Middle East - this and that

Meeting on Middle East Peace Process -- Mahmoud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen and President Obama are meeting Thursday in Washington. Palestinians were skeptical ahead of the meeting, according to EarthTimes. To quote:

Palestinians expressed doubt Wednesday that the visit to Washington of their president, Mahmoud Abbas, and his meeting with US President Barack Obama on Thursday will result in pressure on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories. According to columnist Omar Ghoul, writing in the pro-Abbas al-Hayat al-Jadida daily, Abbas' problem with the Obama administration is that the latter is "going along with Israeli stalling policy" and has a "cautious approach to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people."

After a rather frosty meeting recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defiantly announced that the settlement activity in the West Bank and Jerusalem would continue, despite U.S. calls for a halt to all settlement activity. Jordan's King Abdullah is deeply involved as a kind of honest broker, mediator. And, of course, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is still acting as a Middle East peace envoy. The question, "Will Israel Attack Iran?" remains open, according to Mother Jones Magazine.

Will it always be war? Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com recently posted with passion about the idea of Obama as a war president. He asks,

Which American presidents were not "war presidents?" . . . In other words, there's no such thing as an American President who is not a "war President." We never go more than a few years without some kind of a direct war, and are always waging covert and indirect ones. American presidents are inherently "war presidents." We don't really have any other kind. To vest a specific power in a President on the ground that he's a "War President" is to vest that power in presidents generally and permanently.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates revealed the proposed Pentagon budget in mid April, according to Mother Jones Magazine, suggesting changes that are very significant. To quote:

GWOT, RIP . . . Seen one way, it's certainly the first significant recognition from the Pentagon that the United States, the former "sole superpower" and planetary sheriff, has actually entered a universe of limits, even when it comes to the previous sacrosanct and ever soaring military budget. Think of it as a signal directly from Washington—if you want one—that the glory days are on the wane.

This and that -- By mid-May, 44 candidates had registered for the Afghan presidential elections, according to RIA Novosti. Pakistan has a relatively new president and the government remains relatively weak. U.S. News had an interesting piece about why the Pentagon needs to rebuild its relationship with Pakistan's military, in order to win the Afghan war. This same publication covered Obama's military veterans health care upgrade, announced last month. Investigative journalism's ProPublica recently revealed that insurance giant, AIG may have been making unreasonable profits by denying nearly half of medical benefits due to civilian contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. The DoD Inspector General's office will be investigating.

In conclusion -- President Obama is much more proactive when it comes to foreign and defense policy. And He as a very good team around him. He certainly needs all the help he can get given the current dicey situation in the Middle East.

References:

1. From NPR, anexcellent in depth article, Middle East Peace Initiative, it began with the subject Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.


2. From The Washington Note's Steve Clemons: "Powerpoint on Strengths, Weakness of Obama/Gates Defense Plan."


3. From Spy Talk's Jeff Stein: "Obama's Kennedy Moment in Afghanistan" This is a great backgrounder on the perils of fighting a war in Afghanistan.


4. From Secrecy News' Steven Aftergood: “Tactics in Counterinsurgency” Again Online. About a new Army Field Manual

My all-in-one Home Page of websites where I post regularly: Carol Gee - Online Universe