Arab News Blog

Walt in FP/ here

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““Taking the unusual step of actively campaigning for the award, Abbas has reportedly sent mediators to persuade the committee to award him the honor and seems to be circumventing the most direct (and much harder) route towards the prize — creating peace. “” and ““According to the sources, Abbas has been using different mediators to convince the Norwegian Nobel Committee to grant him the prestigious award, whose past recipients include former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, US President Barack Obama, late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and President Shimon Peres.” (thanks “Ibn Rushd”)

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YNETnews/ here

“…. Abbas has been using different mediators to convince the Norwegian Nobel Committee to grant him the prestigious award.…. members of the Nobel Committee have been approached recently by Abbas’ associates, including former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.

….. his desire to be included in the prestigious list of Nobel Peace Prize recipients, Abbas has reportedly made some positive statements recently, including his willingness to let Israel keep the Western Wall and agree to a land exchange of about 4% of …… (what remains of Palestine)…”

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The LAT reports on the lightning speed with which the Senate Armed Forces Committee confirmed the appointment of Gen. David Petraeus as commander of US troops in Afghanistan. The full senate votes on Wednesday.

I was talking to an Afghan hand today who observed that in his view someone among the senators should have asked Gen. Petraeus:

1. Does the counter-insurgency strategy require an Afghan partner?

2. Is Hamid Karzai that partner?

3. If he is not, is the US nevertheless stuck with him and his cronies?

The answers are pretty obviously, ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ and ‘yes.’

Perhaps the most revealing comment was that of Jim Webb (D-VA), “You have my utmost respect for accepting this call.”

Maybe they were just grateful that someone was taking the Afghanistan quagmire on and did not want to inquire too closely into it all.

AFP has video Petraeus’s statement:

And Aljazeera English reports that Petraeus showed willingness at the hearing to reconsider the rules of engagement instituted by Gen. Stanley McChrystal in hopes of cutting down on casualties among innocent civilians in Afghanistan. But while the rules of engagement may have been interpreted overly strictly by local sergeants, they are intrinsically a good idea. One has little sympathy with the US soldier who told Rolling Stone he was angry because the ROE kept him from ‘getting my gun on.’ John McCain still doesn’t realize we lost in Vietnam (for all the world like one of those Japanese holdouts in the jungles of the Philippines who only heard of VJ Day thirty years after the fact). He harassed Petraeus about whether the Pentagon asked for troops to be withdrawn starting July of 2011. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) replied to McCain that a deadline for the beginning of a withdrawal is necessary to keep the Afghan government from just coasting.

Meanwhile, Taliban suicide bombers allegedly attacked the airport at the eastern Pashtun city of Jalalabad.

In other news, , a rumor that Western troops using dogs conducted a search of a Muslim seminary on the outskirts of Kabul sparked rioting and violence. Dogs are considered unclean by many Muslims. The rumor of foreign involvement is denied by US and Afghanistan authorities, who say only Afghanistan police were involved.

Aljazeera English has video:

And, finally, heavy fighting continued between US troops and Taliban in the Marawara district of Kunar Province. On the first day of the battle, Sunday, 3 NATO troops were killed, including 2 Americans.

Rioting seminarians who believe in urban legends, major battles in rural Pashtun regions, and a provincial airport bombed. That’s just one morning’s headlines. It is par for the course. Petraeus will need all his consideraable skills just to tread water in this graveyard of empires.

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The LAT reports on the lightning speed with which the Senate Armed Forces Committee confirmed the appointment of Gen. David Petraeus as commander of US troops in Afghanistan. The full senate votes on Wednesday.

I was talking to an Afghan hand today who observed that in his view someone among the senators should have asked Gen. Petraeus:

1. Does the counter-insurgency strategy require an Afghan partner?

2. Is Hamid Karzai that partner?

3. If he is not, is the US nevertheless stuck with him and his cronies?

The answers are pretty obviously, ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ and ‘yes.’

Perhaps the most revealing comment was that of Jim Webb (D-VA), “You have my utmost respect for accepting this call.”

Maybe they were just grateful that someone was taking the Afghanistan quagmire on and did not want to inquire too closely into it all.

AFP has video Petraeus’s statement:

And Aljazeera English reports that Petraeus showed willingness at the hearing to reconsider the rules of engagement instituted by Gen. Stanley McChrystal in hopes of cutting down on casualties among innocent civilians in Afghanistan. But while the rules of engagement may have been interpreted overly strictly by local sergeants, they are intrinsically a good idea. One has little sympathy with the US soldier who told Rolling Stone he was angry because the ROE kept him from ‘getting my gun on.’ John McCain still doesn’t realize we lost in Vietnam (for all the world like one of those Japanese holdouts in the jungles of the Philippines who only heard of VJ Day thirty years after the fact). He harassed Petraeus about whether the Pentagon asked for troops to be withdrawn starting July of 2011. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) replied to McCain that a deadline for the beginning of a withdrawal is necessary to keep the Afghan government from just coasting.

Meanwhile, Taliban suicide bombers allegedly attacked the airport at the eastern Pashtun city of Jalalabad.

In other news, , a rumor that Western troops using dogs conducted a search of a Muslim seminary on the outskirts of Kabul sparked rioting and violence. Dogs are considered unclean by many Muslims. The rumor of foreign involvement is denied by US and Afghanistan authorities, who say only Afghanistan police were involved.

Aljazeera English has video:

And, finally, heavy fighting continued between US troops and Taliban in the Marawara district of Kunar Province. On the first day of the battle, Sunday, 3 NATO troops were killed, including 2 Americans.

Rioting seminarians who believe in urban legends, major battles in rural Pashtun regions, and a provincial airport bombed. That’s just one morning’s headlines. It is par for the course. Petraeus will need all his consideraable skills just to tread water in this graveyard of empires.

Print

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“The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by repressive aspects of a new technology bill that is pending in the Lebanese parliament. CPJ urges parliament to remove several provisions that would restrict press freedom and free expression. The bill focuses largely on electronic business transactions, including security and contractual issues. The legislation is seen as important among officials and business people who cite a need for Lebanon to adopt generally accepted online business standards. But research by CPJ and other groups shows that the bill includes a number of broadly written provisions that could hinder freedom of expression.” (thanks Rima)

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AFP – An Israeli ministerial committee on Sunday approved a draft bill seeking to toughen the conditions under which Hamas prisoners are held in response to the stalemate over kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

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From Kerry spokesman Frederick Jones:

“Senator Kerry traveled to Syria this weekend. This is his third trip to Damascus since becoming Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in January 2009, and his fifth trip to Damascus as a senator. Chairman Kerry planned to speak with President Assad about a range of issues critical to the stability of the region. Senator Kerry has consistently said that while the United States has serious, long-standing disagreements with Syria, in particular its support for Hezbollah and other terrorist groups, Syria can play a critical role in bringing peace and stability if it makes the strategic decision to do so. Since becoming Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Kerry has emerged as one of the primary American interlocutors with the Syrian government.”

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Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will form a committee to explore ways to boost bilateral cooperation, mainly in the energy sector.
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Politico/ here

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