Posted by James Chettle on December 31st, 2008
By refusing to renew its six month truce with Israel and launching hundreds of rockets across the border, Hamas has provoked Israel into a devastating and tragic reaction. Yet following the embarrassment of its incursion into Lebanon in 2006, the question remains as to why Israel has responded in the manner it has. Is the aim to stop Hamas launching more rockets into Southern Israel? If so, surely Israel has failed to learn the lessons of two years ago; like Hezbollah, even substantial losses will not deter Hamas from its aims to undermine the Israeli state at every opportunity. Indeed the ‘disproportionate’ nature of the Israeli response will undoubtedly bolster Hamas’ recruitment.
Fewer than ten Israelis had been killed by Hamas’ rockets; other options were undoubtedly open to the Israeli government. Was this show of force really the best option for advancing Israeli interests in the peace process? International condemnation will follow, the rockets will continue and the peace process will not be advanced. Hamas will not disappear, even if the people of Gaza return Fatah to power. The world, and not even Iran, needed reminding of Israel’s military might or its readiness to use it upon provocation. Israel may have been justified in striking back, but it is hard to see the wisdom of doing so.
Filed under: arabisraeliconflict, iran, jameschettle, middle east, terrorism
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Posted by Jonathan Birch on December 29th, 2008
Hamas militants fired 200 rockets at Israeli communities, Israel reacted in the usual way, and at least 56 civilians have been killed. The cliché is that the response is “disproportionate” (examples here, here, here and here). But what exactly would a proportionate response have been? Should Israel have fired 200 rockets back? Should America after September 11th have settled for blowing up the tallest building in Afghanistan? The Israeli government, like any responsible government, wants to neutralize the terrorist threat, not engage in tit-for-tat terrorism. The word “disproportionate” erroneously presupposes the latter aim, and repugnantly suggests that to deliberately commit a “proportionate” number of civilian killings would have been a reasonable response.
Make no mistake here: the attacks by Hamas were intentionally directed at civilians and were, as always, absolutely wrong. Any government would be appalled, any government would respond. Hamas’s ideological obsession with violence holds back the prospect of a desperately needed settlement, no matter what Israel does. You can call Israel’s response ineffectual, heavy-handed, counterproductive, short-sighted, demagogic, brutal, tragic, heartbreaking — but disproportionate? This ubiquity of this word reveals perverse logic at work.
Filed under: 9/11, jonathanbirch, middle east, middleeast, terrorism
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Posted by Jonathan Birch on December 25th, 2008
Photograph courtesy of Daniella Zalcman.
Freedom of speech is a great thing. Human rights abuse is a bad thing. So what do you do when you’re Channel 4’s chief executive, Andy Duncan, and a bright spark comes up with the idea of giving a Christmas Day TV broadcast to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — who is, allegedly at least, an anti-semite and Holocaust denier implicated in endemic, institutionalized human rights abuse? Grant him a platform in order to make an oblique point about the importance of free speech? Or deny him the chance to enjoy an unprecedented and gratuituous opportunity to propagandize?
I have no problem with the airing of inflammatory views in a context in which they can be scrutinized. But is a five-minute Christmas message really an appropriate arena? I suppose this is a question of taste, decency and common sense. Unfortunately, as we already knew, Duncan may be slightly deficient in these areas. As for those of us who take the human rights situation in Iran seriously (and those of us who fear the consequences should its bigoted theocracy be cemented in power by weapons of mass destruction) — we can, as ever, only sigh.
Filed under: democracy, foreignpolicy, freespeech, humanrights, iran, jonathanbirch
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Posted by Jonathan Birch on December 15th, 2008
…this guy would be dead by now. Of course, if Bush were Saddam, he’d never have tried his luck. But he knew his action would be interpreted as an act of political dissent — in a country where dissent is now allowed. He may serve a short jail term, but it seems more likely that this will be brushed under the carpet. Personally, I suspect the arrogance of a nation’s journalists is a good barometer for its human rights health. The great thing about democracy is that we are free to express our utter contempt for our leaders, whenever we feel like it. Iraq, welcome to the club.
I suppose it’s too early to consider a reappraisal of Bush. But if his madcap $2.4 trillion scheme to democratize two of the world’s most troubled countries actually produces lasting results, the wider world (if not the US taxpayer) may owe him an apology. The arguments of Bush’s harshest critics often implicitly pend on the total failure of America’s efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. What if their efforts don’t fail? What if, in the end, it actually works?
Filed under: afghanistan, al qaeda, clarepoliticsnews, democracy, humanrights, ideas, iraq, jonathanbirch, society, uspolitics
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Posted by Ed Ballard on December 4th, 2008
Creative Commons licensed photo courtesy of Scott Beale / Laughing Squid
Calm in the midst of crisis, or marketing in the midst of murder? Looking back, how the responses of city businessmen caught up in the terrorist atrocity in Mumbai tells us much about the media’s role in crises, about ‘city culture’ and about how individuals react to extraordinary events.
‘Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me’. In times crisis people look to many sources of comfort and strength. But the rod and staff of some seems to have been closer to home.
‘Fortunately, I had my BlackBerry’ said British lawyer Mark Abell, trapped in the Oberoi Palace Hotel until his release on Friday. ‘It was vital. You can go without water for a few days, but in that situation the one thing you cannot go without is information’. So city workers really are wedded to their phones! Read more »
Filed under: al qaeda, business, india, mumbaiattacks, terrorism
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Posted by Jonathan Birch on November 5th, 2008
The polls were right all along — America has elected Barack Obama, and proved itself not to be a hateful, bigoted nation. I hope anyone who secretly expected a racist “Bradley effect” to propel John McCain to the White House is now hanging their head in shame: McCain won an honest 47% and bowed out with dignity.
This may amaze the world’s rather large population of anti-Americans. Those who inexplicably thought of America as a racist, ignorant hotbed of religious fundamentalism can now open their eyes. Those who would sooner side with Saddam, Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah, Hamas or the Taleban than spare a kind word for President Bush can now rejoin the ranks of the rational and support America again. But those of us who were pretty pro-American all along — and who rather liked both candidates this year — can be both unsurprised and cautiously optimistic.
My first thought is that the best outcome of this election might well be the Obamamoon: the months of sheer optimism before the new administration has to do anything. All this talk of the “racial barrier falling” might actually result in racial barriers falling. Obama’s election won’t lift the poor out of poverty or rebuild New Orleans, but it’s solid proof that America’s black minority is no longer disenfranchised and tyrannised by a racist white majority — and this can only aid social cohesion. Martin Luther King’s dream, technically speaking, has been fulfilled: Obama was judged not the by the colour of his skin but by the content of his personality.
Obama’s domestic and foreign policies — this is where I’m sceptical. But I wait to be proved wrong. I fear a human tragedy in Iraq if America withdraws prematurely, but maybe not — the surge has worked so well that withdrawal by April 2010 may now be feasible. I fear Obama lacks the experience to tackle global threats, and that Iran may get the bomb on his watch, but maybe not — perhaps this is sheer paranoia. And I fear that Obama, having pledged both a massive tax cut for 95% of Americans and a massive increase in federal spending, may turn out to be full of hot air and Blairier than Blair. But maybe not. Because, as we have already seen, this guy breaks all the rules.
Filed under: barackobama, democracy, election2008, johnmccain, jonathanbirch, republican, uspolitics
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Posted by Jonathan Birch on October 28th, 2008
Photograph courtesy of Flickr user 1flatworld.
For me, the story of the U.S. election run-in has not been the story of the inevitable march to power of Barack Obama. It’s been the story of how an immeasurably more experienced candidate — John McCain — has rendered himself unelectable with a solid month of cackhanded campaigning. When he loses, he’ll blame the economy. The financial crisis turned America against the incumbent Republican even more strongly than they were already. But McCain has had a year and a half to distance himself from Bush, and by all accounts has done it successfully.
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Filed under: election2008, johnmccain, jonathanbirch, uspolitics
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Posted by Stuart Sheppard on October 24th, 2008
Photograph courtesy of Jim Mone/Associated Press.
Monday 27th October, 8.45pm
On the back of Tuesday’s successful talk from Salim Tamari, Clare Politics brings you another must-see event, as Jodi Williams addresses the society.
As one of the first member’s of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign - a campaign which by now has reached the home straight - she helped catapult the relatively unknown Senator to presumptive Democratic nominee. Having focused on press logistics, executing events in the campaign field and managing and disseminating the Obama campaign message to national and international press corps, her talk will provide an invaluable first-hand account of the realities of presidential campaigning. What could be more topical? Read more »
Filed under: barackobama, clarepoliticsnews, election2008, jodiwilliams, uspolitics
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Posted by Stuart Sheppard on October 23rd, 2008
Tuesday evening saw Professor Salim Tamari address a packed Bennett Room, as the visiting fellow of Clare gave his low down on the Arab-Israeli conflict - its causes, the current impasse, and thoughts on the future. Clare Politics would like to extend a big thank you to the many who came and contributed to the lively (and inevitably heated) discussion which followed.
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Filed under: clarepoliticsnews, salimtamari, speaker discussion
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Posted by Stuart Sheppard on October 18th, 2008
Tuesday 21st October, 8.45pm
So Clare Politics is back under new administration and with a great line up of speakers this term and next - beginning with a t
alk from Professor Salim Tamari.
Professor Tamari is an undisputed Palistinian expert: not only is he the director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies, he also teaches of sociology at Birzeit University, acts as visiting professor at Berkeley and Clare and edits Hawliyyat al Quds and Jerusalem Quarterly. Read more »
Filed under: clarepoliticsnews, salimtamari
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