[Arktwo] Understanding the News

[Bruce Beach]

News is breaking so rapidly -
that I can't even capture it -
leave alone try to explain it all.

I will read a news item -
and a couple of hours later
decide that was important
and go back to get it -
only to find it gone.

Day before yesterday -
it was a top news breaking headline -
that the Democrats were saying
that the same authorization
under which Bush went to war with Iraq
cannot be extended to Iraq.

Then yesterday -
they were saying
that Congress would not put that statement
as a part of the new military budget.

During election campaign
many had made the point
that the House controls the purse strings -
and that it could / would
under a Democratic House stop the war.

Now the Democrats and the House
which they control
are proposing / providing
an even greater military
budget than Bush requested.
(They use the rubric that
they are not supporting the war -
but they are supporting the US soldiers.)

Here is a quote:

"The money also would pay for the estimated 3,500 existing US troops he
already announced would be staying longer in the region to counter an
anticipated Taliban offensive in Afghanistan this spring."

Talk of getting out -
is completely offset
by the actions of sending more.
More money and more troops.

Then this news today -
which moves even further away -
from that of yesterday
which said the previous law
that permitted the invasion of Iraq
did not also permit the invasion of Iran.

-------------------
WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders are stripping from a military spending bill
for the war in Iraq a requirement that President Bush gain approval from
Congress before moving against Iran.
-------------------
The House Democratic leadership last night acceded to pressure from
conservative Democrats and Members of Congress close to the Israel lobby and
agreed to drop a provision from the supplemental appropriation that would
have barred a U.S. attack on Iran without Congressional authorization.
-----------

The only stronger statement
beyond that
would be one tied to the budget
stating that Bush HAD TO invade Iran.

------------
Already the budget required Bush
to spend specific increased amounts
in Iraq.

I really don't see
that there is a strong movement
in the US Congress to get
the US out of Iraq
or to keep it from going into Iran.

Some / many Americans may feel that way -
and indeed some American politicians
may be very vocal in that regard -
often among members
in opposition politically
to the president -
which may just be the American way
of politics -
but as for any indications
from that quarter
that the US isn't going to go after Iran -
I just don't see it.

There have been some non-binding resolutions
about getting out of Iraq -
but Bush said of these -

"This may become the first time in the history of the United States Congress
that it has voted to send a new commander into battle and then voted to
oppose his plan that is necessary to succeed in that battle," the president
said.

"Bush has said he intends to go ahead with the troop buildup regardless of
nonbinding expressions of disapproval in Congress."

I don't see how that can be any clearer.
Getting out of Iraq.
Hah!

--------------

Meanwhile -
over in the Middle East
for the last ten days
there has been lots of talk
about the Arab Peace Plan.

That too has been up and down.
As I speculated in my previous newsletter -
the Saudis and the Iranians
have had a falling out -
(not that they were ever on the same page).

This news item today:

"Prince Saud hinted little progress had been made in ending a rift between
the Lebanese government and opposition parties, led by the Shi'ite Muslim
Hezbollah, after a rare visit to Riyadh by Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad earlier this month."

So there you have it -
confirmaton.

Of course -
there has been lots of talk -
between the Iranians
and everyone else -
even the Americans
for the first time in years.

But that didn't last long.
The US and Israel today walked out of a meeting
with Iran.

I thought that really big news -
but then when I went back to find it
a few hours later -
it was gone.

Finally tracked it down -
but I would have thought
it would have been everywhere.

"Everybody noticed that we left because we made a small noise, showing
everybody that we disagree with his remarks," he said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/13/world/main2562390.shtml

(No tiny urls today -
something else that isn't working.)

President Ahmadinejad of Iran
does want to continue negotiations
with the US and the UN -
but says he will only do it on condition
that they drop the sanctions against Iran.

Hmmmm.
Now how does that work?
Iran says that under no conditions
will it ever stop uranium enrichment.
Iran will, however, negotiate -
talk, talk, talk -
if sanctions are dropped.

Not any different
than for the last twenty years -
that all it would gain is talk.

-------
Back to the Arab Peace Plan.

"(Israeli) Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has said that Israel would not
accept the Arab peace plan as it is, but would ask that any reference be
dropped on the issue of the right of the Palestinians displaced in the 1948
War of Independence to return to their homes inside Israel. On Sunday, Prime
Minster Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet he was prepared to treat the Saudi
proposal seriously.

If the Israelis agree
to the 'right of return'
it is the end of Israel,
because the Arabs will outnumber
the Jews.
Already -
if the demographics in Israel
continue their present trend -
that will occur through birth and death.
(Also the predicted destiny
for many European countries.
Invasion through the womb.)

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria on Tuesday explained their reasons for turning
down Israel's request to amend the proposal.

"We have the Arab peace plan and we are committed to it as a whole. Talk
about amending it is baseless," Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa said
Tuesday after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "What we want
is returning all the occupied land including Jerusalem."

Including Jerusalem -
the third most holy site for the Muslims -
but the holiest site for the Jews.

This bit of information
came just a short time after
my having read the following:

"The initiative is a set of principles that would offer Israel full
recognition and permanent peace with the Arab states in return for Israel's
withdrawal to 1967 lines, the establishment of an independent Palestine with
East Jerusalem as its capital and an agreed, just solution to the issue of
Palestinian refugees in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194
of 1948."

But now -
"Mubarak's spokesman Suleiman Awwad said Egypt also rejects the Israeli
demands for amending the plan."

"The Arab plan offers full withdrawal for full peace."

"We have no desire to negotiate over this," said Saudi foreign minister,
Saud Al-Faisal.

Uh-huh.
I don't think the Israelis
are about to give up all claims
to any part of Jerusalem.
So -
this appears to me to be a non-starter.

------------
Anyway -
the above is irrelevant,
because Iran and Hamas
have said they will never recognize Israel.

Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin was quoted Tuesday as saying that Hamas has
sent hundreds of men to Iran for prolonged training periods.

"Hundreds of Hamas members have been sent to Iran for training, and not
training periods of a week, two weeks or a month, but for long-term,
high-quality training,".

Diskin also told the committee that 31 tons of explosive material has been
smuggled into the Gaza Strip in the last year by terror groups. According to
Diskin, this was six times bigger than the largest amount to have been
smuggled in recent years.

Diskin said that the Palestinians are taking advantage of the relative calm
and restraint shown by the Israel Defense Forces to bolster its arms and
improve the range of its rocket fire.

Senior Likud legislator Yuval Steinitz, another member of the panel,
reiterated his call for an Israeli military ground offensive in Gaza.

--------------
One might say -
that is only
an Israeli propaganda view.
However, I found this news today:

A Hamas source said Tuesday that part of the $100 million in tax revenues
transferred by Israel to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas went
to pay security services, including members of a Hamas-led force.

Israel opposed using the money to pay ... Hamas, whose charter calls for the
destruction of Israel, government officials said.

"This flies in the face on what was agreed upon," said an Israeli government
official.

During his meeting with Abbas on Sunday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked
him to account for how the revenues had been spent.

That was certainly
a flip/flop story.

Arab imports come into the Gaza strip
through Israeli ports
and Israel collects the custom duties
for the Palestine Authorities.

Europe and the US
pressured Israel to give the money
to Palestine
assuring it would be used
for humanitarian purposes.

So -
Israel transferred the $100 million
to Abbas's office in January.

You can see how the
Israeli / Palestinian Peace Talks
went on Sunday.
---------------

And so has gone
the first days of this week.

Based on the above -
can you really answer yes
to the following questions?

1. The US Congress
performed well this week
to get the US out of Iraq.

2. The US Congress this week
took firm action to prevent
Bush from going into Iran.

3. Iran is willing to work
(not just talk)
with the UN.

4. For the first time in years
the US and Iran are
now talking again.

5. The Arabs have presented this week
 a Peace Plan
that should be acceptable to Israel.

6. Arms build-up in Lebanon and Gaza
have now been restrained in a movement
towards peace.

7. The US and World Stock Markets
(and economies)
are booming in the prospects for peace.

Those are views
that I have seen expressed
in the Media -
at one point or another this week.

If you are in agreement -
and can answer yes to those points
then we can expect the good times
to continue to roll.

Peace and love,
Bruce
DawnSayer@webpal.org