John Bolton and Israel
Congrats to Kate Cambor and Josh Marshall on the great redesign of TPM Cafe. Josh and The Washington Note have also just launched Bolton Watch as a new feature of TPM Cafe -- just to give Condi Rice some extra help supervising and watching the often reckless, recess-appointed John Bolton.
Bolton has just 11 months in his term, as he can't serve beyond this Congressional Session, but the guy can do a lot of damage to American interests -- not to mention global interests -- during that time.
This month of February 2006 is an important one for Bolton. It is the only month in his life in which he will be able to serve as President of the UN Security Council. This is the month to "obsess" about everything he does.
Here's one short bit about Bolton and the Israeli press that deserves some critique -- less of Bolton than of the Israeli press's censorship of Bolton's recent comments about the election results in Palestine.
Arutz Sheva reports:
In his capacity as President of the UN Security Council, US United Nations Ambassador John Bolton called on Hamas to disarm and to recognize Israel’s right to existence.
“The Security Council reminds the sides of their commitments as per the Roadmap Plan,” stressing the Palestinian Authority (PA) must take necessary actions to prevent ongoing terrorism,” added Bolton.
Bolton's Security Council Statement was broader and included not only congratulations to the Palestinian people, a subtle warning to Hamas, and a salute to Abbas -- but it included a message to Israel:
The statement also reminded Israel's government of the Council's view "that settlement expansion must stop" and also its concern regarding "the route of the barrier" that Israel is constructing between the two states.
We'll give Bolton credit when he deserves it. In this case, the selective reporting at Arutz Sheva is out of line and did not tell Bolton's entire message: that both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict need to desist from their provocations. For Israel, that's the course of "the wall" and the further establishment of illegal settlements.
Hamas has about seven weeks to recode its DNA before Israel's elections -- and it too needs to get to work to decide if its going to continue its militancy or use this opportunity to redefine a land situation and mutual recognition between Israel and Palestine that might be workable.
THB
I am more concerned right now with what he can do via supportive UN actions to facilitate the Bush agenda to attack Iran. Between the imminence of Peak Oil and the Iranian declaraion they will open their Bourse in March 2006 and begin to sell the their oil in EUROS rather than dollars, there is a tremendous incentive for Bush and the NEOCONS to continue their original plans, notwithstanding the mess they have made in Iraq.
February 5, 2006 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hamas has about seven weeks to recode its DNA before Israel's elections -- and it too needs to get to work to decide if its going to continue its militancy or use this opportunity to redefine a land situation and mutual recognition between Israel and Palestine that might be workable.
Arafat was a terrorist. Abbas was too weak. Hamas now, Hamas. Maybe Hamas. Yes, maybe Hamas will be that elusive "peace partner." Or maybe nothing the Palestinians do matters, it's all theatre, and the Palestinians are tired of playing the fool.
February 5, 2006 11:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Steve, although you are correct that the reporting from Arutz Sheva did not report the complete quote; Arutz Sheva is not a mainstream news source in Israel; and I would not refer to mis-reporting or mis-telling of a complete story as censorship by either Israel or the Israeli press. Doing this would be like blasting the American Press as a result of some reporting out of Fox News or dare I say the NRO.
February 5, 2006 7:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steve,
What is to prevent GWB, at the end of this session, from simply sending up Bolton's name again, then doing another recess appointment? Does the name Bill Lan Lee strike a familiar note? He served almost four years as Assistant AG in charge of the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ under Clinton and was never confirmed.
"
February 6, 2006 7:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Steve, I'd like to second this comment. Arutz Sheva is far, far removed from the mainstream Israeli press. It's a settler-run news operation that's actually illegal. While their studios are in a West Bank settlement called Beit-El, their signal actually gets transmitted from a ship in international waters because they're unlicensed in Israel.
Although they have a user-friendly website and show up in search engines for Israeli news, please note that they're a small-time, very partisan operation.
For mainstream Israeli news, the dailies Ma'ariv and Yediot Aharonot have the widest distribution. For left-oriented news and comment, try Ha'aretz (www.haaretz.com) and for right-wing news and perspective, there's the Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com).
February 6, 2006 8:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Right now, the issue of Iran and nuclear enrichment is being handled in Vienna. Bolton's speech before the UN has already been written and is in his vest pocket. It decries the inaction and impotence of the UN and tells them that the US will not stand by and watch this happen. The US will act alone, if necessary, to de-nuclearize Iran. As soon as BushCo gets the matter moved from Vienna to NYC, watch the missiles fly.
Oh, and of course, one will veer off course and score a direct hit on the oil Bourse. Which, as tbaum says, is what this is all about to begin with.
February 6, 2006 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink