MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
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MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Order today at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
Associated Press, October 2, 2011
ON BOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Sunday that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the Middle East, and said Israeli leaders must restart negotiations with the Palestinians and work to restore relations with Egypt and Turkey.
In a blunt assessment made as he was traveling to Israel, Panetta said the ongoing upheaval in the Middle East makes it critical for the Israelis to find ways to communicate with other nations in the region in order to have stability.
"There's not much question in my mind that they maintain that (military) edge," Panetta told reporters traveling with him. "But the question you have to ask: Is it enough to maintain a military edge if you're isolating yourself in the diplomatic arena? Real security can only be achieved by both a strong diplomatic effort as well as a strong effort to project your military strength."
Panetta is scheduled to meet this week with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.....
Also see:
U.S. defense secretary heads to Israel, then Egypt
CNN Wire Staff, October 2, 2011
....Public opposition in Egypt, meanwhile, against its peace treaty with Israel appears to be growing, while protesters last month attacked Israel's embassy. That still unsettled nation....will be Panetta's next stop.....
Panetta will meet with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, as well as Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.....He said Sunday that he intends to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to a strong, long-term military relationship with Egypt. The U.S. secretary thanked Tantawi for his quick response in September, after the Israeli embassy attack.
Later, Panetta will head to Brussels, Belgium, for a meeting of NATO defense ministers.....
Comments
In that time-tested tradition of the great Talmudic scholars and mooks like me, Jeffrey Goldberg, the closest thing to a guru on these matters as yours truly has, feels strongly both ways, i.e. not so as to Egypt and Turkey, but certainly as to Jordan (and I would add the Gulf Arab States as well):
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:26am
I'm sure I know less than you and Jeffrey about this, but I think that while he's mostly right about Turkey, I do think that Israel's handling of the flotilla contributed somewhat to their strained relationship. Just to be clear, Turkey's participation in the flotilla also contributed to their strained relationship. I'm not interested or informed enough to judge the players in that, but I'll put my 2 cents worth in on my interpretation of how that contributed to their strained relationship, nevertheless.
by Verified Atheist on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:31am
Agreed VA, and I think that's what Goldberg is saying as well. To the extent that Erdogan was going to look east instead of west (not counting Israel which is east of course as well), someone other than Netanyahu and Lieberman and their crowd would not have made it as easy for Turkey to abandon its long-term ally. But I think Goldberg's point in any event is that Erdogan was looking to terminate the close relationship long before the flotilla disaster.
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 11:16am
Thank you for reminding me to check out his take on things from time to time. BTW you forgot the link:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/10/panettas-mostly...
by artappraiser on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 7:25pm
Oops. Thanks AA.
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 8:02pm
Juan Cole pointed out a glaring hypocrisy of the current Israeli government today:
by NCD on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 1:47pm
I was glad to see confirmation that he saw it like this: Panetta Slams Israeli Isolation. I suspected, but wasn't sure, that it was a big deal story, but then again also thought maybe it will be taken as same old same old tough words signifying nothing.
by artappraiser on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 7:33pm
by artappraiser on Tue, 10/04/2011 - 12:21am
Goldberg, on the stupidity of cutting off aid to the PA. What may play well in Peoria is not synonymous with rational foreign policy:
by Bruce Levine on Tue, 10/04/2011 - 7:22am
Yeah it's *sigh*teh stoopids. Apparently not much awareness in Congress that to many in the region the PA is seen as an branch of the U.S.A.; it's pretty clear that they didn't cut them off for that reason.
Beyond that, I thought the news of the Obama admin making it a priority, scrambling to do something about it now suggested something new is up. Along with the Panetta statements. I saw some suggestions of that in the wink wink nudge nudge stuff between Sarkozy & Obama during the UN confab, as I suggested in comments on a post by Genghis while that was going on.
by artappraiser on Tue, 10/04/2011 - 2:38pm