WikiLeaks blows cover off Israel's covert Gulf states ties

[iandhr]

Source: Haaretz

Israel's covert relations with the United Arab Emirates were yet another issue exposed by the recent leak of 250,000 diplomatic cables by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks on Sunday.


In a cable dating to March of 2009, Marc Sievers, the political advisor of the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, provides an overview of Israel's relations with the Gulf states, following a meeting with the head of the Middle East division of the Foreign Ministry, Yaakov Hadas.

The overview details a "good and personal relationship" to have been developed between then Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and U.A.E. Foreign Minister Abdullah Ibn Zayed, adding, however, that the two officials would not "do in public what they say behind closed doors."

Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/wikileaks-blows-cover-off-israel-s-covert-gulf-states-ties-1.327758

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Pragmatic people in middle east who would have guessed.

[MrBig]

1. Wow

I'm so happy this news has been made public. I'm sure the right wingers in each of those two countries will be thrilled to learn about this. I doubt there will be any backlash from this nor will this revelation hurt middle east diplomatic efforts. Thank you Wikileaks for moving diplomacy forward, not backward.

:sarcasm:

[jberryhill]

2. 90% of DU is not going to understand what you just said

[yowzayowzayowza]

3. The left certainly has a full contingent of moral dogmatists. n/t

[jberryhill]

6. I just don't get it

Like the "wouldn't it be a wonderful world if..." thread.

Um, okay, our diplomatic staff could no longer communicate their candid assessments of situations abroad... leading to Washington being misinformed/uninformed... leading to misunderstanding, miscalculation, and war.

Simultaneously, host countries are offended by candid assessments by diplomatic staff, diplomacy comes to an end... leading to misunderstanding, miscalculation and war.

Simplified a lot, but still.

[MrBig]

4. I've come to realize this

I've only got a few posts here but I've lurked for quite awhile. I fear too many people here believe anything that the government does in secrecy or privacy is best made public. Simply not the case. I fear this may be an example of that.

[boppers]

7. Well, it'll show people which leaders are lying hypocrites.

Light is a great disinfectant.

[jberryhill]

8. Yeah, and the Israeli right will elect non-hypocrites

Is that a good thing?

[MrBig]

9. That's True

But sometimes for peace to come about, leaders need to portray themselves as one thing in the public and another when attempting diplomacy with perceived enemies.

Some might say that leaders shouldn't act this way but it goes against the reality of the situation sometimes. People like Rabin in Israel and Sadat in Egypt were assassinated by right wingers in their own country simply because they were working on improving diplomatic relations with nations/people who right wingers in their respective countries viewed as evil. There is no way those two would have been able to get as far as they did had there not been some private diplomatic action taken outside of the public eye.

[iandhr]

10. How is this beneficial

Secret diplomatic talks can lead breakthroughs in relations between countries . The reason the United States was able to have a breakthrough with People's Republic of China was because of a lot of secret diplomacy that happened under Nixson before we established relations under Carter. The fact that the foreign minsters of the U.A.E. and Israel were able to have a pragmatic relationship was a good thing. The fact that this story broke will give the extremists something to scream about and destroy any progress that might have been made.

[sendero]

15. Here's the thing..

... all of the preening on the wikileaks issue is wearing thin. Do many/most of us who are generally supportive of the leaks think that EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM IS GOOD? That's not true of ANYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE.

The real question is, ON BALANCE, is the harm done outweighed by the good? I say yes. I say our government is out of control, wasting the treasury on pointless wars, bailing out fraudsters, and more.

I like the sunlight, let the BASTARDS WORRY THAT THEY MAY BE FOUND OUT.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

22. so are you of the view all secrecy is bad/evil and transparency is good?

[harun]

19. Anyone who knows how to read knows this has been going on. IT IS THE REASON

the Middle East is pissed. Not because their leaders talk to Israel but because their leaders are hypocrite asshole dictators SUPPORTED and kept in positions of power by the United States.

Think we'll see Obama say anything about Egypt's corrupt elections? Think he will be cutting back aid to the country getting the most aid second only to Israel?

[aranthus]

12. Unfortunately, you are correct in your assessment.

This will help destabilize an already volatile region.

[boppers]

5. The stories just keep coming out...

I have a feeling that the leak has changed the world in many ways.

[Ian David]

11. See? They CAN work together after all! n/t

[jberryhill]

16. Not now, they can't

Because the nutbars on both sides have a new bone to play with.

[bemildred]

13. Well, it blows their alibi, nobody paying attention is going to be surprised. nt

[Heywood J]

14. >adding, however, that the two officials would not "do in public what they say behind closed doors."

Sounds like some pretty kinky stuff...

[ProgressiveMajority]

17. Good. Arab/Gulf States Citizens should know what kind of relations they have with Israel

I think a lot of middle eastern citizens would not be happy with these ties, and would rather be part of the BDS movement. They have a right to know that their governments are being friendly with Israel behind closed doors. Making these ties known and open to public scrutiny seems like a very democratic thing to me. Secrecy seems to imply the racist assertion that the people in the gulf states are somehow not reasonable.

[Igel]

18. Rather the opposite, I'd think.

It's not like leaders and the public are each looking at each other and trying to pick the most progressive elements of each others' thought. The public won't look at the leaders and say, "You know, for 45 years we've hated Jews and Zionists and thought them miserable little wastes of oxygen. Suddenly, because this one leader in my government is on good terms with one of them, I love Jews. Let joy be unconstrained! O frabjous day!"

No, more likely it's going to be, "That bastard in our government professes democracy but goes against the will of the majority. He's likely out of a job in short order, and doing good, if he stays in the country, to be a live in 60 days."

*That* is often the face of a democracy. Democracy often sucks and can be a very dangerous kind of political order.

[MrBig]

20. You said exactly what I was thinking n/t

[David__77]

21. Too bad that the people in almost all Arab countries have little voice or vote.

It would be best if the people in the respective countries could ratify or reject the policies of their leaders. Same as everywhere.