Unconventional Wisdom

 
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Mideast: On Target

Podcast for the weeks of April 29th - Winograd Report

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This week's Podcast will focus on the Winograd Report. The Podcast was recorded on the Sunday before the report, but due to technical difficulties we were unable to post it before today.
Enjoy.

  
Last Updated ( Monday, 14 May 2007 16:50 ) Read more...
 

Unpleasant Choices: Islamists vs. the Corrupt

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Nowadays the West is facing a very unpleasant decision concerning support for Middle Eastern and Moslem regimes world wide.  The choice is whether to support a full democratic electoral process knowing radical Islamists will come to power or to back corrupt pro-Western secular rulers who at best allow for partially rigged elections but assure their own continued terms in office.  The most prominent example is Egypt where Hosni Mubarak won the recent contest and parliamentary vote but it is an open secret that the Moslem Brotherhood (despite certain gains) would have polled a much better outcome provided the elections had been totally honest.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 24 July 2007 05:28 ) Read more...
 

The EU Contains Obama's Initiative?

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It is not everyday that six major European leaders (PM Gordon Brown – Britain, Pres. Sarkozy – France, Chancellor Merkel – Germany, Pres. Berlusconi – Italy, PM Zapatero – Spain and EU President Todolanek of the Czech Rep.) show up for a one day tour in the Middle East including a stop in Sharm el-Sheikh to give support to Egyptian Pres. Hosni MuBarack and his Saudi counterparts and then continuing on for dinner with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert where they accord full backing to Israeli policy.  The uniting factor is to halt Hamas (the Moslem Brotherhood) rearmament and by extension make clear their goal of curtailing extremist Islam and Iran.  Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire at 2AM on Jan. 18 and Hamas followed suit half a day later.  All this coincided with the European diplomatic initiative.  But why so fast?
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Good Guys, Bad Guys, and Annapolis

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As the Annapolis Peace Photo Op approaches, the situation on the ground gets more muddled by the day.  The conference, downgraded from a peace negotiation session to a meeting in which general declarations will be read followed by dinner, is meant to be the opening round of more serious talks that will take place over the coming year to sort out the differences between the two sides and arrive at a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.  After Madrid, Oslo, Wye Plantation, Camp David, the Quartet, and the Road Map, we have finally arrived at the US Naval Academy, and from here, presumably, we will embark on the high road to peace.  And if not, another wave of Palestinian terrorism is threatened.  It seems like déjà vu all over again.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 November 2007 07:05 ) Read more...
 

Lebanon Reflections 1982 – 85

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Note:  This past week most attentions were focused on the 1967 Six Day War, its aftermath and our perspectives 40 years later.  Completely forgotten was the First Lebanon War of 25 years ago.  The following piece was written in June 1985 when Israel pulled out of Lebanon after three years of conflict.  Shortly afterwards we returned to the south Lebanese security zone. 

The story is a conglomerate of events taken from the experiences of numerous Israeli soldiers, myself included.  The incidents and emotions are wound together into first person encounters although I was not present at all the events cited.  Poetic license is taken – what is written is based on fact but not every aspect is completely factual.

Below is a literary narrative expressing a feeling or spirit of those times.




Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 June 2007 03:48 ) Read more...
 


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