Sunday, February 19, 2006

Arghhh, Agha and Malodorous Malley

Remember these two:

Hussein Agha, Robert Malley?

They first wrote this apologia for Arafat which set off a flurry of responses and rejoinders among them: this, this, this and much more.

Hussein Agha is a specialist in Israeli-Palestinian issues and senior associate at St Antony’s College (Oxford); Robert Malley is a former adviser to President Clinton and director of the Middle East and north Africa programme of the International Crisis Group (Brussels). Here's a Le Monde op-ed they did recently.

Anyways, they're back at it and here's an excerpt from their latest KASACH (Hebrew abbreviation for Kissui Tachat ["covering your ass]:-

The electoral results sent shockwaves that are still reverberating, and even the abstemious Islamists must have been left with something like a hangover. Still, there is the possibility of hopeful developments in which all, Hamas, the US, Israel, and Fatah alike, display flexibility and pragmatism. Hamas would name a government that includes independents and technocrats. The government would recognize the PA's past agreements and commitments and continue to deal with Israel. Hamas would maintain its truce, seek to convince other political and rogue groups of its wisdom, and press for a program of good governance and reform. Donor funds would continue to flow and keep the Authority afloat. Israel would proceed with the second phase of its unilateral withdrawal, this time from the heart of the West Bank.

Indeed, insofar as the burden has shifted to Hamas, the US and Israel could achieve their objectives at less cost than had the old regime prevailed. With Hamas eager for quiet and stability, Israel will not have to pay a high price; nor will Washington have to invest much diplomatically to obtain them. Hamas faces pressures of its own making now, and they are likely to be far more effective than anything emanating from the outside.


Hamas eager for quiet and stability????

You, sorry, they gotta be kidding, right?

No comments: