There is little doubt that without finally solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict we can probably forget about ending all kinds of jihads, anti-western and anti-American conflicts and movements and can comfortably continue to wage Bush’s “war on terror” for the foreseeable future.

Here is a fragment of one of Washington Post’s Tuesday editorials:” THE OBAMA administration appears near to a diplomatic achievement it expected long ago: the relaunch of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. It will be a modest start – not a big conference or a convocation to Camp David but “proximity talks,” in which envoy George J. Mitchell will shuttle between the two camps. This is, in one sense, a step backward for Israeli-Palestinian relations, since the two sides have been talking directly to each other, off and on, since 1991. But Mr. Mitchell says he hopes his brokering will quickly lead to direct talks, and the administration believes that even this stunted process will be better than none at all.”

At the same time, Vice President Biden strongly criticized Israel on Tuesday for approving construction of 1,600 new housing units in the eastern part of Jerusalem, a decision announced a day after Israeli leaders and the Palestinians agreed to U.S.-mediated, indirect peace negotiations.

This is not the first time Israel has been criticized for building and expanding Jewish settlements on occupied Arab land. Both the U.N. Security Council and the General Assembly have passed well over 100 resolutions concerning Israel. Practically all of them went unheeded and any and all attempts to sanction Israel have been blocked by the United States. Those are facts and not commentary.

As a matter of fact, between 1967 and 2000, Iraq was the subject of 69 U.N. Security Council resolutions. By comparison, Israel, our closest “ally” in the Middle East, has been the subject of 138 resolutions. Not surprisingly, most of those resolutions call upon Israel to comply with basic principles of international law embodied by the UN Charter. Many of them condemn actions taken by Israel and call upon Israel on more than one occasion to comply with previous resolutions that Israel ignored and continues to ignore to this day.

This is not to say that the Palestinian side is totally blameless in this quagmire, but according to international law, the occupying power must assure the safety and well being of the population living under its occupation. Through Resolution No. 237, the U.N. Security Council called upon Israel to “ensure the safety, welfare and security of the inhabitants, facilitate the return of those inhabitants who have fled the areas since the outbreak of the hostilities and recommends the scrupulous respect of the humanitarian principles contained in the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949.” In subsequent resolutions, the Security Council deplored Israel for the delay in its implementation of Resolution 237. Yet, Israel continued to defy the world community, including the United States. The Security Council, in the face of Israel’s defiance, passed no less than five subsequent resolutions demanding that Israel comply but to this day the defiance continues.

This appears to be the crux of the matter. The whole issue does not seem to be just the fact of Israel existing as such, but the continuing occupation of the West Bank, the whole road, security and utility infrastructure built and maintained mostly to serve and secure the Jewish settlements. As of November 2009, approximately 400,000 Israelis lived in the 168 officially recognized settlements in the West Bank, and 280,000 Israelis lived in East Jerusalem. Every time we open a paper, still another settlement is about to be enlarged, or a new one built.

The latest problems and latest clashes have erupted in Hebron, after Israel’s decision to add Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem to Israel’s list of national heritage sites.

The sites are holy to both Jews and Muslims.

To make a long story short: For the benefit of Israel, the Palestinians and indeed the entire world, time is running short on actually coming to the negotiating table in earnest, to be ready to compromise, if needed – and lots of that, in addition to an open mind and a lot more good will be necessary – and finally agree on a workable framework, which will lead to a long-overdue Israeli-Palestinian agreement. We can only hope that this day will actually come soon, because the simmering conflict has already spread its tentacles worldwide and nobody, but nobody in his right mind needs, or wants still another war.

Technorati Tags: Biden, israel, Jewish settlements, Mitchell, negotiations, occupation, palestinians, peace, talks

The battle of Marja, in Afghanistan’s southern poppy belt has been going on for a couple of weeks now. Some 11,000 U.S. and Afghan troops fighting to defeat a few hundred Taliban fighters won’t really change much in Afghanistan. The greater significance of the battle appears to be in how it is perceived in the rest of Afghanistan and in America.

The operation’s true goals are to convince Americans that a new era has arrived in the eight-year-long war and also to show Afghans that U.S. forces and the Afghan government can protect them from the Taliban.

Marja is indeed a Taliban stronghold and despite the fact that the Talib fighters are seriously outnumbered and even more seriously outgunned, at least nine coalition soldiers have died so far and dozens have been wounded. It is a serious, hard, no holds barred battle on the most basic level.

It is being hoped that a swift victory over the Taliban in Marja, followed by a robust development effort, could sway some Afghan fence sitters.

The important thing to realize is that Marja is not a place of any meaningful strategic, or even tactical importance, that even the quickest of victories there – although that doesn’t appear to be possible any longer – will not really influence the outcome of the war, except that the symbolism of a victory might somewhat help the coalition politically.

What might be more meaningful is actually straightening out the situation in Kandahar, with its tangled political rivalries. Among the local power brokers is Ahmed Wali Karzai, brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Ahmed Karzai has been accused of being a drug kingpin and, also, a paid CIA asset. He has of course denied both allegations.

So, it seems to us, that the battle of Marja is really just an excuse not to tangle with a much more difficult situation in Kandahar as yet. Too bad, that its cost in dead and wounded is as high as it is.

Technorati Tags: afghanistan, battle of Marja, corruption, Kandahar, Karzai, politics, Taliban

That’s the text of a banner held by a group of Norwegians, gathered in Oslo, as President Barack Obama was making his acceptance speech, being the latest laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr. Obama’s speech was twice as long as his inaugural address. He spoke at length about the circumstances that push nations to war and those that prompt them to seek peace.

He also admitted that the controversy surrounding the award is due in part to: “…this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage.”

The Nobel Committee, in announcing its choice for the 2009 Peace Prize, cited Barack Obama’s efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation.  It also said he has captured the imagination of the world with his message of hope.

Public opinion polls in the United States indicate that many Americans believe the honor has come far too soon.

Technorati Tags: Nobel Peace Prize, obama, Oslo, speech, war

We still have a whole lot of totally unresolved issues in our country.

Small issues for some, such as torture, invading and destroying other countries, killing hundreds of thousands of mostly innocent people, destroying the U.S. and the world economies and so forth.

At the same time, those with a bit more decency, brains and no criminal streaks in their makeup, might consider these issues not to be so small after all. We certainly hope that you belong to the second category.

Along with out friends at BadGalsRadio we have been creating and collecting all kinds of materials on these subjects and placing them on the Neocons on Parade website.

Technorati Tags: bush, Cheney, neocons on parade, Rumsfeld, torture, war crimes, Wolfowitz

OK, we got a Nobel Peace Prize, now what?

Despite what anyone could possibly say we turned Iraq into not only a mess, but also several hundred thousand people have died in the process and we managed to spend untold billions of dollars to do it.

Will Afghanistan/Pakistan turn into a similar – this time a nuclear-armed mess?

The shadows of Vietnam are almost unmistakable: More troops, changes of strategy, changes of generals – all for naught. It looks like still another quagmire.

Maybe it is time for our fearless leaders to dig up some history books and re-learn the experiences of others and finally realize that at this stage many Afghans prefer the bloody Taliban to the corrupt Karzai regime. Yes, folks, the Taliban might be severe in their religious beliefs, in their punishment and in their treatment and attitude towards women, but for the most part they are at least honest. To be sure their religious rules and methods are no worse that those of Saudi Arabia – a country with which we have pretty close relations.

Go ahead, visit some of the smaller Afghan towns and villages and ask the people, whom they would prefer out of the two lousy choices. The answers might surprise you.

In the meantime, we wonder if our two ongoing wars will bring about songs as good as the Vietnam War did…

Technorati Tags: Afghan, iraq, Pakistan, Vietnam, wars