Middle East Politics.Net

Grossman and Gaza

davidhulme — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:44:41 +0000

Israeli author, David Grossman has a reasoned piece in the NYT today about the current Israeli campaign to crush Hamas. He argues for a 48 hour unilateral ceasefire on Israel’s part. Grossman, whose eldest son was killed in the 2006 Lebanon War, maintains that such an approach taken early in that conflict, would have put Israel in a much better position now. During the proposed 48 hour ceasefire, he suggests that international mediators should be invited to resolve the immediate crisis. His analysis takes note that Israel has the duty to defend not only Israeli citizens subject to Hamas rockets, but also innocent Gazan Palestinians.

David Hulme

Chinese To Join Other Navies in Gulf of Aden

davidhulme — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:20:30 +0000

According to the NYT Dec 26, 2008, “The Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said Friday that 110 ships have been attacked in the gulf [of Aden] this year, and 42 have been hijacked. Fourteen ships are still being held for ransom.” This is part of the reason that China is sending warships to protect Chinese vessels carrying 60% of its oil imports and also raw materials from Africa. Both kinds of cargo cross the Gulf of Aden, the area suffering most from Somali pirate infestation. Chinese warships have not ventured outside of the Chinese region since the 15th century. They will join international efforts by other navies against this current form of piracy.

David Hulme

Saudi Council Considers Important Issues

boyunliu — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:27:07 +0000

On Saturday in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a 150-men council met to discuss important issues such as water, real estate investment, adoption of international agreement on oil pollution, infrastructure development, and employment issues. The council heard from the Water and Electricity Minister, among other officials of the Saudi bureaucracy.

Replace ‘the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’ with, for instance, the State of Connecticut, and the paragraph above would still read just fine, which is remarkable. Okay, I concede that the decisions of the council are no more than recommendations to His Highness and must be implemented by feet-dragging bureaucrats. However, with the Kingdom growing ever more complex and an independent judicial system in place, the council is well poised to take on a much larger role in Saudi politics.

Called Majlis al-Shura, which translates roughly to the Consultative Council, the quasi-legislature was formed in 1992 and is in its fourth term. The representatives are all commoners rather than royals; they include tribal representation from the likes of Rashid, which is quite the equivalent of a Cherokee seat in the US House. What’s more, members also include Shi’ites, who enjoy(ed) similar political legitimacy as Communists during the Red Scare.

Skeptics will hurry to point out that the members of the Majlis are all appointed by King Abdullah. But considering His Highness is actually older than the Kingdom itself, appointing “rebels” and “heretics” to give him advice is progressive to say the very least. I am among the optimists who believe the Majlis holds great potentials for representation for groups traditionally marginalized in the Kingdom. You know the word I’m alluding to.

Bo-yun Liu

Clinton Took How Much From Saudi Arabia?!

boyunliu — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:55:15 +0000

Today, Bill Clinton, in an unprecedented move, disclosed the names of donors to the Clinton Foundation. The move was meant to give transparency to the foundation as Hillary awaits confirmation for her appointment as the Secretary of State.

Among the most controversial donors are the government of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei and Oman. The pundits are now questioning Hillary’s ability to stay independent of external influences when it comes to making decisions on her would-be job.

What I find interesting is that donors like Norway, Jamaica, and Italy barely caused a stir, even though Norway is run by communists, Jamaica smokes funny things, and Italy was the bad guy in WWII.

In all seriousness, how influential can Saudi Arabia’s donation to a book shed in Arkansas be? Do the Clintons desperately need to start Clinton Foundation 2.0 that they would try to please all 205,000 donors any way possible? Come on, America, it’s just charity and good will.

Besides, how many of us think twice about the Chrysler Building? ‘Cause that’s owned by Abu Dhabi.

Bo-yun Liu

Defining the Middle East

davidhulme — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:01:05 +0000

A few days ago, I mentioned Robert Kaplan’s piece in the NYT on his idea that the Middle East needed redefining. It got me thinking about other authors’ definitions. Here are a few:

In The Foreign Policies of Middle East States (2002), Hinnebusch and Ehteshami have a map labeled “The Middle East (the Arab League plus Iran, Israel and Turkey).” There are 22 countries in the Arab League. They stretch from Mauritania in the far west of Africa to Oman, east of Saudi Arabia. The League includes Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia, the Comores in the Indian Ocean and three observer states Eritrea, India, and Venezuela. To be fair, the Arab League’s observers were added in 2003, 2006 and 2007.

The map in Politics in the Middle East (2000) by Bill and Springborg shows an area that stretches from Morocco (including Western Sahara) to Pakistan. It excludes Somalia and Djibouti and includes Turkey, Israel, Iran and Afghanistan.

The cover on State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East (2004) by Roger Owen, shows Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, part of Afghanistan and part of Pakistan. Inside, there’s a 20th century inter-war map of the Middle East, showing an area from Morocco to Iran and from Turkey to Sudan.

Monte Palmer’s The Politics of the Middle East (2006) has a map bounded on the west by Egypt and Sudan, on the east by Iran, on the north by Turkey on the south by Yemen.

Read the rest at Causes of Conflict.

David Hulme

Pro-Palestinian Movement Extricates Students from Gaza

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:42:28 +0000

The Free Gaza Movement claims to have smuggled at least 11 university students out of Gaza, reaching Cyprus on Friday, according to reports by Al Jazeera. Israel’s blockade has previously not permitted students studying in Gaza to leave. The move is intended to allow the students to study at universities elsewhere in Europe and Canada, which would not otherwise been possible since Israel has denied requests for exit visas from the area. Israel allowed the vessel Dignity into the prohibited area because it contained pro-Palestinian activists seeking to offer humanitarian supplies to Gazan residents. The Movement has stated that the mission’s purpose is to allow students located in Gaza to continue to pursue academics at other universities at which they have been accepted.

Paul Shapiro

Palestinians Reject Israeli Land Exchange Proposal

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:40:24 +0000

Ahmed Qurei, the chief Palestinian negotiator, stated on Saturday that the Palestinians have rejected an Israeli proposition to annex a portion of the West Bank in exchange for some of its own territory. Qurei went on to explain that the Israeli land was “…not an equal trade in size and quality.” The rejected offer comes amidst recent efforts to stimulate renewed peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials. Currently, the issue pertaining to the future of Jerusalem remains the single most contentious obstacle to negotiating some sort of reconciliation agreement. Israel additionally seeks to protect what it terms the “Jewish character of the state”, a position which entails little room for diplomatic resolution with regard to the millions of Palestinian refugees – unless and until each side seriously considers further steps to achieve the compromise that has thus far eluded the negotiations.

Paul Shapiro

Hamas Anniversary Draws Both Celebration and Discomfort

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:38:58 +0000

Supporters of Hamas gathered in Gaza City on Sunday to mark the 21^st anniversary of the Sunni organization’s founding. Presumably in recognition of the occasion, a meeting involving Israeli and Egyptian officials took place in Cairo in an attempt to seek renewal of the current ceasefire agreement between Hamas’ military apparatus and opposition forces in Gaza. Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the stadium was electric, as an estimated 150,000 demonstrators fervently waved green flags (considered to be the traditional color of Islam) in what is perceived to be an intentional showcase of Hamas’ strength. Gazan Hamas leader Ismail Haniya is reported as saying “We tell the occupation and the world we are here steadfast on our land and we will defend ourselves and we will defend our land and we will defend our right.” If it was not a political rally, an objective observer might even have mistaken it for an athletic event due to the concerted effort to display symbols of loyalty throughout the venue. Some speculate that, though the rally serves to commemorate the group’s anniversary, its timing is also related to the reality that the ceasefire agreement may not be renewed. Both Hamas and the Israelis accuse the other side of failing to honor its side of the truce.

Paul Shapiro

Banking Troubles in Gaza - $25 Million Delivered

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:37:01 +0000

Public sector employees in the Gaza Strip have recently encountered difficulties collecting their salaries due to the severe cash shortage faced by area banks. The shortage is in part a result of the Israeli blockade that has prevented many from traveling freely to and from Gaza – a detrimental effect on business, especially with regard to the Palestinian banking system. In an effort to ease the stress, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has requested that the Israeli blockade allow money to enter the Palestinian treasury from outside the borders in hopes of avoiding more widespread financial collapse. Subsequently, Israel allowed an armored truck carrying $25 million in currency to enter from the West Bank. This amount is half of that which Prime Minister Fayyad requested of Israeli officials in order to pay Gaza’s civil servants.

Paul Shapiro

Former President Carter Meets with Exiled Hamas Leader

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:33:57 +0000

Late into the hours on Sunday, former President Jimmy Carter met with Khaled Meshaal, the militant leader of Hamas who lives in exile in Damascus, Syria. We know that the major issues discussed in that meeting include the fate of Gilad Shalit who was kidnapped by Hamas back in the summer of 2006 and has been held captive ever since. The 2^nd issue is a broader negotiation for peace. There has been a six-month ceasefire that has by and large held in Gaza. That peace agreement ends this week. We will have to wait and see how that plays out. Jimmy Carter’s last meeting with Meshaal was in April. When he returned to the United States, he was under great criticism from the Bush administration, which called the meetings unhelpful. The United States classifies Hamas a terrorist organization.

Paul Shapiro