What The Hell!! No ME Thread!

[Edan]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
I wouldnt trust Hamas if they DID participate.

Ditto. The last time around, one of the Hamas spokesperson admitted that they joined the temporary ceasefire in order to rearm and rebuild, not out of an interest for peace.

[RGBVideo]

I posted an optimistic thread, too... but it quickly died from lack of interest.

Er, understatement of the decade? Thats precisely whats different.

The major difference between this one and all the last peace agreements since 1948 which makes me particularly hopeful is that currently there are no foreign countries which are messing with their bilateral relations behind the scenes. USSR died out, USA is bogged in Iraq, and all the neighbouring countries seem to be too busy with their secularist domestic concerns.

[rah]

There's only one way for a terrorist to retire.

A gunshot to the back of the head.

[Lonestar]

You want a ME thread? How's this: "My ship is visiting Bahrain, and it's the biggest sh*thole I've ever seen. And I've been to Tijuana."

How's that for a ME thread/topic?

[Solver]

Originally posted by rah
There's only one way for a terrorist to retire.

A gunshot to the back of the head.

The question here is, whether the Palestenian security forces will actively go against terrorists like Hamas - or rather, whether Abbas will have enough power to have those forces go after Hamas.

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by rah
There's only one way for a terrorist to retire.

A gunshot to the back of the head.

Yeah, but don't say that it was fun or the PC police will come to arrest you.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by VJ
I posted an optimistic thread, too... but it quickly died from lack of interest.

The major difference between this one and all the last peace agreements since 1948 which makes me particularly hopeful is that currently there are no foreign countries which are messing with their bilateral relations behind the scenes. USSR died out, USA is bogged in Iraq, and all the neighbouring countries seem to be too busy with their secularist domestic concerns.

On the contrary, Jordan and Egypt are supporting the process, and this is an important step forward from both 2003 and 2000. The US is also supporting the process and has just announced it will be help train Pal security forces. Syria and Iran continue to be problematic. The USSR is not there (and Russias involvement has been limited) but thats been true for some time.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Solver




The question here is, whether the Palestenian security forces will actively go against terrorists like Hamas - or rather, whether Abbas will have enough power to have those forces go after Hamas.

Something in between the mass disarmament the Israelis want, and the doing nothing that happened under Arafat, I think.

[RGBVideo]

On the contrary, Jordan and Egypt are supporting the process, and this is an important step forward from both 2003 and 2000. The US is also supporting the process and has just announced it will be help train Pal security forces. Syria and Iran continue to be problematic.

In politics, everybody is always playing nice when it comes to public image.
You have to look underneath the PR BS, at the hidden agendas, that's why I said 'behind the scenes'.

[Whoha]

Re: What The Hell!! No ME Thread!

Originally posted by GePap
What has happened to Poly!? A Cease-fire is declared between Palestinians and Israelis, and nary a thread?

we've seen this dog and pony show before.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Lonestar
You want a ME thread? How's this: "My ship is visiting Bahrain, and it's the biggest sh*thole I've ever seen. And I've been to Tijuana."

How's that for a ME thread/topic?

Most of the middle east looks like that. A select few have used oil money to spruce things up but most look worse then your average Latin American shanty town.

[lord of the mark]

Haaretz

"Analysis / The intifada's graduation party

By Aluf Benn

Four leaders will gather in Sharm el-Sheikh today to confirm that Yasser Arafat is dead and to declare a new era for the regions. It's the intifada's graduation party, where Mahmoud Abbas and Ariel Sharon will announce an end to the hostilities and the start of a new road. Arafat apparently won't be mentioned, not even in the Palestinian speech. But his departure created the new opportunity more than any other factor.


At the last summit, in Aqaba in June 2003, the American stage managers controlled the details. They dictated the speeches of the leaders and produced an impressive TV spectacle, which quickly faded in a new wave of terror and assassinations. This time Sharon is going to an Arab state alone, opposite three Arab leaders, and without an American babysitter. "No doubt the speeches won't be as good this time," they said in Sharon's office yesterday, "but we're hoping the actions will be more successful."

Israel wants the summit to focus as much as possible on security and as little as possible on the "political horizon." Sharon wants a public commitment from Abbas to halt and uproot the terror and in exchange he will promise an end to military activity, gestures like freeing prisoners and transferring cities and a lot of positive and optimistic words. And that's where his generosity will end.

Sharon will express a commitment to the road map but will make clear that talk about it will begin only after the disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank. The promise of a Palestinian state will be held out as collateral for a quiet, coordinated withdrawal. This is Sharon's order of events: after the summit, a period of calm, to enable the Palestinian Authority to begin dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and Israel to prepare for the disengagement.

Yesterday the sides exchanged drafts of their speeches. The original draft of the Palestinian speech detailed Israeli injustices with a paragraph about the separation fence, one about Jerusalem and another about refugees. The Israelis said, no problem, we'll add "Bush's letter" about settlement blocs to our speech. After four hours of bargaining, the Palestinians softened. Abbas will say "there are further issues under dispute" like the fence, and they will be discussed in the future.

Foreign policy is always derived from domestic policy and Sharon's main expectations are focused on the political arena at home. The live broadcasts from Sharm el-Sheikh, the pictures of the embraces with Mubarak, Abbas and Abdullah, the anecdotes and color stories about the wonderful friendships the prime minister forged with the neighbors' leaders are supposed to bolster Sharon's public position and weaken the disengagement's opponents. The summit will enable Sharon to boost his ratings in the polls this coming weekend.

And then all that remains will be waiting to see if the promises are kept and the conflict is really over, or whether this time, too, the declarations will evaporate in a renewed outbreak of fighting.'

[rah]

What incentive do groups like Hamas have for backing off. If the Pals win, they lose all their influence unless they're seen as the ones that made them win, and even then it's dimished. Rabid dogs don't do well in times of peace. They've been doing it so long now that they probably know no other way. I guess this is the real difference between them and freedom fighters. Freedom fighters stop fighting when they win. I doubt Hamas will ever stop.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by rah
What incentive do groups like Hamas have for backing off. .

Continuing to breathe?

[Dinner]

You are claiming that people who invented the suicide bomber are worried about dying for the cause?