Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Thomas Friedman, "Israel Lives the Joseph Story": Too Bad Their Leaders Are Not As Farsighted as Thomas . . . Not

Does anyone still take Thomas Friedman seriously?

In his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Israel Lives the Joseph Story" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/opinion/friedman-israel-lives-the-joseph-story.html), this would-be Middle East expert writes:

"Over the last 40 years, a class of Arab leaders took power and managed to combine direct or indirect oil money, with multiple intelligence services, with support from either America or Russia, to ensconce themselves in office for multiple decades. All of these leaders used their iron fists to keep their sectarian conflicts — Sunnis versus Shiites, Christians versus Muslims, and Kurds and Palestinian refugees versus everyone else — in check. They also kept their Islamists underground.

With these iron-fisted leaders being toppled — and true, multisectarian democracies with effective governments yet to emerge in their place — Israel is potentially facing decades of unstable or no governments surrounding it. Only Jordan offers Israel a normal border. In the hinterlands beyond, Israel is looking at dysfunctional states that are either imploding (like Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and Libya) or exploding (like Syria)."

Excuse me, but when did these "iron-fisted" leaders ever prevent conflict between Sunnis and Shiites? Take for example the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988. Take for example the Sa'dah War in Yemen, which began in 2004 and continues until today.

Christians have been abused in the Arab Middle East as long as I can remember. The churches, homes and businesses of Egypt's Copts, for example, have been under constant threat for the past 40 years. Chaldo-Assyrian Christians in Iraq have not fared any better over recent decades.

The Middle East's 30 million stateless Kurds? When have they not been savagely persecuted by Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria?

Friedman continues:

"There is no successful model of democratic governance in the Arab world at present — the Islamists are all failing. But Israel, if it partnered with the current moderate Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, has a chance to create a modern, economically thriving, democratic, secular state where Christians and Muslims would live side by side — next to Jews. That would be a hugely valuable example, especially at a time when the Arab world lacks anything like it. And the world for the most part would not begrudge Israel keeping its forces on the Jordan River — as will be necessary given the instability beyond — if it ceded most of the West Bank and Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.

Together, Israelis and Palestinians actually have the power to model what a decent, postauthoritarian, multireligious Arab state could look like. Nothing would address both people’s long-term strategic needs better. Too bad their leaders today are not as farsighted as Joseph."

A "hugely valuable example"? The al-Qaeda backed Sunni rebels in Syria and Hezbollah backed Shiite/Alawite regime forces of Assad will simply throw down their arms and stare in amazement at a successful "model of democratic governance" in Palestine? Yeah, right.

Tom Terrific seems to forget that the term in office of Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, ended on January 9, 2009, yet Abbas has steadfastly refused to hold new elections. "The current moderate Palestinian leadership in the West Bank," like the rest of the Arab world, is not interested in democracy.

"And the world for the most part would not begrudge Israel keeping its forces on the Jordan River — as will be necessary given the instability beyond — if it ceded most of the West Bank and Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem." But this is exactly what Israeli Prime Minister Olmert offered Abbas in 2008, but Abbas refused. Is there any reason to believe that Abbas and friends are now prepared to accept the existence of a Jewish state living in peace beside them? I don't think so.

Keep dreaming, Tom. I am forever amazed that anyone is willing to pay for this pap.

8 comments:

  1. Thomas Friedman is taking seriously (or rather instrumentally) by some people - antisemites.
    I will never forget my ex-friend sitting in my living in his pink underwear (I think - he was getting out of his closet), next to his miserable wife (still, but in the process of getting out of a sham of a marriage), trying to convert ME to antisemitism: "But Thomas Friedman says ... but Ronda (a "Jewish" woman who traveled from New York to Tehran to ... denounce Israel) says.
    Yes, this was memorable.

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  2. Please do not deride mothers' milk Jeff. Tom F's drivel would better be compared to other bodily effluents.

    Otherwise I completely agree with what you wrote.

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  3. OK, people, Samantha Power goes to UN. It's a right place for her. The only problem is that she is going there as an American representative ...
    I think our President isn't serious.

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  4. That's right...Obama has chosen an anti-Israel ambassador to represent the United States at the anti-Israel United Nations.

    Power advocated invading Israel in a 2002 interview, adding "Alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import..." any chance she was referring to the Jooz?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oFdt6fjdHQw#!

    What could possibly go wrong?

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  5. Actually, it's possible that our teflon President miscalculated this time.
    Unlike him, who lived life without many traces (no publications, for example) she is everywhere, if not naked, then anti-American. I hope that Americans are not ready for some Ayers/Wright/Chomsky/Ahmadinejad "representative." Is it me or representatives are supposed to represent.

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  6. http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-leaks-israeli-arrow-3-missile-secrets/

    So, was this leak intentional or just a plain dumbass mistake? Was the plan to have the US build this BMD facility part of a deal offered by Obama to get Bibi to agree not to preemptively attack Iran? Why would Israel allow a foreign entity to build such a sensitive facility in the first place?

    Tom, if your reading JG's blog, please chime in now and enlighten us.

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    1. The spin is "dumbass mistake", but, really? You really believe that posting whatever they call a request for bids on the internet is the 100% procedure for everything the Pentagon and CIA etc need to build?
      However, may be part of the dance that Russia does with the S-300s in order to get concessions on missile defense from the USA in Poland...only this year it is Russia selling S-300s to Syria, but not really if [fill in the blank]

      otoh, perhaps there is more than one Bradley Manning, whose trial is coincidentally now active, another young staffer having a moment of Moreleaking, someone assigned to the Secret Facilities Procurement section somewhere in the Pentagon, or nebraska, or Peru (gotcha!).

      I thought that when I read TimesofIsrael earlier, but then I read Vanity Fair on Brad Pitt's "World War Z" (they faked Jerusalem in Malta), so maybe posting the Arrow specs online is a deliberate distraction, e.g., Psy-Op woven into another Psy-Op

      Is Tzipi Livni ready to give Samantha Power the helicopter tour that seemed to work with Hagel?

      Hope everyone checks out the Turkish Woman in the Red Dress at Daily Mirror.co.uk - the URL is linked at RealClearWorld. Incredible photos.
      Great dress. She teaches urban planning.
      and, Anonymous hacked Turkey.

      K2K

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  7. http://cryptome.org/2013/06/usace-il-bmd-launcher.htm

    K2K, what was posted is beyond just a request for bids - it's the actual SOW, complete with required specs as well as engineering and architectural drawings. This is beyond dumbass, it's unfathomable. Enemies of Israel invest in countless resources to obtain this type of information. The sad part is that Manning will spend the rest of his life in prison for committing a far less egregious crime while those responsible for leaking this information will remain anonymous and enjoy immunity from prosecution.

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