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RedditAfter it was conclusively determined that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the Bush Administration announced that the most important purpose of its invasion was to further the cause of democracy in the Middle East. It declared that stable, democratic regimes were the best deterrent to terrorism and the best hope for peace. WMD, it seems, stands for We Meant Democracy.
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The Tragedy of Ehud Olmert
Hillel Schenker: The fall of Ehud Olmert is a tragedy for Israel and the world--squandering a genuine opportunity for a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab relations.
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Bush's Time Horizon in Iraq
Allen McDuffee: Everyone was baffled by the President's use of the term "time horizon" for withdrawal from Iraq. But when you consider the term's origin on Wall Street, it makes perfect, cynical sense.
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Truth and Consequences Under the Israeli Occupation
Mohammed Omer: A Palestinian journalist's life and work shed light on the violence in Israel's "dual" society.
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A West Bank Town's Fight to Survive
Neve Gordon: The residents of the town of Ni'lin continue to fight Israel's efforts to take away their land. Is anyone listening?
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Radio Nation with Laura Flanders
Radio Nation : The Nation's Ari Melber and Jon Pincus tackle FISA, Elizabeth Holtzman talks impeachment--plus more on war resisters in Canada and the subprime mortgage crisis.
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Bush's Last Chance on Climate
Janet Redman: At the G-8 Summit, he can help bear the brunt of climate damage caused by the developing world. But don't hold your breath.
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Impeach Bush Now
Elizabeth Holtzman: If we don't act now, future generations will see that a weapon intended to defend the rule of law grew rusty and unusable on our watch.
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Noted.
Sarah Palin, pit bull in lipstick; Amy Goodman behind bars.
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Tale of Two Conventions
Populist politics in Denver; an elaborate fraud in St. Paul.
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Noted.
Dems and the Constitution, dispatches from Denver, journos rescue our correspondent in Georgia.
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The Biden Bid
It could have been worse--a lot worse.
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We'll Take It From Here
Eight years ago, the people gave the GOP the keys to the country. It's time to take them back.
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Noted.
The I-word, back on the table; Fannie Lou Hamer and the Democrats.
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For a New Economics
The tepid platform Democrats will adopt in Denver isn't a new social contract, but it does go places Republicans never will. Let's hope Obama does better.
Such a hard line is shortsighted and dangerous. Respect for the United States in the Muslim and Arab world, already at dismal levels, will plummet further if Washington refuses to accept the results of what were, after all, remarkably free and fair elections. US attempts to isolate and demonize Hamas will only increase public support for it among Palestinians. A cutoff in aid to the PA, whose salaries are the life support for several hundred thousand people, could cause both a humanitarian catastrophe and widespread violence. Threats to isolate the PA will only throw Hamas into the arms of other rejectionists like Iran.
A policy of cautious engagement, while not without risks, is much more likely to strengthen Hamas's pragmatic tendencies. The movement has made clear that it wants to concentrate on improved governance and continue the cease-fire with Israel, which it has held to with commendable discipline for a year. Hamas won the elections not because Palestinians want Islamist rule and the destruction of Israel but because of widespread public disgust with Fatah's corruption and mismanagement. Polls consistently show that a large majority of Palestinians want a two-state solution to the conflict. If the Bush Administration truly supports democracy in the Middle East, it will give Hamas a chance to fulfill these reasonable desires, and to succeed or fail on its own merits. That's the best hope for peace.
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