Author Archives: Soccerdad

About Soccerdad

I'm a government bureaucrat with delusions of literacy.

When doves whine

The NYT has a short look at “Baker’s Boys” the Middle East peace processors who worked through the Bush 41 and Clinton administrations, From Experts on Mideast, No Shortage of Advice . The article is about Dennis Ross (not Rose), … Continue reading

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White (phosphorous) lies

Last week an article in the Times of London reported that Israel was using white phosphorous shells. It was a charge that was echoed by Samir Kuntar’s BFF, Dion Nissenbaum, who questions the Israeli spokeswoman. Yaacov Lozowick had some doubts … Continue reading

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

Leave Hamas alone

Since Israel’s war against Hamas has started, the editorial position of the Washington Post has been that Israel has a right to defend its citizens, but it’s better off not doing so. Yesterday’s staff editorial, Crossroads in Gaza is more … Continue reading

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Do they still eat cheese?

In a complimentary essay, A whirlwind meets the Mideast, Jim Hoagland praises French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s efforts to insert himself into Middle East peacemaking, and sees his efforts as an example for the incoming president. The Gaza tragedy gives new … Continue reading

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Advantage Krauthammer

As I noted before, the Post today has dueling op-eds about Israel’s war against Hamas. Needless to say I wasn’t much impressed with Diehl’s defense of Hamas. It continues a disturbing trend in the Post’s opinion pages to argue that … Continue reading

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Both sides now

The NYT’s “public editor” takes the predictable approach when dealing with the complaints about bias. Both sides are criticizing us, that means that we must be right. Well yes, one side has promised to destroy the other and the other … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time, Juvenile Scorn, Media Bias | Tagged , | Comments Off on Both sides now

Diehling with Iran

The Washington Post has dueling op-eds about Israel’s war against Hamas. Jackson Diehl predictably tells Israel that it’s on the wrong path in Hard Lesson for Israel. Charles Krauthammer disagrees. Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip is failing, but … Continue reading

Posted in Hamas, Iran, Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, Media Bias | Tagged | 4 Comments

Aint Nick’s boomerang

Nicholas Kristof – I’ll call him “Ain’t Nick” – on the NYT, The Gaza Boomerang: When Hamas was founded in 1987, Israel was mostly concerned with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement and figured that a religious Palestinian organization would help undermine … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | 3 Comments

Jimma dandy to the rescue

Jimmy Carter, during whose administration, Iran became and Islamist state and started to threaten the world, tells us that if only the parties had listened to him, war could have been avoided, in An Unnecessary War. So much of the … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged | 2 Comments

Faith in Fatah

That’s what Thomas Friedman has. Hamas rejects any recognition of Israel. By contrast, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, has recognized Israel — and vice versa. If you believe, as I do, that the only stable solution … Continue reading

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Spare the Hamas spoil the war

Meryl observes the diplomatic activity and Israel’s leaders’ apparently considering the proposals for a ceasefire. But Khaled Abu Toameh writes that Hamas is having trouble functioning. Until two weeks ago, Zahar, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Interior Minister Said Siam … Continue reading

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The media’s high dudgeon over Gaza ban

In his post about the world’s lust for Jewish moral failure, Jeffrey Goldberg writes: One story the media isn’t telling, because it’s impossible to get this story in these circumstances (especially because Israel stupidly won’t allow foreign reporters into Gaza) … Continue reading

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Walt’s moral Disneyland and other stupid academic tricks

I recently refered to Charles Krauthammer’s 1988 column “The Mideast as Moral Disneyland” in which he criticized those who passed judgment on Israel speaking of false concern for Israel’s moral well-being. Well there are others who live in similar moral … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Hamas, Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The NYT: Israel must make things easy for Obama

In Incursion into Gaza the editors of the NYT write: The longer the Israeli incursion, the more casualties mount (550 Palestinians and 5 Israelis have died so far); the more Hamas’s popularity grows among its supporters; the more moderate Arab … Continue reading

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The futility of the peace process

Two op-eds today make the point – in different ways – that the peace process, the holy grail of diplomacy, is a chimera. David Brooks writes in The confidence war: By trial and error, Israel is learning to keep an … Continue reading

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