Following up briefly:
"We have great admiration for you and your leadership," Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice told Mahmoud Abbas at their press conference today in Ramallah following their meeting. So she’s given him his boost, and anyone who knows what Abbas really is will feel inclined to gag.
There was a focus by Rice — as part of strengthening the PA — on economic issues and the opening of crossings between Gaza and Israel. More will follow on this in due course.
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Abbas has declared that negotiations with Hamas are going nowhere. Surprise. He says they have two weeks to rethink matters before he proceeds to form a new government. I asked rhetorically yesterday if Abbas thought Hamas would sit still for this. Now I can tell you that weapons are being prepared by Hamas; they most definitely do not intend to cooperate peacefully with what Abbas intends.
Interestingly, latest polls show Fatah and Hamas about equal in popularity — were a new election called it could go either way.
~~~~~~~~~~
According to Aaron Klein of WorldNetDaily, Abbas intends to request of the U.S. large quantities of arms to strengthen Fatah in its fight against Hamas. Seems Fatah officials now realize that Hamas has weapons of greater sophistication than they had thought.
However, Klein points out that the last time the U.S. provided Fatah with weapons, in May, some ended up in the hands of Al Aksa Brigade terrorists and may have been used in a series of shootings.
It’s this whole mixed up, insane business: labeling Fatah "moderate" and seeking to provide it with assistance, while a wing of Fatah — the Brigades — is clearly and overtly terrorist. None of this can come to any good.
Al Aksa Brigades are involved in the most recent escalation of tensions with Hamas. They have put out a flier calling for the assassination of top Hamas people, starting with Mashaal. Try it, responded Hamas, and we’ll resort to a "scorched earth" policy.
~~~~~~~~~~
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told an Israeli delegation in Strasburg that Russian Intelligence has information that the soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah are alive and in good condition. Without elaborating, he said Russia was involved in attempts to secure their release.
~~~~~~~~~~
On YNet, a commentator by the name of Amnon Levy wrote a piece today. His sage advice: Replace Olmert with Peres. Says Levy, "Peres is a man of peace, and even at his old age, if there’s an opportunity for negotiations, he won’t miss it. At the same time, he’s wise enough to realize that war can and always should be missed."
I would like to thank Levy for his thoughts on the matter, for he has, in just a few words, provided a model of precisely what is wrong with left wing thinking. Maddeningly, grievously wrong. "…war can and always should be missed." Stand up for nothing. Never forthrightly defend our people, or our land against attack. Never ever ever do a pre-emptive strike to take out threats. Never set up a situation of deterrence. Instead, agree to negotiate and make concessions. Pull back, give away what is ours. Always. That’s the way to do it. Soon there would be nothing left to defend. Some wisdom. With that logic Israel would have disappeared within weeks of declaring her independence in 1948. That they’re still trying to finish us off today, he certainly doesn’t perceive.
~~~~~~~~~~
This posting can be found at: https://41k.82b.myftpupload.com/current-postings/2006/10/4/posted-october-4-2006.html
