Author Archives: Soccerdad

About Soccerdad

I'm a government bureaucrat with delusions of literacy.

Why we need bloggers

Take a paragraph from a recent New York Times news story: The talks with the two leaders had been expected to begin last month but were delayed after Israel announced plans to build 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem, where … Continue reading

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Why peace processes fail

Recently, Meryl, Daled Amos and I have both written about the perverse incentives and results of the peace procdess. Now Bret Stephens writes about how Peace Processes never work: But he misses a deeper point. Even as peace processes almost … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, palestinian politics | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Syria-sly bad behavior

The Washington Post gets it right: BASHAR AL-ASSAD is proving to be an embarrassment for the Obama administration. In pursuit of President Obama’s policy of “engagement” with U.S. adversaries, the State Department has dispatched several senior envoys to Damascus for … Continue reading

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The peace process is about to continue … no it isn’t … arrgh!

What’s the current state of Middle East negotiations? According to the New York Times … they’re back on track … maybe The American envoy to the Middle East, George J. Mitchell, planned to meet on Friday with Israeli and Palestinian … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, Media Bias | Tagged | 1 Comment

Imagine if he had shouted out “macaca”

President Obama’s coolness towards Israel has busted a lot of myths about Jewish influence. Still it’s a curious phenomenon with possibly negative consequences. Yet if we are seen as neutral, just watch the rest of the world get the message … Continue reading

Posted in Israel | Tagged | 2 Comments

The miller’s (fractured fairy) tale

In a much commented on article, The False Religion of Mideast Peace: And Why I’m No Longer a Believer by Aaron David Miller in Foreign Policy , Miller writes: “I remember attending Rabin’s funeral in 1995 in Jerusalem and trying … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | 1 Comment

Cohen: the President doesn’t “get” Israel

Richard Cohen thinks that the pro-Israel crowd is being paranoid. As for myself, I receive e-mails saying that Obama, that klutz, asked Binyamin Netanyahu whether Jews could alter the age-old prayer about returning to Jerusalem and substitute the word Israel. … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, The One | Tagged | 5 Comments

Actually I think that Israel hears the Palestinians loud and clear

In one of those “I’m so sophisticated because I can see through all the pettiness” articles, last week Ethan Bronner wrote about how the Mideast Land Conflict Now Includes Street Signs. The article deals with the Palestinians naming various streets … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, palestinian politics | Tagged | 2 Comments

Diehl’s blind spot

Jackson Diehl has been focusing democratization in the Arab world. It’s an important issue. For example Gen. Petraeus in his famous and mischaracterized testimony prepared for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee lists a number of items such as Ethnic, tribal, … Continue reading

Posted in Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Now you see bee now you don’t

Funny thing. I think dogwoods in my neighborhood haven’t bloomed as nicely as they have in the past. For one thing it appears that the flowers have been more sparse this year. (Did anyone else notice this?) Also the flowers … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Doomed to repeat, in a new form

The editors of the Jerusalem Post write in the New Antisemitism: But what is a conscientious anti-Semite to do in an age of multiculturalism, when “otherness” is in? Singling out a Jew for being different, ridiculing his exotic traditions – … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-Semitism | Tagged | 3 Comments

At least they bothered to convene a kangaroo court

The Washington Post and NY Times both report that Hamas has executed two men. The Post’s headine correctly puts the term ‘Collaborator’ in quotes. Given the lack of due process we really don’t know if the men were gulity as … Continue reading

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Step back or push ahead

At the end of his news conference the other day, President Obama said: And I remain committed to being a partner with countries around the world, and in particular hot spots around the world, to see if we can reduce … Continue reading

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Everyone knows, except when they don’t

When discussing the Middle East, “Everyone knows” what it will take to make peace. Melanie Philips (h/t JoshuaPundit) mocks with this facile assumption. It is blindingly obvious what, to the Obama administration, ‘everyone knows’ . Everyone knows that everything the … Continue reading

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Blaming Bibi

This week’s Baltimore Jewish Times featured an article (previously mentioned here) U.S.-Israeli Ties: What’s Really Happening? by Dr. Robert O. Freedman. Over the course of the article Dr. Freedman covers much important territory; unfortunately he also lets his prejudices get … Continue reading

Posted in American Scene, Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, The One | Tagged , | 2 Comments