Sarkozy Outshines Obama as King of MidEast Mediation
For decades the cafés, classrooms and mosques of the Middle East have discussed American intervention in the region.
Eight years of American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a subsequent promise by U.S. President Barack Obama to turn a new page in American relations with the Muslim world have only heightened the United States' role in the Middle East.
But in the battle fields outside Kabul, the mosques of Tehran and Damascus and the halls of power in Jerusalem, people are discussing an entirely different international player: Sarkozy.
In what has been termed "diplomatic activism", in the two years since he assumed the French presidency Sarkozy has launched a ‘Union for the Mediterranean’, pushed France to the forefront of international mediation in Syria, taken Europe's most aggressive stance towards Iran, made friends with Israel, officially joined NATO in Afghanistan, and most recently flown to Saudi Arabia to convince the royals to support a Middle East peace conference in Paris.
Sarkozy's saunter into Middle Eastern diplomacy is seen by the region's pundits and politicians alike in stark contrast to the approach of the U.S. president, who after almost a year in office has made a brief stopover in Riyadh and a grandiose speech in Cairo.
"This is all a sort of French diplomatic activism which the president of France believes will give him international clout," Shlomo Aronson, professor of politics at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told The Media Line. "He also has a large Muslim minority in France, so he is showing his activism and refusal to sit on his hands."
Aronson argued that in an effort to play the peacemaking statesman role, Sarkozy has been aggressively seeking a sea change in France’s relations with the Arab world, particularly Syria.
"Going all the way back to general Charles de Gaulle himself, who gave up the Israeli-French alliance after the Six Day War, previous French presidents have habitually supported the Arab position," Aronson claimed. "Sarkozy is trying to make the role of France more explicit and active, developing pretty friendly relations with whomever is in charge in Israel and trying to use France's historic relations with Syria to mediate between Israel and Syria."
"France is less moved by dependence on Arab oil than other European countries, such as the Scandinavian countries, Spain and Greece," he said. "So Mr. Sarkozy could be helpful in trying to show to the Syrians that something could be done in regard to the Golan Heights, and that Mr. Netanyahu is seriously considering it."
"The French role in Iran is also interesting," Aronson added. "They are repeating again and again that should the international community, meaning the UN Security Council, be unable to restrain Iran's nuclear ambitions, Israel will strike militarily. This gives credence to the Israeli threat, which remains on the table. In other words the French are voicing the Israeli military threat much more vigorously than other European states, such as Germany, which have much more economic interests in Iran."
Hossein Bastani, Paris-based editor of Rooz, a leading Iranian journal, argued that the most dramatic change of tack since Sarkozy became president has been seen in France's relations with Iran.
"The approach of the French government towards Iran totally changed after Sarkozy became president," he told The Media Line. "Sarkozy is seen in Iran as more pro-Israel and more severe in his criticism of Iran than, say, President Chirac was."
"France's reaction to what took place in Iran following the elections was also very harsh," Bastani said. "So the Iranian authorities are not happy with France at all. Sarkozy's positions on Iran are not only more severe than other European leaders, but indeed he is seen by the Iranian authorities as having a position even more antagonistic than the United States."
Bastani argued that Iran's response to 'Sarkozyism' was to try sideline France in the country's political discourse.
"France is clearly important, but Iranian pundits try to ignore the positions of countries like France and the government, quite willing to cut a deal with the United States, which depicts France as a non-key player in the negotiations."
Alex Jackson, Policy Analyst and Afghanistan expert at the Paris-based International Council on Security and Development, said that while France does not have much material influence on the ground, Sarkozy has also dramatically changed the country's symbolic role in international military alliances.
"We're seeing a lot more active and engaged French involvement in Afghanistan and a willingness to move beyond the Iraq war," he told The Media Line. "France has always been a more distant participant in NATO than other European states, but earlier this year France formally rejoined NATO and is now formally fighting under a NATO flag in Afghanistan. So while it may not make much of a difference on the ground, it's symbolically quite important."
"A lot of this is personal and reflects Sarkozy's personality and political convictions," Jackson said. "In many ways he's broken with the old model. He believes that France's future lies not just in ties within Europe but in becoming a significant player on the world stage. So he's basically trying to engage with everyone."
Benjamin Joffe-Walt
Via The Media Line
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, who met Bhutto earlier on Thursday in Islamabad, said he was "deeply pained" by the assassination of "this brave sister of ours, a brave daughter of the Muslim world."From AFP we have this pointing to the most populace Muslim country Indonesia, which is also on the Indian sub-continent.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, called Bhutto's murder "a severe blow to Pakistan's democratic process" and expressed his hope that "the law be upheld and democracy be respected in Pakistan."Folks sometimes you can learn as much about somebody by what they don't say as you can what they do say. So where are the Middle Eastern countries in their condemnation of this killing? Where is Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and even Iraq?
The French Poodle effect?Scepticism hangs over Blair's appointment as quartet envoy
· Former PM to help build Palestinian institutions
· No formal role in finding permanent solution
Tony Blair is to make his first working visit to Ramallah in the West Bank next month as envoy of the quartet of Middle East peacemakers, it emerged yesterday, after his job was confirmed amid scepticism about any chance of his success.
His role of quartet representative was announced jointly in New York by the US, EU, UN and Russia. Mr Blair will work on building government institutions and the rule of law, mobilising international help, and promoting the economy.Can we spell d-e-l-u-s-i-o-n-a-l?
"He will spend significant time in the region working with the parties and others to help create viable and lasting government institutions representing all Palestinians, a robust economy, and a climate of law and order for the Palestinian people," the quartet said in a statement.
They stopped short of giving Mr Blair an explicit role as mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians in the peace process, but did give a broad remit to "liaise with other countries as appropriate in support of the agreed quartet objectives". Sources close to Mr Blair said he expected his role to be bigger than that assigned to his predecessor, James Wolfensohn, a former World Bank president who resigned in frustration in April 2006 after focusing just on the economy, on preparation for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Mr Blair sees his role as preparing ground for eventual talks on a final, comprehensive settlement by Palestinians and Israelis, with his immediate task to help to halt the violence between Fatah and Hamas and heal the divide.
His appointment left some egos battered and generated controversy. Russia demanded last minute changes to the terms of reference, clarifying his precise status. Mr Blair also spoke to Vladimir Putin, Russia's president.There's more. Much more.
Gordon Brown was described as angry at being presented with a fait accompli, making it difficult for him to formulate his own Middle East policy.
"This keeps Blair interminably in the limelight," said a top diplomat, noting the former PM will report to the UN general assembly in September, just as Mr Brown makes his maiden appearance.
Javier Solana, EU foreign policy chief, with a long track-record in the region, is also unhappy, Brussels sources say. The Foreign Office, where top officials knew nothing until last Thursday, is said to be in an "institutional sulk".
So here are questions to ponder as reactionaries yearn for a pre-Bush past. Imagine: One of the various foiled terrorist plots — a Fort Dix slaughter, a JFK airport attack, or the suicide teams ABC news claims are headed our way from Afghanistan — succeeds after 2008. Thousands of Americans die.
What does President Clinton or Obama do? Draft a tough federal indictment? Ask for a U.N. resolution condemning such violence? Count on a unified response with NATO, battle-seasoned after its heroic offensives in Afghanistan? Hope for help from the EU rapid-response force? Bomb the source where the jihadists trained (Gaza?, Pakistan? Syria? Iran?) — but only from 30,000 feet, and, as in 1998, without U.N. or congressional approval? Work with the Saudis and Egyptians and Mr. Abbas to curb such atypical zealots? Have John Edwards trot the globe to use his courtroom flair to win over allies?
Or imagine that Iran announces that it is going to set off a bomb in its desert. Do we resurrect the EU3? Ask Hans Blix to return as nuclear inspector with Mr. El-Baradei and others to assure us the test was genuine? Send Jimmy Carter to Teheran (or better, find an aged Ramsey Clark to return as a special envoy as in 1979?). Or maybe beseech the new U.N. head, Mr. Ki-Moon who just enlightened us that global warming (read the U.S.) — not Islamic Jihadism and age-old sub-Saharan thuggery — caused Darfur?
THE deputy leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has urged supporters in Iraq to extend their “holy war” to other Middle Eastern countries.Noted in this report is some the mutants currently fighting Lebanese forces were trained in Iraq.
In a letter sent to the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq in the past few weeks, Zawahiri claims that it is defeating US forces and urges followers to expand their campaign of terror.
He conjures a vision of an Islamic state comprising Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, where Al-Qaeda has already gained its first footholds.
The goal of an Islamic “greater Syria”, first outlined by Zawahiri two years ago, is detailed in the letter amid growing concern about the activities of new groups under Al-Qaeda’s influence in the countries concerned.
In Lebanon yesterday, Islamist militants of various nationalities from Fatah al-Islam were holding out under renewed army bombardment in Nahr al-Bared camp near Tripoli. Many fought and trained in Iraq.More at Gateway Pundit.
The little-known Jaish al-Islam claims to be holding Alan John-ston, the BBC journalist, in Gaza, where militants disillusioned with Hamas are said to be drifting to Al-Qaeda.
Jaish al-Islam has demanded the release of a woman who tried to blow herself up during the 2005 bombing of a wedding reception in the Jordanian capital of Amman, an operation ordered by Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
GAZA - Palestinian militants blew up parts of the American International School in Gaza on Saturday, causing damage but no injuries, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said.Also at Jihad Watch.
The security sources and school officials said the militants detonated three explosive devices in two of the buildings of the school in the northern Gaza Strip. The blast occurred before the start of the school day and no one was injured in the attack.
“A large number of masked gunmen attacked the school at dawn. They poured petrol all around and blew up several explosive devices and destroyed some of the premises,” said Rebhi Salem, the school’s director.
The gunmen identified themselves as an Al Qaeda organization operating in Gaza, Salem said. There have been a rash of attacks in Gaza in recent months attributed to Islamist groups that claim to be followers of Al Qaeda.
The school is a private institution that is part of an association of “American Schools” in the Middle East. The curriculum stresses English as well as Arabic studies. None of the teachers are American.
King Abdullah denounced the American military presence in Iraq on Wednesday as an "illegitimate foreign occupation" and called on the West to end its financial embargo against the Palestinians.Hopefully, there will come a day when we're free of any oil dependence on these lowlifes and I really hope they get what's coming.
The Saudi monarch's speech was a strongly worded lecture to Arab leaders that their divisions had helped fuel turmoil across the Middle East, and he urged them to show unity. But in opening the Arab summit, Abdullah also nodded to hardliners by criticizing the U.S. presence in Iraq.
"In beloved Iraq, blood is flowing between brothers, in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation, and abhorrent sectarianism threatens a civil war," said the king, whose country is a U.S. ally that quietly aided the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
