush's vision is not democratic because he always installs a tyranny of the majority. The vanquished are to be crushed and ridiculed, the victors to exult in their triumph. It is like a Leni Riefenstahl film.

To read more, see "Bush's Cedar Revolution Collapses in Yet Another Policy Failure."

 Just World News proprietor Helena Cobban,  who From 1974 through 1981 "worked as a journalist in the Middle East, including five years as a Beirut-based regional correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, and The Sunday Times of London." told her readers: "Yes, I know that young Pierre Genayyal was assassinated today in Beirut, and I send my condolences to his family."

"Huge kudos to his father, the former President Amin Gemayyel, for stressing the need for calm. It would be nice if world leaders could follow that good advice, too." To read more, see "Pierre Gemayyel killed.