Trapper John
08-05-2014, 09:09
Here are some excerpts from Foreign Policy Magazine's SITREP for Tuesday Aug 5. A daily briefing and IMO a reliable source of global information. Thought it might be of interest to the membership here. ;)
[QUOTE] Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire amid frustration in Washington that it has been sidelined in the process to build even a temporary peace. The truce, if it holds, will allow Egyptian mediators to work with both sides in Cairo to work out an arrangement for Gaza. But at State and at the White House, there is anger that Israel dissed American diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting, straining, perhaps worse than ever, the U.S-Israeli relationship at a critical time. AP this morning: "Israel and Hamas began observing a temporary cease-fire on Tuesday that sets the stage for talks in Egypt on a broader deal on the Gaza Strip, including a sustainable truce and the rebuilding of the battered, blockaded coastal territory. Israel withdrew its ground forces from Gaza's border areas, and both sides halted cross-border attacks as the three-day truce took effect at 8 a.m. Tuesday. The shelling stopped and in Gaza City, where streets had been deserted during the war, traffic picked up and shops started opening doors. If the calm holds, it would be the longest lull in almost a month of fighting that has killed nearly 1,900 Palestinians and 67 Israelis."
The current state of play in U.S.-Israeli relationship "lays bare a frustrating reality for the Obama administration." The NYT's Mark Landler on Page One: "... With public opinion in both Israel and the United States solidly behind the Israeli military's campaign against Hamas, no outcry from Israel's Arab neighbors, and unstinting support for Israel on Capitol Hill, President Obama has had few obvious levers to force Mr. Netanyahu to stop pounding targets in Gaza until he was ready to do it."
Ending this war in Gaza begins with recognizing Hamas as a legitimate political actor. Jimmy Carter and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson for FP: "...This tragedy results from the deliberate obstruction of a promising move toward peace in the region, when a reconciliation agreement among the Palestinian factions was announced in April.
"...The international community's initial goal should be the full restoration of the free movement of people and goods to and from Gaza through Israel, Egypt, and the sea. Concurrently, the United States and EU should recognize that Hamas is not just a military but also a political force. Hamas cannot be wished away, nor will it cooperate in its own demise. Only by recognizing its legitimacy as a political actor -- one that represents a substantial portion of the Palestinian people -- can the West begin to provide the right incentives for Hamas to lay down its weapons. Ever since the internationally monitored 2006 elections that brought Hamas to power in Palestine, the West's approach has manifestly contributed to the opposite result."
Iran says it gave missile technology to Hamas.
After four weeks, Israel returns to its initial strategy. Defense News' Barbara Opall-Rome: "After 17 days of deadly ground maneuvers primarily devoted to the unexpected need to destroy Hamas' underground tunnel network, Israel's Protective Edge operation is reverting largely to stand-off strikes from air, sea and land forces.... Israeli leaders belatedly realized that the underground facilities were vital to Hamas' strategic effectiveness. This underestimation of the tunnels' importance turned the ground assault into an unplanned nearly-house-to-house maneuvering operation."
As Israel withdraws troops from Gaza, Hamas faces a dilemma. Avi Issacharoff for the Times of Israel: "...The Palestinian public, which now seeks quiet, will ask itself why the organization drove Gaza to ruin for no reason, with no results to show for its efforts. Hamas is aware of this, and is therefore likely to be tempted to do two things: first, fire more rockets so long as it can, despite the inevitable Israeli response; and second, to continue attempts to carry out significant attacks, mainly through tunnels that may have been left untouched, to render empty the Israeli assurances about finishing the tunnel demolitions. But an attack of that degree is likely to draw a very harsh response, perhaps even a renewed ground offensive - and once again, the Gazan public will pay the price."
Welcome to Tuesday's edition of Situation Report. If you'd like to be one of our subscribers, we'd love to have you. Sign up for Situation Report by sending us a note at gordon.lubold@foreignpolicy.com and we'll just stick you on. Like what you see? Tell a friend. And if you have a report you want teased, a piece of news, or a good tidbit, you, send it to us early for maximum tease. And the more shovel-ready, the better. And hey! Follow us: @glubold and @njsobe4.
Monument men: A group of Syrians are trying to put Syria back together again, almost literally. While the civil war in Syria has killed tens of thousands of people, it has also destroyed countless of the country's ancient treasures. Now a number of Syrians are trying to save what artifacts they can -- and are risking their lives to do so.
The Pentagon is selling and scrapping equipment in Afghanistan.
One of the Taliban five was a "petty tyrant." Alex Quade for the Washington Times: "One of the five Taliban leaders released by the U.S. in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in May 'was a petty tyrant who justified his psychopathic behavior using a veneer of religion,' says the director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council. But Mullah Mohammad Fazl, who was released with four other Taliban commanders, probably will not return to the battlefield before the end of his one-year supervision in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, said the director, Army Col. Mark Mitchell, a Green Beret who helped capture the Taliban leader in the early days of the war in Afghanistan."
Border fighting intensifies between ISIS and Lebanon. The NYT's Hwaida Saad and Rick Gladstone: "A deadly confrontation worsened on Monday between Lebanon's armed forces and Islamist insurgents from Syria who seized the border town of Arsal over the weekend in what appeared to be the most serious spillover of the Syrian civil war into Lebanese territory since the conflict began more than three years ago."
Iraq is backing the Kurds in the fight against jihadists. The WSJ's Nour Malas in Baghdad: "Iraq's government sent its air force on Monday to back Kurdish forces struggling to blunt a jihadist advance, an extraordinary move that reflects alarm over the insurgents' brash new offensive against Kurds in both Iraq and Syria. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's authorization of air support came after the Kurdish forces, known as Peshmerga, lost a string of towns over the weekend to the militant group, which calls itself Islamic State. The Peshmerga had held off the insurgents in northwestern Iraq without central Iraqi government forces for nearly two months."
[QUOTE] Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire amid frustration in Washington that it has been sidelined in the process to build even a temporary peace. The truce, if it holds, will allow Egyptian mediators to work with both sides in Cairo to work out an arrangement for Gaza. But at State and at the White House, there is anger that Israel dissed American diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting, straining, perhaps worse than ever, the U.S-Israeli relationship at a critical time. AP this morning: "Israel and Hamas began observing a temporary cease-fire on Tuesday that sets the stage for talks in Egypt on a broader deal on the Gaza Strip, including a sustainable truce and the rebuilding of the battered, blockaded coastal territory. Israel withdrew its ground forces from Gaza's border areas, and both sides halted cross-border attacks as the three-day truce took effect at 8 a.m. Tuesday. The shelling stopped and in Gaza City, where streets had been deserted during the war, traffic picked up and shops started opening doors. If the calm holds, it would be the longest lull in almost a month of fighting that has killed nearly 1,900 Palestinians and 67 Israelis."
The current state of play in U.S.-Israeli relationship "lays bare a frustrating reality for the Obama administration." The NYT's Mark Landler on Page One: "... With public opinion in both Israel and the United States solidly behind the Israeli military's campaign against Hamas, no outcry from Israel's Arab neighbors, and unstinting support for Israel on Capitol Hill, President Obama has had few obvious levers to force Mr. Netanyahu to stop pounding targets in Gaza until he was ready to do it."
Ending this war in Gaza begins with recognizing Hamas as a legitimate political actor. Jimmy Carter and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson for FP: "...This tragedy results from the deliberate obstruction of a promising move toward peace in the region, when a reconciliation agreement among the Palestinian factions was announced in April.
"...The international community's initial goal should be the full restoration of the free movement of people and goods to and from Gaza through Israel, Egypt, and the sea. Concurrently, the United States and EU should recognize that Hamas is not just a military but also a political force. Hamas cannot be wished away, nor will it cooperate in its own demise. Only by recognizing its legitimacy as a political actor -- one that represents a substantial portion of the Palestinian people -- can the West begin to provide the right incentives for Hamas to lay down its weapons. Ever since the internationally monitored 2006 elections that brought Hamas to power in Palestine, the West's approach has manifestly contributed to the opposite result."
Iran says it gave missile technology to Hamas.
After four weeks, Israel returns to its initial strategy. Defense News' Barbara Opall-Rome: "After 17 days of deadly ground maneuvers primarily devoted to the unexpected need to destroy Hamas' underground tunnel network, Israel's Protective Edge operation is reverting largely to stand-off strikes from air, sea and land forces.... Israeli leaders belatedly realized that the underground facilities were vital to Hamas' strategic effectiveness. This underestimation of the tunnels' importance turned the ground assault into an unplanned nearly-house-to-house maneuvering operation."
As Israel withdraws troops from Gaza, Hamas faces a dilemma. Avi Issacharoff for the Times of Israel: "...The Palestinian public, which now seeks quiet, will ask itself why the organization drove Gaza to ruin for no reason, with no results to show for its efforts. Hamas is aware of this, and is therefore likely to be tempted to do two things: first, fire more rockets so long as it can, despite the inevitable Israeli response; and second, to continue attempts to carry out significant attacks, mainly through tunnels that may have been left untouched, to render empty the Israeli assurances about finishing the tunnel demolitions. But an attack of that degree is likely to draw a very harsh response, perhaps even a renewed ground offensive - and once again, the Gazan public will pay the price."
Welcome to Tuesday's edition of Situation Report. If you'd like to be one of our subscribers, we'd love to have you. Sign up for Situation Report by sending us a note at gordon.lubold@foreignpolicy.com and we'll just stick you on. Like what you see? Tell a friend. And if you have a report you want teased, a piece of news, or a good tidbit, you, send it to us early for maximum tease. And the more shovel-ready, the better. And hey! Follow us: @glubold and @njsobe4.
Monument men: A group of Syrians are trying to put Syria back together again, almost literally. While the civil war in Syria has killed tens of thousands of people, it has also destroyed countless of the country's ancient treasures. Now a number of Syrians are trying to save what artifacts they can -- and are risking their lives to do so.
The Pentagon is selling and scrapping equipment in Afghanistan.
One of the Taliban five was a "petty tyrant." Alex Quade for the Washington Times: "One of the five Taliban leaders released by the U.S. in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in May 'was a petty tyrant who justified his psychopathic behavior using a veneer of religion,' says the director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council. But Mullah Mohammad Fazl, who was released with four other Taliban commanders, probably will not return to the battlefield before the end of his one-year supervision in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, said the director, Army Col. Mark Mitchell, a Green Beret who helped capture the Taliban leader in the early days of the war in Afghanistan."
Border fighting intensifies between ISIS and Lebanon. The NYT's Hwaida Saad and Rick Gladstone: "A deadly confrontation worsened on Monday between Lebanon's armed forces and Islamist insurgents from Syria who seized the border town of Arsal over the weekend in what appeared to be the most serious spillover of the Syrian civil war into Lebanese territory since the conflict began more than three years ago."
Iraq is backing the Kurds in the fight against jihadists. The WSJ's Nour Malas in Baghdad: "Iraq's government sent its air force on Monday to back Kurdish forces struggling to blunt a jihadist advance, an extraordinary move that reflects alarm over the insurgents' brash new offensive against Kurds in both Iraq and Syria. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's authorization of air support came after the Kurdish forces, known as Peshmerga, lost a string of towns over the weekend to the militant group, which calls itself Islamic State. The Peshmerga had held off the insurgents in northwestern Iraq without central Iraqi government forces for nearly two months."