Appointment to what? What is this about?

cscs.

"I'm not sure what Bush brings to any table."

When it comes to shoring up the Palestinian Pinochet think of:

Lawyers in DC who have been instructing Abbas how to eviscerate the Palestinian constitution.

Guns that will arm militias under the new military dictatorship of Abbas.

and

Money that will fund another corrupt patronage system that will be based on how well his loyalists collaberate with the IDF and Shin Bet in oppressing the Palestiniians in the WB.

"Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has come under heavy criticism from Palestinians - including drafters of the PA Basic Law - who say he is forging a "military dictatorship" in the West Bank by granting militarycourts broad powers to crack down on civilians.

Abbas is also under attack for seeking to dilute the power of the
Palestinian Legislative Council, whose members were elected in January 2006.Abbas has issued a series of decrees in recent weeks suspending parts of the PA Basic Law and granting himself and military and security commanders and judges greater powers."

snip]

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the new order was "the most dangerous of a series of decrees" that Abbas issued following his
declaration of a state of emergency on June 14."The decree paves the way for the destruction of the judicial authority and civilian life for the sake of militarizing Palestinian society," the center said in a statement".

snip]

Two lawyers who helped draft the PA Basic Law have lashed out at Abbas for "violating the law." Attorneys Anis al-Qassem and Yugin Qatran said the law did not give Abbas the right to form an emergency government. They said the law they helped draft more than a decade ago was very clear about the powers of the PA chairman."While the Palestinian Authority chairman is entitled to fire the prime minister, he does not have the power to form a new government without the
approval of parliament," they said."

"The dismissed government [of Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh] should have continued to serve as a caretaker government until a new government is approved by a majority in parliament. What's happening today in the West Bank will lead to the creation of a military dictatorship," they said.

Dr. Ahmed Khaldi, another legal expert who played a major role in draftingthe Basic Law, was kidnapped two weeks ago by unidentified gunmen in his hometown of Nablus. Khaldi's abduction was intended to send a warning to him and other legal scholars who have been criticizing Abbas's violations of the Basic Law."

snip]

"Meanwhile, Fatah gunmen in Nablus kidnapped Shaher Saed, general-secretary of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions. Sources in the city told The Jerusalem Post that Saed was abducted from his downtown office. They said he was released unharmed later in the day after being ordered by the gunmen to resign from his post.

The abduction is yet another indication of the continued lawlessness in the West Bank, which is now entirely under the control of forces loyal to Abbas."

snip]

PA security forces have detained more than 100 Hamas supporters in Nablus over the past three weeks. All the detainees are being held without trial or questioning and are banned from meeting with their lawyers.

Unconfirmed reports that some of the Hamas detainees have been tortured sparked a wave of protests in the city and other parts of the West Bank.Citing "security concerns," PA policemen banned reporters and photographer from covering Tuesday's demonstration outside the PA lock-up. A universit student who was suspected of using his mobile phone to take a picture of the event was beaten and taken into custody."
http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=35204

But golly gee, Abbas might pave some roads so that traffic can run in a more timely manner.

Oh yes, Israel is refusing to allow concrete and other construction materials into Gaza for needed repairs on buildings and sewage systems and the like. Bad bad Arabs can just live in their shit while good Arabs get to live in a different piles of shit decorated with jaunty little bows leftover from from Blair's former persona.

Recall that Blair was also tight with Clinton regarding Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Granted, his closeness with Bush remains disturbing, but he has proven capable of independence from the Clinton-hating movement conservatives on our side of the pond in the past.

MJ,

Dennis Ross would be a more neutral mediator than Blair. Bush is not his boss; he is the poodle's master. Blair had to resign as PM early because he went too far in blocking the U.N. from halting Israel's devastating bombing of Lebanon last summer. He tows the religious-right Zionist line.

I don't understand how the "Quartet" thinks they can cut off and disregard the duly elected government of the OPT, now segregated and imprisoned in Gaza, and carry on as if they are actually working towards a fair and impartial settlement. The gall of this Barbershop Quartet is without precedent. Appointing Blair, not just pro-Israeli but the neocon's wet dream of a poster boy fronting as an unbiased intermediary is a cruel joke to play on a people under siege from all fronts.

Only you, Zionista. You're right that it was a vague use of "Zionist." My use was muddled in that I meant that Blair who has seemed to be a closet fundamentalist Christian views Israel through that lens and uncritically supports the pro-Israel right positions. Like "religious right" it is shorthand in these discussions but a different term would have been better. I was not using it as an epithet (as Limbaugh with liberal). I don't agree with the religious right either, but I don't hate Christians. We're talking about an I-P conflict mediator who should not be aligned with one side or the other.