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Israel-Palestine
Mediators Tell Palestinians to Reform or Lose Aid
2004-07-07
EFL

The quartet of Middle East mediators are "sick and tired" of Palestinians failing to carry out reforms and told them on Wednesday to act soon or risk losing international support and aid, diplomats said.
Gee, only a few years late. The American cowboy president figured this out long ago -- even without State Dept. help
But envoys from the United States, United Nations and European Union and Russia told Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie that the world had run out of patience with Arafat’s "empty promises" of reform.
Gee, not bad for the clueless triplets of the quartet -- only two years behind Dubya
"If security reforms are not done, there will be no (more) international support and no funding from the international community," a senior diplomat close to the talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah told Reuters.
Hey, careful with that feather! You almost knocked me over!
In a statement, the quartet said action was crucial to salvage a moribund "road map" peace plan for a Palestinian state on land captured by Israel in a 1967 war and to "seize the opportunity represented by Israel’s Gaza withdrawal."
"Crucial" and "roadmap" cannot properly go in the same sentence, sorry
The demand for reforms echoed a similar call from Egypt, which is ready to help ensure security in Gaza if Arafat consolidates a dozen security forces to three and gives greater authority to the prime minister.
All hail Egypt, pioneer for MidEast reform
Egypt gave him until the end of August to make changes. But despite Arafat’s promises, there is scant sign of action.
I’m incredulous -- are they sure?
Is the red binder still there?
"Arafat has done nothing or very little ... There is total disillusion with the Palestinian Authority," the diplomat said.
Guess you should have been paying more attention to the cowboy American president, who by the way is a moron according to the very, very smart people in your media and governments
Results so far in voting for Fatah district representatives in Gaza showed big gains for reformers. A senior Fatah official backing reform said results showed a majority for followers of Gaza’s reform-minded ex-security chief Mohammad Dahlan, who has often clashed with Arafat.
Now remember the morals of this story: there’s no military solution to difficult problems, Israel must dare not build the apartheid wall, the US must take a more even-handed approach, and Bush’s bold approach has only alienated allies and regional powers. Gigantic "heh".
Posted by:Verlaine

#14  Damn, my suprise meter just exploded(litiraly),and I just baught it.You know one of those high dollar ACME-mark IV's.
Posted by: Raptor   2004-07-07 5:59:16 PM  

#13  I think the clueless triplets would still be clueless if the Egyptians hadn't given them the clue.
Posted by: mhw   2004-07-07 4:23:16 PM  

#12  
Gee, not bad for the clueless triplets of the quartet -- only two years behind Dubya

And light years behind the rest of us who knew from the get-go that nothing was going to change.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2004-07-07 3:47:44 PM  

#11  Postit Yellow, Screech Yellow, Salmon and Lime Green. An interesting and delightful pallette.

Lucky I think EE and Iban Mayo going to go absolutely nutso in the hills since they have nothing to loose.
You are getting your Kaos now for sure!
EE did dang well in the Team Timer today and I'm to understand they are not usually very good at it.

I think I may root for Heras.
But, I'm conflicted and easily lead. :>
Posted by: Shipman   2004-07-07 3:32:19 PM  

#10  Jules - cause when Mazen was appointed PM by Arafat, under US pressure, Dahlan was a Mazen ally - Mazen pressed to appoint Dahlan Interior Minister, and Arafat refused. When Mazen went down, Dahlan went down with him.

That should tell you something.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2004-07-07 3:24:11 PM  

#9  The problem is people are fed up with these folks and taking chances-taking chances usually just delivers dead bodies. I don't know Dahlan, and since I don't know him, I will listen and watch for news about him, his history, and his beliefs and see how they match up with his current words and actions. Anyone know why he is an EX-security chief?
Posted by: jules 187   2004-07-07 2:49:57 PM  

#8  How pleasant to see some sort of start in starving out one of the most recalcitrant terrorist regimes. I only have one question:

Why did it take so long for much of this world to realize that Arafat was nothing but an obstruction to any and all progress?

I realize that there were many who wanted zero progress, but the big stakeholders should have been able to overlook such internecine hooey.

Personally, I must give most of the credit to Israel. Their unabated and continuous elimination of terrorist leadership served up constant notice that death was the only option for them. By posing such an unwavering barrier to terrorist coercion, the internal rot of Arafat's corruption in Palestine was allowed to run its course.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-07-07 2:45:46 PM  

#7  Results so far in voting for Fatah district representatives in Gaza showed big gains for reformers. A senior Fatah official backing reform said results showed a majority for followers of Gaza’s reform-minded ex-security chief Mohammad Dahlan, who has often clashed with Arafat

The plan is working. To ditch Arafat, you need an alternative. Abu Mazen wasnt strong enough. Qurei didnt try. Give Dahlan a chance, and give him some turf to get started.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2004-07-07 2:30:15 PM  

#6  "Arafat has done nothing or very little ... There is total disillusion with the Palestinian Authority"


Nah. Suha says he's doing a great job!
Posted by: tu3031   2004-07-07 2:28:39 PM  

#5  Jules and Steve, thanks for your kind comments. And I forgot to put quote marks around the word - apartheid - in the final comment, should be "apartheid" wall. Don't want my bitter, furious, acid sarcasm to be confused with the idiotic sentiments of the clueless using that word without quotes ...
Posted by: Verlaine   2004-07-07 2:24:21 PM  

#4  Yes, those comments are his, and yes, they're pretty darned pithy. When you see a post from someone other than Fred, Steve Y, Dan or me, you can safely assume that the bright yellow comments (margin left) belong to the person who posted. Fred, Steve Y, Dan and I use different colors when we butt in add to the comments. My comments are the salmon-background ones.
Posted by: Steve White   2004-07-07 2:19:01 PM  

#3  Verlaine, are those your yellow comments? You rock again and again! I especially like the shot back across the Atlantic about cowboy American presidents. Crow must taste bad served with Dijon mustard...
Posted by: jules 187   2004-07-07 2:10:50 PM  

#2  heh heh...well, it's nice to know I'm in good company! Plus, your comments are way better'n mine!
Posted by: PlanetDan   2004-07-07 2:07:24 PM  

#1  PlanetDan, you were 90 seconds too late on your post :-)
Posted by: Steve White   2004-07-07 2:05:21 PM  

00:00