20060825

White blogule to UNIFIL v 2.0 - Touche, Mr Bolton

As expected, France will contribute with about 2,000 soldiers to the new UNIFIL. The Quai d'Orsay managed to get what it wanted : a stronger force, a stronger UN, a stronger Europe and above all (let's hope) a stronger Lebanon. Not a remake of the 1995 fiasco in Bosnia. Not the dirty quick fix the US diplomacy dreamt of.
Bush dared criticize France for doing nothing but there is a big difference between doing nothing during the bombing of Lebanon (follow my stare) and putting a positive pressure on peacemakers during the ceasefire. I tend to believe the second option to be more efficient for a durable peace in the region. Besides, I prefer the French position (send 200 troops first, add 2,000 once the conditions are confirmed) to the Italian (promise 3,000 troops first, send 2,000 once the frame is set).
As expected, some Israelis are starting to wonder what went wrong. Many do ask the right questions : did we have to wage this war in the first place ? why did we use forbidden US weapons against civilians ? can we trust our leaders ? what's wrong with our country at the national and the international level ?... Unfortunately, others speak louder with the wrong answers : victory was at hand but politicians failed the military and didn't go all the way, Israel needs a tougher regime.

20060815

Red blogule to Amerika's "Freedom Agenda"

I listened to Dubya's I have a dream press conference yesterday. It's good to hear again about the need for an independant and free Palestine, but it's getting harder and harder to stand this voice and that surrealistic propaganda rap of empty keywords repeated on and on (blah blah terror blah blah freedom blah blah Iran nuke blah blah liberty blah blah freedom of worship blah blah strategy of freedom blah blah universal desire for liberty blah blah democracy blah blah tyranny blah blah unstoppable power of freedom blah blah amen). While munching their pizzaz, mesmerized Joe Sixpacks musta understood Hezbollah helped Saddam and Bin Laden destroy the Twin Towers back on 9/11. With such efficient History Bis 101 lessons, no wonder 50% of US adults now think Iraq had WMDs when the US invaded that country, up from 36% back in February 2005 (Harris polls mentioned by the CMD).
Freedom will prevail, yeah... Hezbollah, a state sponsored terrorist group, will be replaced by Qaeda wannabes, a cloudy mist of irresponsible people far more dangerous for the region, but that's OK because Israeli hardliners need a bigger threat at their doors. Olmert will be replaced by a madhatter even worse than Benjamin Netanyahu but that's OK because that's what Amerika needs too. The utterly successful Iraki model will be replicated in Lebanon but that's OK because that was the aim of the game... Sorry Beirut but Bush's speech is yet another bring'em-on-invitation to terrorists from all over the world to visit your country.
But the most surrealistic speech of the day was pronounced by Ehud Olmert himself : admitting his own failure, he dared say next time - because there will be a next time - , he'll handle war better. Talking about flattened Lebanon as a learning curve...

Last throes of sanity, anyone ?
More than ever, it's time for a regime change in both the US and Israel... but for the better, please.

20060811

Red blogule to Dubya - "Islamo-fascists" don't enjoy a monopoly

Once again, George W. Bush uttered the "islamic fascist" expression. This time, it was all about a Heathrow plot uncovered at the most convenient time : Bush and Blair are said to have talked about this issue a couple of days earlier but didn't warn their partners, which means either they didn't care for them, or the emergency wasn't that critical. Anyway, Bush and Blair clearly needed a terror fix to go back up in the polls and to give some support to Olmert, also going down for his military failures. The message : war on terror is difficult but it has to be lead whatever the cost ; it's a noble cause, a moral one. Significantly, Jacques Chirac just used the term "immoral" to warn the US : not reaching a ceasefire agreement would be "immoral"... a clear echo to the messianic War on Terror propaganda.
This is not the first time Bush uses the "Islamic fascism" expression* ; in a typically Karlrovish move, he's counterattacking with the very words that are being relevantly** used against his Administration and now protégés.


* see "
Red blogule to the first amendment - Land of Opportunity for Nazis, Land of Plenty for fascism" (20051016).
** see "Let's face it they're fascists" (20040527)

20060805

Red blogule to fundamentalists - bases are loaded

The disarmament of Hezbollah is under way thanks to... Hezbollah itself : the organization is methodically getting rid of its stocks of weapons over Israel. Tel Aviv's attacks are not meant to destroy Hezbollah but to make sure Eretz Israel has strong enemies for the decades to come and thus, to make sure Israeli fundamentalists remain in power. Paradoxically and just like Bush's counterproductive "War on Terror" helps terrorists recruit new followers, new waves of antisemitism will lead more Israelis towards the welcoming arms of their country's extreme right.
Whether from Iran, Israel or the USA, fundamentalists don't want peace : peace means living without fear nor coercion ; peace means opening up and accepting the world as it should be, diverse and tolerant ; peace means the irrelevance of fundamentalism.

Look at them cheer up all over the world : radical Sunnis and radical Shiites applauding each other's victories ; Amerikan New-Born Neo-Cons and Iranian radical islamists using each other as evil witches to be hunted in a sick medieval obscurantism remake...
US "diplomats" don't seem to care much when masses of pro-Hezbollah demonstrators hit the streets in Baghdad. They don't seem to worry when Israel ruins the heritage of Yitzhak Rabin and infuriates the whole world as well as Bush did back in 2003 with an unecessary war doubled by a provocative occupation... The White House's most radical wings are actually rejoicing.

I wonder when the US citizens will eventually realize their country is led by lunatics devoted to putting out fire with gasoline. It will take decades to repair the image of the country overseas (not to mention implementing actual peace) - but judging by the 2004 landslide victory of immoderate conservatism across Amerika, I don't believe the restoration of the values that made America respected to be a priority.

20060718

White blogule to Lebanon - please do survive

Israel fuels terrorism as efficiently as the Bush administration : instead of acting carefuly and with the help of the international community after outspoken terror attacks (9/11, Hezbollah raid), they attack blindly and unilaterally, appear as the aggressors and bring chaos where it definitely wasn't needed (Iraq, Lebanon). Only military action is considered, all political options and all legal frameworks being nixed.
I wonder if Lebanon can survive now. People came back once but this looks even worse than civil war. The country is politically, economically and socially devastated. A week after the first Israeli riposts, half a million people have been moved and more than 200 civilians killed, half of them kids. Who cares ? There's nothing but culture to be saved over there.
Bush applauds, Europe remains silent, Arab countries fear for their own stability, the UN is as dead as John Bolton wants it. Welcome to Diplomacy's Ground Zero.

20060710

Red blogule to the World Cup Postpartum

Four more years without that silly soccer fever...
At least, without the utter humiliation of living under the English rule (thank Rooney for being a brat).



PS : vistit footlog, my blog on the beautiful game (in beautiful French)

20060703

Red blogule to Operation Summer Rain - peace drowned in monsoon

Israel won't enjoy longlasting peace if its government keeps humiliating Palestinians. Just like Bush's Amerika, Sharon-and-now-Olmert's Eretz Israel openly mocks at intra-and-international laws, exacerbates hatred, fuels radicalism, extremism and terrorism, loses all respect and credit from moderates.
Just like Sharon got rid of Arafat, Olmert can wack Hamas but it doesn't matter since the annilihation of each of every one constructive hope today means the creation of thousands of new ennemies tomorrow.
And all this for what ? Just artificially keeping a minority of ultra-conservatives and fundamentalists alive ; species bound to extinction in a peaceful world.

Where on Earth are Israel's moderates ? Why are they keeping silent ? At least, we know why the US are not doing anything to stop this sick joke...

20060629

Red blogule to Dadullah's Warholian 15 minutes

And the winner is... Mullah Dadullah Akhund, the new bad guy at the top of Amerika's Most Wanted list. After one-eyed Mullah Omar, one-legged Dadullah prepares the next wave (a one-balled mullah ?) with a truly ugly reputation. Moreover, the choice of Pentagon Channel reassesses the central role of Afghanistan in its (last)breathtaking "War On Terror" drama.
You don't want to miss Season IV.

20060622

Red blogule to the reconstruction of Afghanistan...'s talibans

9/11 harmed all major airlines but two : CIA Airlines and United Terror. None can be dubbed "no-thrill" and in spite of what the former claims, only the latter is a low cost company with genuine Qaeda members as frequent flyers.
Code sharing allows Chechens and other exotic partners to flock in numbers in Somalia or Afghanistan, where Talibans rule again and whack entire families without much reaction from peacekeepers stretched to the limit by the Rummy Doctrine.
Terrorism is stronger than ever, thank you. US casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq will soon reach 3,000 - not even one tenth of all deaths caused by this so-called "war on terror". Even in Paris, it's getting more and more difficult for a Muslim woman not to wear a scarf.
And the beauty of it is everything was planned from the start : for a majority of neocons who actually thought they would change the World for the better, only a minority of fundamentalists knew exactly what the said change for the better would mean.

20060614

Red blogule to the US CENTCOM - paint it black

Sick and tired of listening to CENTCOM briefings with daily claims of a dozen so-called Qaeda members (half of which under 7 year-old "terrorists"), the US audience cheered the death of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a genuine thug with a fake al Qaeda label.
Now the propaganda experts feel strange : the non-event of this death exposes a disgraceful vacuum. The top bad guy (Osama Broadcasting Laden) remains at large and the US army in Iraq lacks a marketable target... Unless the Pentagon decides to go after al Sadr and thus officialize the civil war.
They'd better sponsor some other suicidal wannabe, give some other thug his Warhol's 15 mn of fame. Prime time, live or dead.
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