Denial is not just a river in Egypt: George Mitchell says it’s too early to say that the Obama administration’s attempt to bulldoze Israel into giving concessions to the Palestinian—er, I mean, peace negotiations—has failed. You know, it’s really not.

Oh, yeah, like that’ll work: Don’t think that the truth means a thing in the world’s bias against Israel. Bringing foreign journalists into the tunnels under the Western Wall to prove that Israel isn’t digging under the wall to destroy al-aqsa? Feh. Who are you going to believe, them or the Palestinians’ lying mouths?

Egypt bans Israeli doctors, then un-bans them: It’s so good to know that Egypt is at peace with Israel, because then they’d never do anything as stupid as ban Israeli researchers from a long-planned breast cancer conference in Egypt. Oh, wait. They did. However, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure pushed until the Egyptians un-banned Israelis. Good for them. (Not the Egyptians. They’re asshats.)

Fatah blames Israel for Arafat’s AIDS: Not really. Fatah refuses to even consider the idea that their dead (and unmourned) leader did not die because of Israeli death rays, or Mossad poisons. Because it makes them far more popular to be able to blame Israel. And oh, hey—this kind of puts the lie to the people who insist that Fatah is moderating, doesn’t it?

Doggone it! My dad was not a dog! The Arabs have yet another grievance against America: A movie that insults Anwar Sadat by naming a dog after him. I swear, you simply couldn’t make this stuff up without having bullshit called on you. Don’t these people have anything else to do but get outraged over stupid things? I guess not, considering Egypt is a nation that lacks freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and a freely elected government. And then, you get a breath of fresh air when you least expect it:

Meanwhile, Sadat’s nephew Talaat Sadat reacted differently to the movie, and told Egyptian newspaper al-Shuruq: “It’s just a commercial film that is not worthy of a response.”

Stop doing the right things, Bibi! Israel’s prime minister visited the Tel Aviv club that was the scene of a horrible attack that murdered two young gay Israelis and listened to representatives of the Israeli gay community. That’s funny. I thought he was one of those religious zealots in the Likud that think gays are an abomination. What? People are spreading lies about him? No! You can’t mean it! Just because he’s acting like a good leader today doesn’t mean that tomorrow he’s going to come out and suggest gays should be stoned. (By the way, they’ll find the bastard who did this. This is the nation that tracks down terrorists years after their attacks. Give them time. They’ll get him.)

Because the world simply doesn’t have enough online games: Champions is joining the online gaming community. I absolutely refuse to say why I know what Champions is. I will only admit that Call of Cthulhu was an awesome game if run by a great gamemaster and peopled by decent players. Not that I know anything about it. Really. I don’t. (Detectives are so cool, don’t you think?)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Tuesday against attempts to impose Western values on the Arab world, praising US President Barack Obama’s recent efforts to reach out to the Muslims.

“There is something to learn from the Arab world,” Medvedev said in an adress at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo.

“And therefore mentorship, or democraticising, or all the more so direct involvement from the outside is asolutely unacceptable, in our opinion,” he said in remarks seen as thinly veiled criticism of the previous US administration.

“And understanding of this is growing in the world,” Medvedev said, adding that Obama’s speech in Cairo earlier this month provided evidence to that.

I’m so happy our president is making the Russians happy. Why, Hugo Chavez is about to jump on the Obama bandwagon after his stance on Honduras, and the Arab kings and dictators are already pretty happy with Obama’s submissive speech in Cairo. All that’s left is for Obama to somehow figure out a way to appease North Korea, Iran, and Syria and he’ll have all those dictator ducks in a row, thus showing the conservatives of the world that they were wrong to think that you can’t work with people who don’t believe in basic human freedoms.

As for the Russian respect for the Muslim world, well, see “Chechen, wars of” for the rank hypocrisy of Medvedev’s statements. Then read this fact:

Medvedev also said Russia was an “inalienable part” of the Muslim world and was keen to cooperate with the Arab countries in the future.

Earlier Tuesday, he signed a 10-year strategic cooperation pact with Mubarak, with both nations saying there were committed to the “building of a new multipolar world order, which will be more democratic, fair and safe for all countries.”

No, that’s not it. This is.

With trade of 4.1 billion dollars last year, Egypt is Russia’s largest commercial partner in Africa.

Russia has also expressed interest in a 1.5 billion-1.8 billion-dollar tender to construct Egypt’s first atomic power station, which would resume the country’s nuclear programme after a 20-year freeze.

That Cairo speech just keeps on giving dividends. To everyone but Israel, of course.

Mr. Obama will not want to openly spurn the Egyptian leader. But it’s vital that he not grant Mr. Mubarak an unconditional invitation. Governments throughout the Middle East, and the many Arabs working for democratic change in their countries, will be watching to see if the Egyptian ruler gets a free pass. If he does, the administration will send the region the message that the corrupt old status quo — in which the United States backed Arab dictators in exchange for help with U.S. strategic interests — has been restored. That would inflict crippling damage on Mr. Obama’s attempt to restore U.S. credibility and prestige, particularly with the millions of secular, middle-class Arabs who chafe under corrupt autocracies.

The editorial opened with an observation that Mubarak had boycotted the United States during the second term of President Bush, because Bush pushed for real political reform. (No word if that boycott was just on visiting Washington or also of the $2 billion a year in aid the United States gives to Egypt as a reward for something Mubarak’s predecessor did. My guess is that Mubarak’s not nearly that principled.)

I’m usually wary of these editorials, because for the Washington Post (and especially columnist Jackson Diehl) the Muslim Brotherhood is dedicated to reform. Still, this editorial seemingly focuses on real reformers. The next paragraph is important:

Mr. Mubarak’s allies will argue that he deserves a reward for Egypt’s efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. But that diplomacy, which has yet to produce results, has been conducted entirely in line with Egypt’s interests. Cairo seeks to avert further warfare on its border, but it has also resisted decisive measures to stop the trafficking of weapons to Hamas. Domestic opponents who have sought to peacefully protest the government’s policy have been harshly suppressed.

That last sentence doesn’t quite fit. The two recent highly publicized arrests of the regime’s critics were protesting the in favor of Hamas.

Still the point is correct. There’s nothing altruistic about Egypt’s efforts at securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. And if Egypt were truly interested in peace it wouldn’t allow the arms smuggling in the first place. (For more on why Egypt doesn’t fight the arms smuggling effectively, see here.)

But President Obama has offered his hand in friendship to the Muslim world. He’s even decided to participate in Durban II. I can’t help feeling that “hope and change” in this regard means turning a blind eye to the dictators of the Arab world.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

According to the sources, the two sides are expected to agree on a ceasefire which will likely begin within 72 hours and last up to two weeks.

During this period of time, the parties will discuss the Israel Defense Forces’ withdrawal from Gaza and the withdrawal’s timing. Palestinian sources estimated that the pullback into Israel would be swift.

According to the sources, on the issue of the supervision mechanism it has been agreed that the international forces’ presence would be on the Palestinian side of the Philadelphi route.

If this is true, then Hamas won.

The sources said that the renewed lull will last at least a year, and is expected to last even longer. According to the sources, a “weakened” Hamas will agree to a longer lull in order to recover from the current conflict.

If the agreement is executed, the agreement is expected to provide an answer to the Israeli demands in terms of the smuggling issue, the rocket fire and a serious discussion on the Shalit issue.

Hamas will gain the reopening of the crossings, the removal of the blockade and an official role at the crossings. Abbas will receive renewed access to the Strip, only at the crossings at first, and Egypt will be able to open the Rafah crossing.

That’s everything they asked for. What was the point of the Gaza war, then? To kill a few Hamas terrorists? To make the world hate Israel even more? If this is true, if Israel is lifting the blockade and allowing Hamas to run the crossings, then it truly is the beginning of the end of the State of Israel, because her leaders have lost all heart to defend their nation against the Iranian Islamists. How can the Egyptians stop smuggling if Hamas has a role in the crossings? Why does Israel think that anything will be different when the Philadelphi corridor is controlled by international forces? That’s what happened three years ago. Hamas took it over then, and will take it over now.

Israel is defeated. All I can hope for is that this article is wrong.

Turkey and Egypt plan to warn Israel that if a ground operation is launched in the Gaza Strip, Hizbullah might open another front in south Lebanon, Turkish sources told al-Hayat newspaper.

The report, published on Tuesday, said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit visited Ankara on Monday and presented his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan with a document detailing a four-point plan aimed at restoring order and ending the Israeli operation in Gaza.

The plan includes a ceasefire, the opening of Gaza crossings the removal of the blockade on the Strip, and the creation of regional and international guarantees that will keep the crossings open and the agreement honored.

So they’re going to urge Israel to give Hamas exactly what it wants. Yeah, that’s exactly why Israel is currently bombing targets in Gaza. So they can surrender to Hamas.

And Egypt, ever the hypocrite, refuses to let Palestinians out of Gaza into Egypt.

Sounds to me like Egypt and Turkey are brandishing a load of bull at Israel. Iran controls Hizbullah’s reaction, and it looks like Iran is keeping Lebanon in check for a future strike on Israel. If Hezbullah were to open a second front, you’d think they’d have done it by now.

Despite reports of a possible attack from the north, recent speeches by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah indicate he is not headed for war with Israel.

Since Israel launched its Operation Cast Lead in Gaza on Saturday, Nasrallah spoke out mainly against Egypt and almost completely avoided mentioning Israel.

It seems the Hizbullah leader will settle for mass rallies in support of Gaza and against Israel and the US, and a PR campaign against Egypt.

I suspect Egypt and Turkey will be given their walking papers over this proposal.

The case has raised difficult political issues for Egypt. Officials must walk a tightrope between maintaining relations with their neighbor and mollifying public opinion, which is often hostile to the Jewish state.

No doubt public opinion in Egypt is driven by the vilification of Israel in the official press. Maybe if the government would promote a more positive view of Israel, there wouldn’t a tightrope.

via Daily Alert.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

First his two sons were murdered. Now he faces prosecution. The reason for Mithal al-Alusi’s troubles? Visiting Israel and advocating peace with the Jewish state – something Iraq’s leaders refuse to consider.

The Iraqi is at the center of a political storm after his fellow lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to strip him of his immunity and allow his prosecution for visiting Israel – a crime punishable by death under a 1950s-era law. Such a fate is unlikely for al-Alusi, though he may lose his party’s sole seat in parliament.

Because he had visited Israel, many Iraqis assume the maverick legislator was the real target of the assassins who killed his sons in 2005 while he escaped unharmed.

The State Department in its infinite fecklessness refuses to get involved, claiming that this is an internal Iraq matter.

Israel Matzav covered this first, so let’s quote him:

Is this what hundreds of American troops died for in Iraq? To create yet another Arab country that lives in the 8th century in eternal hatred of Jews (and rest assured that Christians will be next on the list).

Powerline seems resigned to the State Department’s refusal to say anything:

Meanwhile, the US Embassy has nothing substantive to say on the subject. This “is an issue for the Iraqi parliament, not the US Mission to Iraq,” said spokesman Armand Cucciniello. That’s not an unreasonable response, I suppose, as long as all we’re talking about is expulsion from parliament.

via memeorandum

But as Max Boot observed last week:

It is hard not to be a little awed by extreme courage like this. Some may say that Alusi is being foolish and counter-productive, and there is perhaps an element of truth to that charge, but every nation needs a few people like him who are willing to risk everything in the name of a higher cause without the slightest regard for self-preservation. In this case, his cause is our cause: He wants Iraq to be a Western liberal state that would be closely allied with the United States against Sunni and Shiite extremists. Although he may be a lonely voice in Iraq, he is hardly alone, as seen from the fact that he did manage to win a parliamentary seat as the only representative of the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation which he leads. It is imperative that the U.S. government do what it can to help and protect him.

By assuming that the lesser punishment will be removal from Parliament is what’s being discussed and being quiet, the State Department is doing more damage than it (or Powerline) realizes. As Boot points out, Alusi was elected to a seat in Parliament. What does it say to those who support his party that the United States isn’t willing to speak up for them?

Israel Matzav also refers to the story of an Egyptian boy, who’s being denied medication on account of: that it will have to be imported from Israel, with much the same reaction:

Israel signed a ‘peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, and completed the turnover of every last inch of the Sinai Peninsula in 1982. As a result of that treaty, Egypt is now the third largest recipient of American foreign aid after Iraq and Israel. One has to wonder about the purposes for which the Americans are spending their foreign aid money, and what advantage is to be gained by Israel out of making peace with an Arab country (let alone the ‘Palestinians’) if this is the result.

Nearly 30 years later, Egypt despite the fact that it receives plenty of aid from the United States for making peace with Israel, still, in many ways treats Israel as an enemy. The United States remains quiet, not attaching any conditions to its aid. And this doesn’t even gain the United States goodwill on the Egyptian street.

If the United States really wants to see change in the Arab world, when will it start insisting on a change of attitude towards Israel instead of simply accepting Arab hatred of Israel as the natural order of things?

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Toldja so: Syria wants the Golan, not peace.

A Syrian government paper rejects Israel’s demand that Damascus should cut its ties with Iran and Arab militant groups as a condition for peace agreement with the Jewish State.

The state-run Tishrin says in Saturday’s editorial that any preconditions to a deal would “put the carriage before the horse” and Syria’s relations with other nations were not on the bargaining table.

That’s why it’s all for show: Mad Mahmoud is not really mad. I don’t believe this report at all. It’s all part of the plan to make it look like Syria is on the peace track.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed his surprise and displeasure at Syria’s “violation of its commitment to Iran” by holding talks with Israel, the London-based pan-Arabic daily Asharq alawsat reported Friday.

Proof that Syria’s not syrious: It’s playing the Iran/IAEA game. Funny, you’d think that if Syria has nothing to hide, they’d welcome the IAEA investigation. Which makes it even more likely that Syria was building nukes. (Like I needed any more proof than there’s already been.)

Syria has not yet accepted a request by the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit the site bombed by the IAF on September 6 – which Washington says was a nuclear reactor, Reuters reported Friday.

The news agency quoted diplomats in Vienna as saying Damascus was stalling its approval of the UN delegation, demanding more details on the proposed inspection.

Yeah, tell me again how it wasn’t a nuclear reactor being built. Because why on earth would Syria care if it wasn’t?

Gaza bombardment continues: No, not the bombardment of Gaza. The bombardment by Gaza. Of course.

Israeli Double Standard Time: Egypt shot another Sudanese refugee at the Egypt/Israel border. The UN will not issue any statements about this, nor will most newspapers even pick up the story. So, are we all shocked yet? Of course not. Today is a day that ends with a “y”, which is the only time that Israeli Double Standard Time occurs.

And I’m outta here. Talk amongst yourselves. Really.

Egypt will reopen the Rafah crossing to Palestinians even if Cairo’s initiative to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas fails, according to assessments by Israeli defense officials. The Israel Defense Forces, meanwhile, is taking steps to be able to limit mass marches to the fence separating Gaza and Israel.

Although Egypt denies it, evidence is mounting that Cairo and Hamas recently reached an understanding to open the crossing regardless of the outcome of the negotiations.

Israeli officials on Monday told Suleiman during his visit to Israel that Jerusalem would not agree to a cease-fire unless substantial progress is made in negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier abducted by Hamas in June 2006.

Defense officials also told Suleiman that Israel would not agree to open the Rafah crossing without such progress, conditioning their consent on Shalit’s release to Egypt. Suleiman expressed reservations about the demand, arguing that a cease-fire would help facilitate the deal for Shalit’s release.

However, Egypt could reopen the crossing without Israel’s consent as part of Cairo’s negotiations with Hamas. If Egypt does that, it would be violating understandings on the crossing it undertook under American pressure in November 2005.

The agreement Egypt signed then put the crossing under European supervision under security requirements demanded by Israel. The crossing has remained all but sealed since Hamas’ seizure of power in the Gaza Strip last June, after which Israel imposed a strict blockade on the enclave.

By the way, the PA also wants the crossings closed.

The Palestinian Authority firmly objects to the prospect of reopening the crossing. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is insisting on the presence of PA security forces at the site.

Of course, Hamas would blow through the PA forces in a flash, like they did to take over Gaza last year, but hey, that’s beside the point. The point here is that in violation of agreements, and against the wishes of everyone but Hamas, a terrorist group, Egypt is going to open the Rafah border crossing—which will allow Hamas to import more weapons, more bombs, more rockets, and more Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Iran is planning for the next war, too. It will be a war on at least three fronts, and all three fronts will have thousands of rockets bombarding Israel. Many people are going to die if this one comes to pass. Pray that it doesn’t. The Iranian proxy army buildup continues, aided and abetted by the lack of will by neighboring countries to stop it—as well as by the rest of the world. Hell, even Tom Friedman has noticed the Iranian threat.

For now, Team America is losing on just about every front. How come? The short answer is that Iran is smart and ruthless, America is dumb and weak, and the Sunni Arab world is feckless and divided.

Of course, he doesn’t advocate that we actually do anything about it.

When you have leverage, talk. When you don’t have leverage, get some — by creating economic, diplomatic or military incentives and pressures that the other side finds too tempting or frightening to ignore. That is where the Bush team has been so incompetent vis-à-vis Iran.

The only weaker party is the Sunni Arab world, which is either so drunk on oil it thinks it can buy its way out of any Iranian challenge or is so divided it can’t make a fist to protect its own interests — or both.

We’re not going to war with Iran, nor should we. But it is sad to see America and its Arab friends so weak they can’t prevent one of the last corners of decency, pluralism and openness in the Arab world from being snuffed out by Iran and Syria.

Yes, that would be the world that is unwilling to go along with sanctions. Friedman is ignoring the fact that effective sanctions keep getting shot down by Europe, Russia, and China, no matter what the Bush Administration proposes. You can’t get leverage if you’re the only kid on the block willing to do something about the local bully, but every other kid refuses to help. I’m not saying the U.S. isn’t helpless. But the world bodies refuse to act in anything other than their own short-term self-interest. Switzerland signs natural gas deals with Iran. China and Russia sign major trade agreements and send arms and weapons technology—including nuclear technology—to aid Iran in getting atomic bombs.

The only thing the world is ever in agreement on is its condemnation of Israel. Or aggressive American actions. So watch for the world to ignore Egypt’s violation of its agreement with Israel, and then scream when Israel tries to do something in response to an attack by a newly-supplied Hamas.