I agree with you for the most part, but I also think Israel and Palestine kind of need to "grow up" and start handling things without outside involvement. This conflict has gone on for so long, I wonder if some people are just tired of it. There are so many issues that President Obama isn't going to be able to fix, no matter how involved he might get. It seems like the only thing holding real success is the question of who will possess Jerusalem, and unless Obama can come up with a solution regarding that, we might end up back at square one. But I do think he needs to get involved, because he is the President and we are Israel's ally. It indirectly affects us, too, and Obama needs to show how important it is to him and his administration.  View

I don't understand why everyone is still friends with Israel. If you look at the history of conflict of the region, Israel is almost as bad as Palestine regarding terrorism. Then again, it's not terrorism if you're the one doing it, right?  View

The problems in the Middle East are vast and varied but at the heart of the darkness lies Israel.  View

who cares if Israel ferries in supplies. that is a symbolic gesture that is ultimately hegemonic. They are essentially forcing Gazans to live under siege. Militants aren't the only people affected by these policies. In fact, they are more likely to have the means to circumvent these measures. Yes, terrorism is a problem, yes people can fashion bombs out of crude material and while i don't in any feel like terrorism is ever justified some one needs to ask why they are fashioning these bombs. Israel, the U.S. and now Egypt are oppressing people because they are the wrong shade of brown, because they pray the wrong way. Gazan's have few and often impotant diplomatic channels to turn to which is one of the reasons why they radicalize, we've left them with nothing by Hamas. This is internationally sanctioned apartheid.  View

Egypt isn't helping the situation by shutting off the tunnels completely. Maybe they don't have the funds for it, or it's completely impossible (which I doubt), but what about better regulating what goes through the tunnels? Completely shutting off one problem typically only creates another issue somewhere else. I don't know what Egypt does already (and I'd like to know), but perhaps if they spent more time policing the goods (and humans) trafficked through the tunnels, they could find a better solution that helps both Gaza and Israel and Egpyt. I'm sure not everyone in Gaza is a member of Hamas, anyway, but they're being treated like they are.  View

I think it is interesting that so many Israeli's are in favor of this deal, it is hard to imagine the same thing happening in any other country. Any action movie will tell you "the United States does not negotiate with terrorists" it is hard to fathom that so many in Israel would give up that many prisoners for one man.  View

Of course Tony Blair is the right man for the job. For ALL sorts of reasons, not the least of which is that with him in that position Britain will AT LAST take its rightful place as a full-hearted member of the EU. After more than half a century of prevaricating it is about time! I don't accept the anti-war/anti-Blair argument that Iraq is Blair's weakness. I believe the opposite. It is and was his strength. Difficult to prove, of course, but since Saddam HAD used WMDs on his own people and on Iran, and since he DID have plans to continue that development, the outlook if he had been left in place would not have been good. Israel was in his sights. And with any ongoing Iran/Iraq/Israel confrontations and the present "government" in Iran who knows where it would all have led? As it is Iraq is a far, far better place than it was before the invasion. If you are only concerned about body counts, and I realise some are, even though most of the bodies were produced by insurgents, I realise this will never satisfy you. But Blair made the right decision with the wider political picture clear in his mind, imho. The EU presidency will NOT be decided by the leaders of the 27 on Iraq. They KNOW that Blair and Bush were probably right, and most of them, over 20 of the 24 then EU members went into Iraq with Blair & Bush. The decision for President may well be made for other political reasons, many and varied. But Merkel needs to remember that if she fancies the job herself when she leaves office, it might only be worth having if Blair shapes it into the powerful role in the world it needs to be. We do not need a mousy unknown character as EU, while a superstar waits in the wings. Thanks for the video, btw. I have linked to this page at my blog: http://keeptonyblairforpm.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/eu-president-meet-the-candidates-tony-blair/  View

That NYT thing is awesome. This is one of my first memories it is weird to think of it in those terms I was 3 years old. It's kind of sad that this type of symbol still exists in Israel, sadly, unlike the Berlin wall I don't think that wall will come down in my lifetime. But seriously that NYT thing is sweet!  View

I actually somewhat agree with John Hannity in that last clip. We should TRY to be as objective as we can as a nation--showing preference to one side is only going to hurt us at this point. Now, obviously under the Bush admin, there was a huge preference given towards Israel over Palestine. So, I do think the U.S. needs to show sensitivity in its dealings and perhaps try to repair any damages caused by the Palestine exclusions. Still, ideally, this country does not want to alienate either one but rather work with both of them. Sadly, that is the most difficult step.  View

I think this signifies a failure on Clinton's part. Throughout the campaign you couldn't swing a dead horse without hearing her carp about how we need "preconditions" before entering into negotiations with non-compliant countries. In this case, she fell short of getting Israel to agree to a pretty important ( to the Palestinians/region/world community) precondition. Without full cooperation on this one very important issue peace talks will inevitably be impotent. She is posturing. "Not backing down to Palestinian pressure" is code for the other guy (Israel) won't back down to me so I gotta look tough on someone. This is absolutely backpedaling, like every other Secty. of State before her she is letting Israel get away with simply ignoring U.S. mandates and rewarding them with all that "free propaganda" she hated so much during the campaign. All I gotta say is #epicClintonFail.  View