British Foreign Office Betrayal Exposed: "When Progressives Treat with Reactionaries"

This document by Martin Bright (h/t The Corner) reveals the contents of a large number of leaked documents from the UK Government.

PDF link: When Progressives Treat with Reactionaries - Martin Bright (Policy Exchange).

From the preface by Jason Burke:

I am writing these words in a small guesthouse in the old city of Kabul. In the last two weeks I have spoken to moderate and hardline clerics, to the Taliban, to the Afghan authorities, to warlords (armed and disarmed), to taxi drivers, kebab salesmen, farmers (of poppy and other crops) and even to journalists. Yet the Western media often privileges those who shout loudest, have the most guns, hold the most animated demonstrations or are responsible for the most violence at the expense of the vast silent majority who merely want a quiet life that assures them a modest degree of prosperity, security and dignity.Martin Bright shows that the British government makes the very same mistake -- in listening hardest to those who force themselves to the front of the crowd. In so doing, the British government risks missing the critical truth -- that neither bin Laden and his jihadis, nor political Islamists like those of the Muslim Brotherhood, have a monopoly on the representation of the views and aspirations of the world's Muslims....

TypePad is up ...

and so is Dreams Into Lightning - TypePad. This is why I maintain two sites. For you devoted readers, there's always a backup.

Time for Beirut to Take Sides

Whither Lebanon? Israel is fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon again, and once again the Lebanese government is caught in the middle.

Israel's action; Lebanon's reaction? The Belmont Club expressed concern that 'If Israel strikes at the Lebanese government it will be very damaging, I think, to all the efforts made to kick Syria out.' But the Lebanese government is taking charge, at least as far as Hezbollah is concerned:

Lebanon's Ambassador to the US Farid Abboud was summoned back to Beirut on Wednesday night after expressing his support for Hizbullah in the US media.

Abboud was reported as saying that Israel was the only one who could bring about the release of the kidnapped IDF soldiers by agreeing to negotiate with the movement via mediators.

Officials in Beirut stressed that Abboud's view did not represent that of Lebanon, which is vehemently opposed to Hizbullah's actions on Israel's northern border.

Now, smacking down an ambassador for supporting Hezbollah does not equal kicking Syria out of Lebanon; but I'd like to think that this may be an indication that the Lebanese government is ready to take a stand with the good guys.

Nasrallah "ready for war with Israel". Lebanese blogger Abu Kais at From Beirut to the Beltway has this update: 'Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said today he was ready for a full confrontation with Israel adding that no military operation will succeed in setting the kidnapped soldiers free. "If Israel wants escalation, we are ready for full confrontation. I advise the new Israeli political and military leadership to ask the former leaders about Lebanon," Nasrallah said in a press conference in Beirut's southern suburb.' Thanks to the absent Michael Totten for bringing Abu Kais to our attention.

Commentary. There's some exciting discussion going on in the comments section of Abu Kais' previous post. Here are some excerpts:

You guys are a bunch of wimps. Do you understand this logic is dangerous? "Israel attacked us because our government failed to secure Israel's border." The same wimpish thinking that got us tied up with Israel in the first place and what did we get for it? Lebanese running falafel stands in Tel Aviv, hope you all are happy with no respect for yourselves.

Posted by: George Nehme | Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 09:58 AM

No my dear George,

Israel DID attack us because we failed to secure our borders! I don't (and I hope a lot of lebanese too) want to be at war on behalf of the entire arab world.
Call me a whimp, but I want to be a whimp living in a peaceful and prosperous country. Sorry for all you beligerous and angry proud self-respecting patriots, but I'm really fed up with being in a useless state of war.

PS. Where is the self respect in igniting a war front to kidnapp a couple of soldiers?

And what's with the falafels ?

Posted by: Immed | Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 10:13 AM

A Lebanese blogger taking Israel's side. Bravo. I'm sure Zionists will now hit your "tip jar", you fucking traitor

Posted by: ali | Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 10:59 AM

Ali--

Go to hell. Or yet, let Hizbullah "protect" your ass by starting a war. I don't support Israel (never have) and their overzealous and violent retaliation but no way in hell will I not blame Hizbullah for starting another war.

Posted by: Anon girl | Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 11:36 AM

It is so unfortunate that Lebanon and many of the Arab countries are populated by so many Alis (note his post at 10:59 pm). Rational;ity and reason are alien to that kind of a mind. He will settle for nothing less than the total destruction of the state of Israel and the glory of his kind of Islam. It is af if one kind is imperial while the other is not. But what is most distressing is the logic, or rather the lack of it, with which he pursues his goal. To predict the Israeli reaction to the kiddnapping of its soldiers is a no brainer. Let us assume that ultimately Israel does release say 50 HA prisoners after having killed or maimed a 100 Lebanese destroyed $ 2 billion worth of infrasctructure, killed the livelyhood of 100's of thousands of Lebanese and in the process put an end to any hope of an economic recovery then by what calculus does one justify that these HA prisoners, if released, are so much more valuable than the rest of us? A logic based on hatred and religious zealotry does not offer any grounds for dialogue , peace or negotiations. If we do not exorcise the body politic in the Arab world of the Alis of the world then we would have failed our historical responsibility to the future generations to prosper and live in peace. Make no mistake about it, cancerous cells left ubchecked will grow , dominate and destro the vehicle within which they reside.

Posted by: Ghassan Karam | Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 12:32 PM

And there are more posts in support of Ghassan. This is a good thing. Meanwhile, Tammy Bruce links to Herb Keinon's analysis in the Jerusalem Post explaining "the pressures on Israel and why they are safe to directly attack Lebanon but not Syria."

What's happening here is this: It is no longer the Israelis who are isolated, nor the freedom activists in the Arab world. It's the fascist regimes that are increasingly isolated and panicking. I'm guessing the nationalism and independence we've seen emerging in Lebanon will gather momentum, with the will of the freedom-loving people of the world behind it.

Michael Totten on Hezbollah's Image Problem

April 2006: Michael J. Totten offers some friendly advice to his Hezbollah buddy.

Let me give you some personal advice, Hussein. Maybe we can be on the same page for a change. Get out of the “suburbs” and go hang out in Beirut once in a while. Don’t tell people who you work for. Just strike up conversations in restaurants, coffeeshops, and bars. Lebanese are friendly, so that’s easy. Ask Sunni, Christians, and Druze what they think of Hezbollah. Listen to what they have to say. Remember that you have to live with these people. I suppose you could turn your guns on them. We all know you can beat the Lebanese military in a one-on-one fight. Who knows, though? There's always a chance the Israeli Defense Forces might intervene against you on Lebanon’s behalf. How much would that suck?

About this much.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah revealed that he did not know of this morning's attack prior to its occurrence. According to a mid-level Hezbollah party member, the Hezbollah leadership was not expecting the attack to come right now, not expecting such a harsh Israeli response, and is currently scrambling to come to a plan.

In January, the party leadership decided that they would capture Israeli soldiers in exchange for Lebanese prisoners. They would attack at the earliest possible time, and today happened to be that day. The Hezbollah leadership was entirely caught off guard. ...

Heh.

Middle East Memo

Amarji, Syrian heretic:

Beyond the usual reaction of regime apologists and diehard Bush-baiters, who continue to dominate Arab and European media and continue to be busy finding excuses for the Syrian regime to work mischief in the region, one thing is clear: the Assads have just revealed to one and all that they are the main instrument that Iran will deploy to blackmail the world. ...

The Israelis, who up until recently have been under the illusion that it is possible to weaken and isolate the Assads regime indefinitely and at no cost to themselves, are finally beginning to see, I think, that the Assads are born inherently starved for attention and cannot accept being isolated and asked to behave and be quiet. This could only mean that things are bound to heat up between the two countries.

But if this could initially serve the interests of the Assads by helping them to rally the people around them, and not only in Syria but across the region as well, on the long run, this confrontational policy is bound to backfire, especially if Israel insisted on targeting Syria and not Lebanon in retaliation for whatever provocation that takes place against it. Why? Because such confrontation will only expose the inability of the Assads to defend the country and the sorry state of Syria’s army, despite the massive expenditures in this regard. ...

Syria's situation, then, is the converse of Israel's: tactical strength but strategic weakness. Amarji's post title may be a reference to this now-famous Cox & Forkum cartoon. Amarji's conclusion: 'Regimes like the Assads with their inability to comprehend the ever-changing global and regional dynamics in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, followed by the collapse of the peace process itself, are helping to facilitate the break up of the region and its ultimate dissolution into ethnic ghettoes whose only role in the global economy will be to fill some very small and particularistic niche both as producers and consumers, regardless of whether there are designs to this effect or not.'

Big Pharaoh: Many Lebanese blame Hezbollah.

I just visited the Free Patriotic Movement forum and I read a lot of angry or at least disapproving comments towards what Hezbollah did.

I will copy and paste some of the comments as they were on the forum

this is totally wrong … HA shouldnt done it . its not the good time , its the tourists season in Lebanon and HA ruined evthg , im sure that Israel will take it to red alert situation .

now the israelees destroyed 3 or 4 bridges. mabrouk. i think that iran should build them for us ...

Read the whole thing, and scroll down for updates.

Sandmonkey: "It has begun." Go to the post for updates. Sandmonkey knows the Israeli blogs better than I do.

Harvey, and Rumors of Harvey

Via the aforementioned Belmont Club post, here's Israel Matzav:

One of my sources, Harvey in Efrat, claims to have it from 'reliable sources' that Israel is going to declare war tonight. Here's what Harvey is telling me (for the record, I have known Harvey for 35 years - we were roommates at a youth group convention in 1971, and his sources are generally from within the IDF and are usually reliable):
RUMORS FLYING THAT EHUD OLMERT WILL BE DECLARING WAR TONIGHT (2YEARS TOO LATE)?

3 DEAD IDF SOLDIERS IN THE NORTH, 2 IDF SOLDIERS KIDNAPPED, TRIPLE PRONGED ATTACK, KATYUSHA, TERRORISTS ON THE GROUND SHOOTING FREELY AT IDF OUTPOST, AND THEN CAPTURING 2 IDF SOLDIERS.

HEAVY FIGHTING GOING ON NOW..IAF KNOCKED OUT BRIDGES THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN LEBANON, IDF NAVY SHELLING BEIRUT SUBURBS,

IN GAZA, MOHAMMED DEIF, LEADER OF HAMAS, LOST OTHER LEG AND ARM, NOT DEAD YET FROM LAST NIGHT'S IAF AERIAL BOMBING ON A NON EMPTY BUILDING (RABBIS SAID ''SHEHACHAYINU" [the blessing one says on happy occasions. CiJ])

TZAV 8 [Order for general call up of reservists. CiJ] CALL UP OF RESERVES JUST ISSUED BY DEFENSE MINISTRY,

SHLOMI MOSHAV IN THE NORTH ALL CHILDREN AND PARENTS ARE IN THE BOMB SHELTERS

Keep an eye on Carl for latest updates on the "matzav" (situation) in Israel.

Belmont Club on Lebanon

A new post at The Belmont Club cites this article at the Washington Post (and if Wretchard says it's worth reading, who am I to argue?) which provides a useful timeline of Lebanese/Israeli events from 1978 to the present. Belmont Club adds:

What is remarkable about this incident is that tensions in Lebanon were presumably on the wane -- until now. The Lebanese government, which has been trying to remove foreign influences, including Syria and Israel, from its national life, has limited control over Hezbollah. This new incident threatens to drag Lebanon back into the line of fire. But perhaps the point was precisely to do that. Turn Lebanon into a cauldron once again.

Read the rest here. And hey, what the heck, pay the Post a visit while you're at it.

What Zalmay Khalilzad Actually Said

The full text of US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad's speech begins with the following words:

Thank you, Zbig, for this very, very kind introduction. Many of you know that the Twelver Shia speak of certain individuals whom believers should seek to imitate, calling them the marjaiyya. To many of us who are playing policy roles but who have academic backgrounds, Zbig, you are a source for imitation. I also want to thank CSIS for giving me this opportunity to share my assessment of the situation in Iraq and my view on the way ahead, as well as to engage in some questions and answers.

I will give my bottom line up front. I believe Americans, while remaining tactically patient about Iraq, should be strategically optimistic. Most important, a major change - a tectonic shift - has taken place in the political orientation of the Sunni Arab community. A year ago, Sunni Arabs were outside of the political process and hostile to the United States. They boycotted the January 2005 election and were underrepresented in the transitional national assembly. Today, Sunni Arabs are full participants in the political process, with their representation in the national assembly now proportional to their share of the population. Also, they have largely come to see the United States as an honest broker in helping Iraq's communities come together around a process and a plan to stabilize the country.

Moreover, al Qaeda in Iraq has been significantly weakened during the past year. ...

Now compare the opening words of this worthless piece of tripe from the Washington Post:

America's top envoy in Baghdad yesterday denied that Iraq is now embroiled in a civil war but acknowledged growing concern that sectarian clashes could derail the new government if violence is not brought under control. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad also said the new security crackdown in Baghdad has been a disappointment and is being reviewed to make "adjustments."

Hat tip to Mudville Gazette for passing this on - the Washington Post article, I mean, which I wouldn't have known about otherwise because I don't usually bother with the Post. This is why. I read The Belmont Club every day; this is why. As Greyhawk says, "The Post story is a complete waste of time."


Wonder when the editors and readers of the Post are going to get a clue.

Bush Approval Up to 44 Percent

... says Rasmussen.

Forty-four percent (44%) of Americans Approve of the way that George W. Bush is performing his role as President. That matches the highest reading of the past three months. His support among Republicans is up to 78%.
Twenty-two percent (22%) Strongly Approve. That’s also a three month high water mark. ...

Via Gateway Pundit.

Syd Barrett

The bad news comes via Mizalaina on the LJ side of the house.

Bloomberg UK:

July 11 (Bloomberg) -- Roger Keith ``Syd'' Barrett, a founding member of British rock band Pink Floyd, has died from symptoms related to diabetes, a spokesman for the band said today.

Barrett, who was 60, died on July 7 at his home in Cambridgeshire, England, Doug Wright said in a phone interview. ``The other members of the band will be giving their own statements shortly,'' he added.

Barrett, better know by his nickname ``Syd,'' left Pink Floyd in 1968 just before the band achieved worldwide success. Having founded the band with friend Roger Waters in 1965, Barrett embarked on a solo career instead.

Pink Floyd's former lead singer released two albums ``The Madcap Laughs'' and ``Barrett'' but retreated to his home where he lived as a recluse until his death after suffering a well- publicized breakdown that had been triggered by his usage of the psychedelic drug LSD. ...

NME:

Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett has died at his Cambridgeshire home.

The singer, 60, who suffered from an LSD-induced breakdown while at the peak of his career in the Sixties, died last Friday (July 7). It has been reported that he died from complications related to diabetes, however, other reports suggest the cause of death was cancer.

A statement from Pink Floyd said: "The band are naturally very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett's death.

"Syd was the guiding light of the early band line-up and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire."

His brother Alan confirmed his death earlier today (July 11), saying: "He died peacefully at home. There will be a private family funeral in the next few days."

'Syd' Barrett was born Roger Keith Barrett in Cambridge on January 6, 1946, the youngest of five children. A keen musician from an early age, he acquired the nickname which became his most prominent moniker aged 15, a reference to another Cambridge-based musician, also named Sid Barrett. ...

Syd Barrett archives.

Dolly Rocker: Syd Barrett fanpage.

Remarks. Count me among the legions of fans who'll miss Syd Barrett, even though he retired from the music scene long ago. I was a huge Pink Floyd fan, although my enthusiasm for Floyd started to decline around the time of "The Wall". (Is their music getting really lame, I wondered, or is it just me getting old? I mean, I'm already out of high school ...)

Barrett's eccentric solo work was, of course, entirely sui generis. I got a kick out of "Octopus" but was moved to tears by his setting of James Joyce's "Goldenhair". The story of his mental breakdown had a certain romantic, adolescent appeal, I suppose, but I would have preferred that he kept his marbles and stayed in the studio.

Is it better to burn out, or to fade away? Personally, I don't recommend either. Life is hard, but we need each other.

When I woke up today
and you weren't there to play
then I wanted to be with you
when you showed me your eyes
whispered love at the skies
then I wanted to stay with you
inside me I feel alone and unreal ...

Headline News

For your viewing entertainment, Rotating Headlines are back.

Happy Independence Day

Freedom for Egyptians (Egyptian-American):

I had never seen such a great love. There were two young girls next me cheering the bands as if they were in a staduim according to my Egyptian standards. They did not look as if they were celebrating a major national occasion. It is a country that gave a lot to its citizens. They take pride in being U.S. citizens and being part of this nation. One of the things that I have noticed in U.S. parades that some nationalities who became Americans take the chance to celebrate. I saw the Taiwanese and filipino Americans in the parades with the both flags saying Happy Birthday to the U.S. The last thing I can say it about American parades that it is about the love; the love of the crowds and the paraders. It is so in the air and no one can miss it. The last real parade in Egypt took the life of our late President Anwar Sadat on October 6,1981. Sometimes the Egyptian government pretent to do parades during spring time but nobody cares. So really I cannot compare the American parades to anything I have ever experienced in my life in Egypt. ...

Lebanon.profile (Lebanese):

Too often, Lebanese desire uniformity in education. The assumption is that the same national curriculum will breed a similar nationalism. This model is restrictive and oppressive, and it has not been proved to work in any environment.

Americans took a different tack in educating children. Instead of pushing a national syllabus, schools must come to their own educational solutions with very general guidelines from the state. To this end, the intellectuals and writers of textbooks become more powerful than the teachers themselves. From year to year, course to course, children are bombarded with different ideas that give them the opportunity to come to the best conclusion themselves.

Neither the teacher nor the state has hegemony over the children’s minds. ...

ActivistChat (Iranian):

Happy Birthday America.

Happy 4th of July to all.

Happy 4th of July to the people of America.
Happy 4th of July to the oppressed nations
and the freedom loving people of the world.

We honour the 4th of July, 1776,
and solute Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin,
John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston,
the members of the committee which drafted the
Declaration of Independence on that memorable day.

We salute the great people of America in their courageous move to kick the greedy British out of their great country
and we solute the people of America

for their contribution to end that filthy tyrannical empire.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

4th of July was officially declared as public holiday by the US congress in 1941,

but in reality it is truly an international event that should be honoured by all. ...

On December 25, 1776, General George Washington led his troops in a surprise attack against the British, who had settled into winter quarters in New Jersey. The American forces crossed the Delaware River at night and defeated the British troops first at Trenton and then at Princeton. These victories, although minor, dramatically improved the morale of the American forces.
Iranian people should be prepared for final battle of freeing their homeland ....

Nadz (Palestinian-American)

I grew up hearing more bad things about America than good, and even though I have always been an American citizen, I used to join in on the blame-America-first rhetoric in order to avoid ugly arguments. Not anymore.

I'm proud to say that I'm a citizen of the greatest country on earth. It is a country of ideas, and universal ones at that. Whether it is a monarchy, a communist state or a democracy, China will always be China, Germany will always be Germany and so on. In the case of the United States, it started with principles and ideas on which the nation was then founded. America is unique in that regard - our democracy is what makes America.

No matter how many American flags people burn from Karachi to Mardrid, people know this and are itching to benefit from the opportunities they create. We are not always perfect. We make mistakes. But we should not apologize for being the greatest country on earth and I'll drink an extra beer to that. ...

Happy Fourth of July!