Middle East

"My only frustration with what was undoubtedly a successful operation was with the fact that Israelis just don't get it - and don't want to get it. The implications of our being the strong party and the fact that the Palestinians are the ones truly seeking peace are too threatening to their hegemony and self-perceived innocence."

"With right-wing Republicans running the White House for 20 of the last 28 years, maybe the downplaying of the importance of the presidency has become a kind of coping mechanism for some progressives. Accustomed to a status quo that grows increasingly dire, we've settled into an uncomfortable "comfort zone" as familiar as it is macabre. At the same time, the cascading effects of right-wing control over most of the federal government have been cumulative and devastating."

"Barack Obama should take advantage of this political opportunity created by the ironic remarks of Republicans Governor Palin and Mayor Giuliani and explain how community organizing directly relates to successfully dealing with the serious challenges confronting the United States, including terrorism. Facilitators of and participants in well organized community development initiatives are empowered in such a way that diminishes feelings of alienation and the kind of discontent that can lead to violence."

"Sarah is there to speak to the born-again crowd, people who do not actually trust John McCain as being sympathetic to their views, and with good reason. Born-agains are roughly a fifth of the American population, and the Republicans never can win without their support. So we’ve gone from having the nuttier class of fundamentalists burrowing into every corner of America’s government under George Bush, affecting even the language used in literature at the Grand Canyon, to having one of their own placed “a heartbeat away” from the presidency, and this by a man whose heartbeat just might not last his term."

"...Russia can never be an “enemy” of the West because it is in fact an integral part of it. It does not seek to overthrow the West-dominated international order, only to rival the US for dominance within it. In fact, even that is unrealistic; it wants only to be recognised by the US and other Western states as a major player within the Western order; to move up the hierarchy of Western countries..."

"Over the years U.S. politicians have considered unqualified statements of support for Israel’s objectives to be a throwaway--that is, no political cost and all political benefit for the politician. But those days are forever gone, and the danger of increased violence in the Middle East is much higher than the threat level announced in the nation’s airports close to election time."

"It's clear that John McCain and his neo-conservative backers would look forward to such a confrontation; they thrive on crisis; it's where they come alive and can roll out their black/white simplicities and threats to use force, utilize an "enemy" as their way to increase their domestic power, cranking-up the old military-industrial complex. And, at least for the purposes of the election campaign, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have joined in, using Russia as a bete noir and are warning Russia to back off and back down and back away."

"If I had the ear of Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev, I would suggest the following: “Be patient and cautious. The American public is waking up at last. Bush and his neo-conservative collaborators have the support of less than 30% of the public, and their time in office is running out – perchance faster than they realize. Fully two thirds of the American public do not support the Iraq war, and want an early end and withdrawal from Iraq. More and more of us American share your disapproval of American imperialism and American international bullying, and have no desire whatever to see a return of the Cold War. Of those who do not, many would also disapprove but for the official lies that they have been persuaded to accept.”