Is it time for a real war? :(

[Uncle Sparky]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14862159

10 September 2011 Last updated at 00:44 ET

Egyptian protesters break into Israeli embassy building. Ambassador flees.

At the scene
Hamada Abu-Qamar

BBC News, Cairo

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the Israeli embassy there is now an Egyptian flag flying instead of the Israeli flag.

The focus of the protest has shifted away from the embassy to a headquarters of the Egyptian security forces, which is next to the embassy.

There are hundreds of protesters, young people, trying to attack the headquarters.

They are chanting slogans against the security forces and the head of the military interim ruling council, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi.

Dozens of rounds of tear gas have been fired. A medical official told me four people had been critically injured.

I can hear gunshots from the security forces trying to prevent the headquarters from being attacked.

There is a large fire in front of the gates of the security headquarters.

[Zevico]

Not yet.
If and when the people who storm this embassy are running Egypt, then probably.

[Nikolai]

I'm afraid the chances are getting high for a new "proper" war now, sure... I wouldn't be surprised if the IDF is considering a pre-emptive attack like they did in '67.

[SlowwHand]

I wouldn't blame them.

[Felch]

Their embassy was attacked. Hardly seems pre-emptive at this point.

[Nikolai]

I wouldn't blame them.

Me neither.

[Nikolai]

Their embassy was attacked. Hardly seems pre-emptive at this point.

Well, yes. But it probably won't help in world opinion either way I'm afraid. It was well known that the Arab neighbours was planning an attack back then, and still a lot of people back then and now thought the preemptive strike was ew0l j00z zionist aggression.

[Dinner]

The Islamist PM of Turkey , his previous party got shut down by Turkey's Constitutional Court for violating the secular clause of the constitution, is saying he wants to send another flotilla to Gaza but this time accompanied by Turkish warships. How embarrassing after the UN court ruled Israel's blockade was entirely legal under international law. What an ass clown this Turkish Islamist must be.

[Az]

Not court, but commission.

And everyone, again, chill the **** out. The current Egyptian regime acted swiftly to defend the diplomatic staff, as they should have, in complete cooperation with Israel. This is, of course, the aftermath of the Sinai attack, where it seems that some Egyptian troops were involved in. The current powers begin to realize what a mess they have on the streets and in their outlying Sinai territory.

Nobody is going to attack Egypt, especially as long as this is the new Egyptian regime stance.


Turkey.... Well turkey is a whole different ball game. Under the radar of the international press ( Well of course, this isn't Israel so we don't get Muslim viewers for it), Turkey has been making a number of moves, some of them rather dumb, and Israel is moving for containment.

Israel has been getting into close economic and defense cooperation with Cyprus now, especially on offshore gas exploration. Additionally, Israel has got Greece, Bulgaria and Romania on board to resist Erdogan's penis-waving. All of these countries know fully well what a Turkey with claims of grandeur means for them, so it was not that hard.

An American-Israeli consortium that is heavily involved in exploring for offshore gas in Israel has moved just to the next patch - which is situated in Cyprus. This was done with the full approval of the Cypriot government. The patch borders the unrecognized state of Northern Cyprus, a monument on a pedestal that the Turkish government uses to showcase it's hypocrisy towards Israel. Friendly reminder that Northern Cyprus is a region that Turkey invaded, cleansed the Greeks off, installed a government and settled hundreds of thousands of Turks in.

So now, Erdogan waves around the use of the Turkish navy to assert its dominance. including over the exploration for Energy.

This. This can get interesting. I wonder how our long lost friends, the Iraqi Kurds are doing... maybe they need some guns.

[Guynemer]

Yeah, this ain't the Egyptian government, just reactionary rebels and rioters.

Now, given the the governmental situation in Egypt and Syria ain't exactly what one would call "stable", this isn't something to ignore, but it ain't war.

I do not agree with everything the Israeli government does, not by a long shot, but I am glad as **** that I don't have to deal with the situation they face 24 hours a day, every goddamned day of their lives...

[onodera]

Wonder what will happen when UN votes on the Palestine independence proposal. It's a GA, not a SC vote, so it will likely pass unless the US pulls a lot of (purse)strings.

[Nikolai]

Wonder what will happen when UN votes on the Palestine independence proposal. It's a GA, not a SC vote, so it will likely pass unless the US pulls a lot of (purse)strings.

I came over this article by journalist in Jerusalem Post, Khaled Abu Toameh.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wants to go down in history as a leader who defied Israel, the US and many EU countries by asking the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state. He wants to be remembered as a leader who made a historic achievement for his people by persuading more than 122 countries to support the statehood bid he is about to launch at the United Nations.
Abbas is so desperate that he is prepared to go to the UN even if such a move could turn out to be counterproductive for his people. At all costs, he wants to enjoy the glory of being the “first president of Palestine”.
He has chosen to turn a blind eye to legal opinions by international experts who tell him that UN recognition of a Palestinian state would abolish the PLO’s status as the “sole and legitimate” representative of the Palestinian people.
According to these opinions, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which would be replaced by the state of Palestine, would no longer be able to claim that it represented millions of Palestinian refugees living around the world. After the Palestinian state is declared, the PLO would no longer be able to say that it represented the refugees, and therefore would not be able to demand the “right of return.” According to the legal experts, in other words, millions of Palestinian refugees would be deprived of the “right of return” to their former villages inside Israel.
The experts have also warned Abbas that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could be reduced to a mere dispute over territory and borders between two states, and not a national, religious or ideological confrontation. This means that the conflict would no longer center around important issues like Jerusalem, the holy sites, settlements, water and refugees.
The 76-year-old Abbas, however, is evidently not concerned about the consequences of his UN gamble.
So what if the Americans cut off more than $500 million in annual aid to the Palestinians?
Who cares if many of the Palestinians’ friends in Europe are advising Abbas that his initiative would damage the peace process and further complicate the situation in the Middle East?
And who cares if even some Arab countries are opposed to the statehood plan? Just this week it was reported that Jordan’s King Abdullah II had advised Abbas to reconsider the statehood bid out of fear that it would result in the loss of the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees.
Like the rest of the Arab regimes, the Jordanians are afraid that a Palestinian state would mean that millions of refugees living in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon would stay in these countries.The refugees do not want to go to a Palestinian state in the 1967 territories.They want to go back to Israel, and this is what the Palestinian Liberation Organization has been demanding. So if the PLO is gone, the refugees will not have anyone to represent their case.
A Palestinian state will not be able to demand that its own people be allowed to go and live in another country — Israel.
The Arabs do not want to help the Palestinians and would prefer to see them leave rather than absorb them. Palestinians are regarded by Arab governments as trouble-makers and a threat to stability of these regimes.
The Arab countries, which treat the Palestinians as second- and third-class citizens, are dying to get rid of the refugees. These countries, furthermore, have always refused to give the Palestinians full rights and better living conditions.
But Abbas cares less about the Palestinians and more about his image. His resume so far includes a long list of blunders and unwise decisions, although even his political adversaries agree that he is much better than his predecessor, Yasser Arafat.
Prior to his election in January 2005, Abbas promised the Palestinians good government, democracy and an end to financial corruption. Instead, he has since surrounded himself with many of Arafat’s former cronies and officials suspected of involvement in the embezzlement of public funds.
Credit for the recent economic boom in the West Bank and the establishment of proper state institutions goes to Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and not to Abbas and his Fatah. That is why the Fatah does not like Fayyad: because he gets the glory, amd because he has made it harder to steal funds.
It is also why jealous leaders of Fatah have been working behind the scenes to undermine his efforts.
Abbas and his entourage have also blocked the emergence of a new generation of younger and more charismatic leaders. The decision-making process in Ramallah continues to be under the monopoly of Abbas and five or six associates.
Under Abbas, the ruling Fatah faction lost the entire 2006 parliamentary election –- and a year later, the entire Gaza Strip -– to Hamas.
Abbas is the person responsible for the fact that the Palestinians already have two states – one in the West Bank and another in the Gaza Strip.
As for” democracy” and “freedom of expression,” these terms do not seem to exist in the lexicon of decision-makers in Ramallah.
It is with this unimpressive resume that Abbas is now hoping to become the first internationally recognized head of the state of Palestine.
Failed leaders need to step aside and pave the way for new faces.
Failed leaders should not be rewarded for bringing their people to the brink of the abyss.
Failed Leaders Do Not Deserve to Become “Presidents”
by Khaled Abu Toameh
September 2, 2011 at 5:00 am

http://www.hudson-ny.org/2396/failed-leaders-presidents

[OneFootInTheGrave]

The Kurds don't have much chance against the Turks... Middle East, it is like Civ with "always war" option on.

[Asher]

Where is the "Who cares?" option?

Israel, Egypt, Palestine, Iran, etc. Sick of hearing about it.

Those people choose to live there and make their own messes. If they're sick of the constant war and conflict, they can move.

There's honestly entire too much news coverage of this. It's the same old **** all the time. It's like a bunch of ****ing children who can't get along. Ignore them.

[KrazyHorse]

Set up walls around the ME + North Africa + SW Asia. Tell the inhabitants we're going to check back in on them in 10 years; if they aren't coexisting peacefully we'll glass them.

300 nukes: 5 billion dollars
ME peace plan that works: priceless