As Condoleezza Rice prepares to host the Middle East summit in Annapolis this week, her State Department has issued an updated historical timeline of American efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  The timeline is a fascinating document both for what it reveals and what it leaves out.  The rise of Hamas and its election victories are mentioned nowhere.  That might just be because President Bush's hands-off policy of malign neglect is in part responsible for it.

I have been following the situation in Palestine and Israel closely for many years now.  

Not long ago upon the decision of Ariel Sharon to evacuate Gaza, I was left with a cliffhanger.  

What was Sharon’s end game?

This post as tangentially related to leveymg's most excellent recent diary "Larger CIA and DoD Privatization Scandal Emerging from Walter Reed Story, US Attorneys Firing" which centers around hedge fund giant Cerberus.  If you haven't had a chance to check that diary out, be sure to do so because it is a very worthwhile read.  

Ha'aretz from a review the new book "Ariel Sharon: An Intimate Portrait" by Uri Dan, Palgrave Macmillan, 320 pages, $18.45 :  

Speaking of George Bush, with whom Sharon developed a very close relationship, Uri Dan recalls that Sharon's delicacy made him reluctant to repeat what the president had told him when they discussed Osama bin Laden. Finally he relented. And here is what the leader of the Western world, valiant warrior in the battle of cultures, promised to do to bin Laden if he caught him: "I will screw him in the ass!"

Nice to finally have confirmation that the "few bad apples" at Abu Ghraib were carrying out official Bush administration policy on the treatment of prisoners.

I didn't think I could be more ashamed of my country's president, but there's always "more" where Bush is concerned.

Update [2007-2-19 14:58:46 by LondonYank]:: Now on Wonkette!  Hat tip Michael D.

On the front page of Salon, Gregory Levey writes that top Israeli officials now realize last summer's war with Hezbollah was a disastrous failure:

A series of recent interviews with current and former Israeli government officials revealed a level of pessimism across the Israeli government that is unprecedented in recent decades. Several senior officials acknowledged unequivocally that Israel lost the war against Hezbollah, and confirmed that this is a widely held view inside the Israeli government -- despite many public pronouncements to the contrary by Israeli leaders.

Our foolish president, like many 'dumb guys,' likes to think he's a very clever lad, far too wily to himself be 'had.' He takes such great delight in embarrassing those smarter people, who got better grades and had age appropriate vocabularies, with his insulting nick-names, with his inappropriate demeanor and with his unpleasant yet childish remarks. He's just daring other world leaders (and all Americans), to name him what he is, and he's glad to see how many cowards there are, hardly willing to even hint at what a silly yet dangerous tyrant we've still stuck with.  But, as my brother-in-law Bill used to say, you can't break a ball breaker's balls.

Back in March, 2003, a report from the London Guardian accused Ariel Sharon of plans to turn the Palestinian territories into a huge prison. At that time, it was reported that Wall (the so-called "security fence"), whose justification is often quoted as being a defense against "terrorist" suicide bombers, was clearly much more: it was the makings of a plan to unilaterally enforce a Bantustan (apartheid) existence upon the Palestinians by confiscating the Jordan Valley. At that time, it was indicated that,

Just a head's up: the Saddam verdict is expected tomorrow. No telling how or if it will be spun, but it should be on our radars as there has not been much anticipation of the event in the press, which may give the impression that the proceedings were an Iraqi affair as opposed to an American spectacle.

The second one is more tinfoily, but Haaretz reported last night that Areil Sharon's condition has worsened. Back a few months ago on one of those 'guess the October Surprise' diaries I made the prediction that this specific event, done like the Reagan funeral, would give a huge boost to the GOP and quite possibly the War on Terror, which, conincidently, we've been hearing more about Iran and Syria in the news in the past few days....  

Some news snips below...

This is a film about how your views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been molded by propaganda orchestrated by a concerted Israeli and American effort to hide the truth. It speaks to the ability of governments to indoctrinate its people through mainstream media. If the truth could be heard, no American could conceivably support the evils perpetrated against the Palestinian people for the sole purpose of depriving them of their rights to self-determination. Those rights are being suppressed so that the West Bank can be annexed into the state of Israel, thus achieving the Greater Israel dream or what is essentially, Biblical Zionism.

Part one is viewable here.

Why?

That is the question I feel nearly everyone here and throughout America has been asking regarding the actions of Israel in Gaza and Lebanon.  There are many voices who feel that Israel is in the right, and that they should react forcefully to aggression by militant groups like Hezbollah and the elements of Hamas who abducted Cpl. Gilad Shalit.  There are many voices who feel that Israel is wrong, and that regardless of the provocation, Israel should not use force in the method it has.

But no one at all seems to have an answer for the most basic of questions: why has Israel reacted in this manner to the attacks against it from Gaza and Lebanon?

By Ray Close

(Ray is my friend, and a former CIA analyst in the Near East division. Ray is also a member of the Steering Group for Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, of which I am also a member.  Today, Ray sent me, and other intelligence professionals, the following letter; Ray gave me his permission to disseminate this important letter widely. -- Larry C. Johnson)

Dear Friends:

Not surprisingly, some (not all) of my Israeli and American Jewish friends have objected strenuously to my characterization of Israel's response to recent Hamas and Hizballah actions as disproportionate and counterproductive.

 Let me make it crystal clear where I stand.

 One of the definitions of madness is ... continued below

As Holden pointed out Monday, the White House talking point regarding a possible military attack on Iran was "wild speculation". That got me thinking about what other things the WH had called "speculation" and when they'd done it.

But first, I missed my chance to meet up with Kos Sunday in Portland because we were sheetrocking a ceiling, but I did catch him (not literally) Monday evening at the Kennedy School (the one in Portland has nothing to do with governing, just beer).

Alan Rickman is one of my favorite actors. In recent years, he has literally inhabited the role of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies, but before that he's played key roles in two of my favorite off-beat movies -- Dogma, where he plays Metatron, the voice of God, and Galaxy Quest, in the role of Dr. Lazarus (think Mr. Spock). And, although it's been a long time, I also have strong memories of him from Michael Collins, where he played Eamon de Valera.

But what I did not know is that Rickman was the "developer" (editor) and director of a play I mentioned last April entitled "My Name is Rachel Corrie." A play which was tentatively going to be put on by the New York Theatre Workshop, but which was cancelled by the theater's artistic director with this explanation:

old title: Ariel Sharon Near Death - out of Emergency Surgery, back in IC.

CNN International and the AP are reporting that Ariel Sharon is about to undergo emergency surgery to treat bleeding in his abdomen.  They are saying the doctors fear for his life.  

In a CT scan of Sharon's stomach Saturday, doctors discovered that his digestive track had been seriously damaged, said Yael Bossem-Levy, spokeswoman for Hadassah Ein-Kerem hospital. In light of the damage, it was decided to immediately operate on Sharon, Bossem-Levy said in a statement.

"Sharon's life is in danger," Bossem-Levy told The Associated Press in a phone call after the statement was issued. His condition is now "very serious, or critical," she said.

The AP has an updating story out there now.  It's HERE.

CNN is speaking with Ron Kumer of Hadassah Hospital.  He's confirming what's in the AP story but added that they did the CT scan because Sharon's condition was worsening.

That's all I've got for now (about 1:10 AM Pacific Time).   Feel free to update in the comments.  

C'mon, people!  Sing along with me!

People...  
People who hate people...
Are the luckiest people...
In the world...

I love the haters, cloaking themselves in religion and/or righteousness, wishing death upon those with whom they disagree.  Seems to be an increasingly popular activity these days...

(more)

Re:  all the media hand wringing over the "crazy" Palestinian election.  Can the result hurt the peace process more than the US "results" in 2000, 2004?  Or the Israeli result in 2001?

Doubtful.  

It's tit for tat.  We got "our" militants years ago.  Now they have theirs.

This is what democracy looks like.  (When you can't manipulate it.)  

It took quite a bit of mental debate and research to decide to write about this subject, considering the great range of emotion regarding Ariel Sharon and his role in the history of Israeli military policy and politics over the past few decades. Let's get the obvious out of the way - I'm not a big fan of Ariel Sharon. I'm not a big fan of Israeli foreign or domestic policy, and I feel it is directly responsible for their country's problems. I feel that the United States has had a huge role in that chaos, and that there won't be any end to the chaos we create there for a myriad of reasons.