Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
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February 14, 2006
Democratic Choice

Ultimately, the only way to defeat the terrorists is to defeat their dark vision of hatred and fear by offering the hopeful alternative of political freedom and peaceful change. So the United States of America supports democratic reform across the broader Middle East.
Text of Bush’s State of the Union speech, February 1, 2005

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The United States and Israel are discussing ways to destabilize the Palestinian government so that newly elected Hamas officials will fail and elections will be called again, according to Israeli officials and Western diplomats.
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They say Hamas will be given a choice: recognize Israel’s right to exist, forswear violence and accept previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements — as called for by the United Nations and the West — or face isolation and collapse.
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The officials drafting the plan know that Hamas leaders have repeatedly rejected demands to change and do not expect Hamas to meet them. "The point is to put this choice on Hamas’s shoulders," a senior Western diplomat said. "If they make the wrong choice, all the options lead in a bad direction."
U.S. and Israelis Are Said to Talk of Hamas Ouster, NYT, February 14, 2006

Posted by b on February 14, 2006 at 09:57 UTC | Permalink
Comments

here’s another example of the u.s. idea of “offering the hopeful alternative of…peaceful change”

he U.S. Embassy in Bogota…late last week began soliciting U.S.-based ammunition vendors for cost estimates on the delivery of 4 million 5.56 bullets oufitted with body-tearing “penetrators.” The shipment of these 62-grain, high-energy projectiles — known as full-metal jacket boat-tail bullets — will be accompanied by an additional 3 million tracer bullets for use in M-249 machine guns.
Rather than basing possible contracts on best value, the State Dept. will evaluate the awards on the contractor’s ability to ensure “expedited and timely delivery,” the solicitation says.

Posted by: b real | Feb 14 2006 16:15 utc | 1

Todays Democracy Now has the following, Fmr. Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami Debates Outspoken Professor Norman Finkelstein on Israel, the Palestinians, and the Peace Process.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Feb 14 2006 16:54 utc | 2

For democracy – for what’s Western, American, white, and good; and Against terrorism – against what is Foreign, dark and not-yet pure;
are like two sides of a coin. You can use one side or the other, just flip; in any case, you can always use the coin to buy some gum.
I figure Cheney’s The long war is poor PR. It is too descriptive, too transparent, too real. People in the US may want war, but a Long one – No.

Posted by: Noisette | Feb 14 2006 17:48 utc | 3

Why would the Palestinians want US and Israeli financial assistance anyway? It’s just another weapon of control, as this recent turn of events is now proving. They are better off hitting up Arab governments for cash. At least the Arabs would be putting their money where their mouth is.

Posted by: gylangirl | Feb 14 2006 18:27 utc | 4

This is not a trivial concern. Under the legal international (UN) definition largely crafted to satisfy US and Israel coup-making peccadilloes, a legitimately-elected democratic government cannot, by definition, be called “terrorist”, just as the term “insurgent” can only be applied to a group operating outside of government.
Ergo, neither the Neo, Israeli (or the British) governments can be called “terrorist”, even though they brutally murder innocent civilians all around the world, as these “terrorists” did installing the Shah in Iran in an orchestrated coup against the democratically-elected prime minister in 1953, but hey, who remembers that? He probably left the hunting party, and came up unexpectedly on the Shah during a ‘covey flush’.
Hamas being duly-elected and majority-leader in Palestine is creating a real conundrum for the Neo wordsmiths, just as the Shi’ia majority in Iraq is about the worst possible outcome for the Neo invasion and overthrow of Saddam, as is the populism spreading across South America, but, of course, the Neo’s aren’t going to admit that.
So they cannot legally invoke sanctions, or any other economic and trade measures against the governments of Palestine and Iraq. Their only recourse is to covertly take them down, either by sowing so much discord they collapse, or by outright assassination, like they did to Hariri,
and then spin up a storm-cloud of flag-waving,
bible-thumping and glory, glory halleluah’ing.
So much for “statecraft” of America’s Taliban.

Posted by: Glory Halleluah | Feb 15 2006 4:33 utc | 5

Those who support us are democratically-elected leaders if they’re in power in their home region, or righteous rebels if they are not.
Those who oppose us are terrorist-supporting regimes if they’re in power in their home regions, or terrorists themselves if they are not.
We are the Bush.

Posted by: Keith | Feb 15 2006 10:53 utc | 6

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