(Cross posted from Mystical Paths.)
The caption reads, “Rice stands with Defense Minister Amir Peretz”, by AP Diplomatic Reporter Anne Gearan.
Except, it’s not Defense Minister Amir Peretz in the picture. It’s Minister of Strategic Something or Other Avigdor Lieberman. Either Ms. Gearan doesn’t know who the Israeli Defense Minister is, or Secretary Rice doesn’t.
24 hours ago, Prime Minister Olmert is threatened with indictment for improper bid offerings and campaign financing (and so forth). Then, Rice appears in Israel to “Restart Stalled Efforts at a Compromise”. She may not know who she’s standing next to, but she knows what she wants.
The Palestinians are disintegrating. The US offers money to help, the next day Hamas ministers promise the money will go to weapons specifically to be used for terror. Word from the US? None. Doesn’t fit their world view or objectives, so ignore it.
What happened? Did Olmert or Peretz actually say something like “we’re being hit daily with rockets killing people, our soldiers are being held, we’re stopping tens of terror attacks monthly, maybe we need to hold up a moment until the Palestinian’s actually do something?” (Seems doubtful, but possible I guess.) Then, Peretz’s position comes under immediate attack within Labor, Olmert is threatened with indictement, and Rice shows up with public pictures of Livni and Lieberman but not Olmert or Peretz talking “Road Map Restart”.
I may not hang with the conspiracy theorists, but it appears to me that the Israeli government is absolutely under someone’s thumb, and that someone includes Rice. How much Jewish blood will be spilled on someone else’s agenda? How long will Israel be a pawn to be sacrificed?
Note I don’t like Peretz or Olmert, I consider them both incompetent and more out for themselves than the country. But when even their being clearly manipulated, we need to stand up and pay attention.
T. Klein,
I was under the impression that Putz worked for Oldfart.
BTW Spengler of Asia Times thinks that America’s new policy is civil war among our enemies. Every where all the time.
Olmert is a total PUTZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
e is evil incarnate! And so is Rice!
M. Simon,
Yes, it’s a clever idea, especially when one understands the psychology of the Pals, which is simply that killing must happen. That’s all they know (apparently) and that’s all they do and are fit to do. Now if you HAVE to kill and you have lots of guns (and that makes you feel like a genuine tough-guy) then you’ll find someone upon whom you can unload your testosterone (and I don’t mean the fairer sex).
We can easily see all this ultra-violent behaviour happening, but I (still) can’t figure out why the whole world is utterly enthralled by the poor Palestinians and their plight, as opposed to the poor people of Darfur and their plight.
keelie,
Good point. Which is the real beauty of the strategy. Every good strategy as B.H.L. Hart points out has alternate goals. So the enemy can’t tell what you are trying to accomplish and splits his forces. In this case the “enemy” is the world community. The people who scream bloody murder every time some action is taken against the Palestinians. In this case, to the casual observer, it looks like America is helping the Palestinians by giving them money. Israel has promised to give them some of the back taxes owed. However, it is my guess that the money will be given to factions so as to keep them aproximately matched. A balance of power strategy.
For the longest time I couldn’t figure out why the arms smuggling tunnels into Gaza were not severely attacked. Now I see it as part of the plan. You will note that in co-operation with Egypt that arms flow freely (if you have the money to pay) but no cash is allowed in. The purpose is to allow a small arms build up while by controlling the money flows, thus controlling who gets the arms. In addition Hamas must be allowed to get some arms through so they have no incentive to close the tunnels.
Why would Egypt co-operate? Probably they have been threatened with the dumping of the Palestinian problem in their laps if they do not go along. This is something they absolutely do not want. If Gaza became part of Egypt again Egypt would, for political reasons, have to open its borders to the Gazans.
My guess? Sharon had something like this in mind when he decided giving the Palestinians Gaza was a good idea. In fact I predicted these events in a general way (the Palestinian civil war) when he first proposed the idea. The best stratgy in war is to win without fighting. In this case you get the Plaestinians to fight among each other.
Well, I hope you’re right about the Americans, M. Simon. My first impulse was to throw a brick at my computer screen and scream at Rice and her Stately Department, “Why are you wasting your time, my time and everybody’s money on the so-called Palestinians?!!!!!!!!” It sure looks – as it has always looked – as if the Americans (and everyone else) are sucking up to the Palestinians because if they don’t the Pals won’t like them. Imagine that…
So lets hope, as you imply, that this is not collective madness, but an interesting strategy. Meanwhile we’ll all keep open-minded about all of this, as we’ve been doing since 1948 (and before).
Time will tell.
It is quite possible that America has decided that with no new elections in sight Lieberman will be favored as Israel’s next Prime Minister. America has access to the world wide banking network and may have dropped a dime on Oldfart.
Total speculation to be sure.
But Lieberman would be much better for Israel militarily than tired Oldfart.
There is a lot of talk on LGF on this subject (mainly the $86 million to Fatah).
A lot of folks at LGF (myself included) think the purpose of the money is to make sure Hamas and Fatah are fairly evenly matched so the Pali civil war keeps escalating. I think that is Israeli policy as well. Olmert’s restraint re: Gaza rockets being a case in point. Minimal retaliation means the factions will not unite against Israel. Haniyeh says US and Israel are conspiring to keep the civil war going (he actually says get it started – but he has to say that to preserve the fictiion of unity). He should know.
I don’t think it is manipulation. I think it is union on policy. Diplo speak is being used to cover what is really happening.
I do think America wants Olmert out for his betrayal of America last summer in Lebanon. Treachery. This is good. The Israeli people have been given six months to act. Now America is makining its move. Iran won’t wait.
Olmert was tired when he got into office. He is dead tired now. Politically he might as well be out of office.
Faster please.