Robert Fisk’s World: How can anyone believe there is 'progress' in the Middle East?

[kpete]

Robert Fisk’s World: How can anyone believe there is 'progress' in the Middle East?

A test of Obama’s gumption will come scarcely three months after his inauguration

Saturday, 27 December 2008


If reporting is, as I suspect, a record of mankind's folly, then the end of 2008 is proving my point.

Let's kick off with the man who is not going to change the Middle East, Barack Obama, who last week, with infinite predictability, became Time's "person of the year". But buried in a long and immensely tedious interview inside the magazine, Obama devotes just one sentence to the Arab-Israeli conflict: "And seeing if we can build on some of the progress, at least in conversation, that's been made around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be a priority."

What is this man talking about? "Building on progress?" What progress? On the verge of another civil war between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, with Benjamin Netanyahu a contender for Israeli prime minister, with Israel's monstrous wall and its Jewish colonies still taking more Arab land, and Palestinians still firing rockets at Sderot, and Obama thinks there's "progress" to build on?

I suspect this nonsensical language comes from the mental mists of his future Secretary of State. "At least in conversation" is pure Hillary Clinton – its meaning totally eludes me – and the giveaway phrase about progress being made "around" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is even weirder. Of course if Obama had talked about an end to Jewish settlement building on Arab land – the only actual "building" that is going on in the conflict – relations with Hamas as well as the Palestinian Authority, justice for both sides in the conflict, along with security for Palestinians as well as Israelis, then he might actually effect a little change.

An interesting test of Obama's gumption is going to come scarcely three months after his inauguration when he will have a little promise to honour. Yup, it's that dratted 24 April commemoration of the Armenian genocide when Armenians remember the 1.5 million of their countrymen – citizens of the Ottoman empire slaughtered by the Turks – on the anniversary of the day in 1915 when the first Armenian professors, artists and others were taken off to execution by the Ottoman authorities.

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more at:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-how-can-anyone-believe-there-is-progress-in-the-middle-east-1212434.html

[Bragi]

1. How can one believe in "progress" anywhere? /nt

[msfiddlestix]

2. Goddess Bless Robert Fisk

Brilliant writer and reporter, always nails the issues head on. This particular piece exposes weaknesses and woe-some lack of UNDERSTANDING the PE seems to possess regarding the complexities of the ME issues, a particularly worrisome problem revealed during the campaign. Obama's handlers like Rahm Emmanuel and others seemed to have given our PE woefully inadequate "talking points" during the campaign. I sure the hell hope that Obama feels a bit freer to be a bit more candid and intellectually honest on this matter, the sooner the better. More importantly, I hope he listens more to his inner voice than some of these clowns acting as his advisors.

[L0oniX]

8. John Pilger, Robert Fisk, Howard Zinn all good. I wish our leaders would read up.

I am a Democrat and would rather a Democrat be in any office but many things and truths rise above party lines. Unfortunately under the rules and mind set of DU, criticizing Obama and or his team risk getting a TS and or the flaming from hell. I feel that everyone and anything is not above reproach. The truth must be number one or we will never get to the root of the problem to be addressed and solved. Sadly IMO the truth is Obama and his Clinton gang will be war hawks and will not bring an end to the ME problems nor will he end war and the strangle hold that the military industrial corporations have on our country and world. These people in our government just don't know the way of peace and it doesn't matter who is in office anymore. The whole system has been taken over and it's not a Dem or Rep thing anymore.

John Pilger article http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20095.htm

[msfiddlestix]

3. Excellent article

Nominated

[G_j]

4. thank you AGAIN Robert Fisk!!

the best

[bread_and_roses]

5. A brave and honest man

Always, always worth reading. He nails HRC speech perfectly...and shines a light on the meaningless careful parsing Obama takes to on so many difficult topics.

[Ghost Dog]

6. Much really does depend on Washington correcting its gung-ho, counterproductive stance

in the Middle East.

Do check out Fisk's Dec 20 piece on (the) 1967 UN Resolution 242: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-one-missing-word-sowed-the-seeds-of-catastrophe-1205017.html

[G_j]

7. K