What a crazy weekend in the Middle East!
Here are some quick thoughts on the big news items.
1. Pro-West bloc retains control in Lebanon
What a huge event here. We were on the brink of some very difficult times with Lebanon if Hezbollah had managed to take control of the Parliament. The Obama Administration would have had a very difficult task working with a government run by an organization that has been labelled (correctly) a terrorist organization.
Now the waiting game begins to see how Hezbollah reacts to the defeat at the polls. There has not yet been an official statement made by Hezbollah in reaction to the elections, though one is expected today.
The difficulty isn’t over for the victors, though, due to Lebanon’s power structure. This structure requires that a Shia Muslim lead the Parliament, which strengthens the hand of Hezbollah, despite its deficit of seats, due to the fact that Hezbollah is a Shia-dominated organization.
2. Villagers Fighting Against the Taliban
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Pretty Intense Stuff Going on in Kenya
“Most troubling is the existence of police death squads operating on the orders of senior police officials and charged with eliminating suspected leaders and members of criminal organizations.”
Yeah, I’d say that’s pretty troubling. According to this CNN article, the UN completed its investigation into security forces of Kenya. The investigator:
Comments (0)accused government security forces of torturing and killing hundreds of men in a March 2008 crackdown on a militia.
US State official and wife arrested for spying for Cuba
Been a while since you’d heard anything about spies getting caught. ‘Course, by the time the FBI got to them, they had already retired. Here’s the story from CNN.
Makes you wonder, what in the world were they passing to Cuba? Cuba? Really? And Castro should definitely fire whoever was handling them, or whoever was making use of their intel. One or both definitely fell down on the job, because there is no evidence whatsoever that Cuba knows anything about anything. That’s a country that has been just left behind (except for their healthcare, I’m sure, right?? Sicko). Seriously, though, those two should have arranged some sort of retirement in the communist paradise, because a) I’m sure the weather is nice (except for the hurricanes), and b) with them both being 70+, they are gonna need “the best healthcare system in the world” before long.
Comments (0)Cairo Speech and Ahmad Gets Some Competition
I haven’t touched on Obama’s hugely important speech in Cairo today, mostly because I figure there’s plenty floating around on it. For the record, I thought he did a great job, stressed the important points that he should have while not giving ground or backtracking in the war on terrorism. I am anxious to see when and how he follows it up with policy action, because all the words in the world don’t mean anything if you don’t follow it up with actions. If Obama follows this speech up with nothing, then he’s going to see an even bigger reaction. If he follows it up with the wrong moves, then he’s going to further unbalance the situation. He’s put himself in a spot where he can have an impact, but it’s a precarious position. Let’s pray for Obama to approach the situation with wisdom.
Now, on to less publicized, but equally important in my opinion, is the presidential campaign going on in Iran. Ahmadinejad has been President since 2005, and let’s face it, he’s an insane man. He’s called the Holocaust a “big deception”, he’s called for the dissolution of the state of Israel, and he has been responsible for encouraging insurgents in Iraq, stoking the anti-American fires and pursuing a dangerous nuclear weapons program.
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