August 2006

There has been much commentary on the significance of the Lebanon War. There is an unresolved debate about whether there was a victorious side in the war, and even what the idea of victory means. There are various suggestions about how to prevent a new war between Israel and Hezbollah, whether by relying mainly on the UN stabilization force or by reviving diplomacy between Israel and its various adversaries. Is it time to talk with Hezbollah and Hamas? What does the inconclusiveness of the war tell us about the benefits and limitations of military superiority in such a conflict? Could Israel have used its military capabilities more effectively, or were deeper structural restraints operative? These are all important issues, deserving of reflection and dialogue, and hopefully encourage a turn away from violence by all sides in their search for peace and security. Beyond these immediate concerns lies the question of...

LONDON – Despite the rhetoric emanating from Washington, London and Tel Aviv the fact is the situation in the Lebanon is being allowed to return to the status quo ante – as it was before the recent war. All that is being changed is that the UN force is being enlarged dramatically. But there is going to be no mandate for it to disarm Hezbollah. No big change for the Lebanon or for Israel, but a big one for the UN. The UN is now back in favor as everyone’s favourite peacekeeper, having recovered from the setbacks of the early 1990s when for different reasons it fell on its face in Rwanda, Bosnia and Somalia. Now Washington happily pays much of its bills. The Chinese contribute more military and civilian policemen than any of the other Security Council member. The big powers airlift its troops to the field and send...

August 31, 2006 Richard Falk There has been much commentary on the significance of the Lebanon War. There is an unresolved debate about whether there was a victorious side in the war, and even what the idea of victory means. There are various suggestions about how to prevent a new war between Israel and Hezbollah, whether by relying mainly on the UN stabilization force or by reviving diplomacy between Israel and its various adversaries. Is it time to talk with Hezbollah and Hamas? What does the inconclusiveness of the war tell us about the benefits and limitations of military superiority in such a conflict? Could Israel have used its military capabilities more effectively, or were deeper structural restraints operative? These are all important issues, deserving of reflection and dialogue, and hopefully encourage a turn away from violence by all sides in their search for peace and security. Beyond these immediate...

LONDON – Perhaps it is time if not to re-write the Balfour declaration, at least to re-direct it, back to Europe from whence most Jewish settlers in Israel have come. The animosity that is making the clash of civilizations a current reality (though historically, pace Samule Huntington, it never was a permanent phenomenon) is driven first and foremost by the unsettled issue of the division of Palestine. If this could be solved Al Qaeda’s influence would sharply diminish. So would Hamas’ and Hizbollah’s. But left to stew as it is now, it is spilling over into Lebanon and perhaps in a few years into a nuclear confrontation between Israel and Iran, or even, if President Pervez Musharaff is assassinated and a more Islamic minded president comes to power, between Israel and Pakistan. As relations between Jew and Muslim deteriorate not only Israel is becoming unliveable for ordinary people (read Israeli...

“En dag som berättigar till fest”, utropade den London-baserade al-Quds al-Arabi efter FN:s eldupphörresolution, “eftersom detta är första gången som Israel accepterar ett FN-beslut från en position som besegrad och inte som segrare”. Att ett arabisk-israeliskt krig för en gångs skull slutat med arabisk seger, är en helt dominerade åsikt i arabiska medier. Al-Quds al-Arabi tillåter sig att drömma om att det israeliska nederlaget skall leda till massflykt från Israel. Men i nästa andetag påminner tidningen om att Israel aldrig brukar genomföra sina internationella åtaganden och varnar för att förlorarna, liksom tidigare, kan hämnas genom att provocera fram inbördeskrig i Libanon. Med tanke på de otaliga massmediala vittnesmålen om det libanesiska folkets eniga motståndskraft förefaller risken för inre stridigheter i det sargade landet just nu liten. Men visst kan man urskilja nyansskillnader i libanesiska tidningar. Vänsterorganet al-Safir uppfattar FN-resolutionen som en komplott i syfte att rädda Israel från ännu större...

On Thursday, 3rd August, the Iranian interior ministry announced that the Centre for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), co-founded by the 2003 Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, was an illegal organization. “Any activity by this centre is illegal, and violators of this decision will be prosecuted,” an interior ministry statement said, claiming the CDHR “had not obtained the proper permit”. This is yet another serious violation of human rights by the present Iranian government. At a time, that the Iranian government is under so much international pressure, it is extremely unwise for it to alienate the Iranian population further and to isolate itself from liberal sentiments throughout the world. After having written an article on the unfair treatment of women in Iran (Iran Awakening?), I received an email message from a supporter of the Iranian regime, arguing that at a time when Iran is under serious threat of attack and...

Of course, we all breathe a bit easier with the news of a ceasefire in Lebanon even if its prospects for stemming the violence altogether are not favorable at this time. And after dithering for 34 days while the bombs dripped and the rockets flew we need to acknowledge that the United Nations, for all of its weaknesses, plays indispensable roles in a wide array of international conflict situations. It is notable in this instance that despite Israel’s discomfort with UN authority, and the reluctance of the United States to accept any UN interference with its foreign policy priorities, as in Iraq, both countries were forced to turn to the UN when Israel’s war against Lebanon ran up against the unexpectedly strong Hezbollah resistance. At the same time this is certainly not a moment to celebrate the UN for fulfilling its intended role as dedicated to war-prevention and the defense...

To the President ofthe UN General Assembly,Mr. Jan Eliasson Lund, Sweden – August 14, 2006 The board of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, TFF, Sweden sends the following Open Letter that aims to stimulate a wider discussion about the preconditions for a genuine peace process also after UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Already supported by distinguished civil society leaders, we hereby encourage like-minded individuals and organizations to sign it. See how after the Open Letter. Uniting for Peace The history of this conflict makes it abundantly clear that violence on either side stands no chance of alleviating the suffering on all sides. If continuing, it will have devastating consequences for global security. A comprehensive, all-inclusive process built on dialogue, civilian initiatives and modern conflict-resolution is the only road to peace and justice. While there are sincere efforts by some governments to end the carnage on both sides...

August 14, 2006 Lund, Sweden Lund, Sweden – August 14, 2006 The board of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, TFF, Sweden sends the following Open Letter that aims to stimulate a wider discussion about the preconditions for a genuine peace process also after UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Already supported by distinguished civil society leaders, we hereby encourage like-minded individuals and organizations to sign it. See how after the Open Letter. Uniting for Peace The history of this conflict makes it abundantly clear that violence on either side stands no chance of alleviating the suffering on all sides. If continuing, it will have devastating consequences for global security. A comprehensive, all-inclusive process built on dialogue, civilian initiatives and modern conflict-resolution is the only road to peace and justice. While there are sincere efforts by some governments to end the carnage on both sides of the border, there...

LONDON – Live or die, the Cubans of Miami seem to have put the champagne on ice. Just to be reminded of Fidel’s mortality is apparently enough. Nearly all are convinced that the erstwhile guerrilla of the Sierra Maestra, scourge of John F. Kennedy, tail wager of the Soviet Union, unregretful catalyst for a barely avoided superpower nuclear war, sower of discontent from one Andean peak to another, and the last surviving caudillo of Latin America, is finally in sight of his comeuppance. No man is an island, not even in the lush and potentially self-sufficient Caribbean. Cuba, during its first difficult decades after the revolution would not have survived without a political mentor and a military protector in Moscow. But then it could not have survived without a tolerant Europe that always refused to sign up for the American embargo. Even among moderate opinion in Europe, Fidel was more...

The unspeakable tragedy unfolding in this sixth Israel-Arab war should force us to focus on what peace might look like. The building blocs are clear, but they are threatened particularly by those who stop thinking when it is needed most. The building blocs are: [1] The UN Security Council Resolutions 194 and 242, demanding the return of Palestinians, and the withdrawal of Israel to the 1967 (meaning before the June war) borders. [2] The resolution by the Palestine National Council of 15 November1988, accepting a two state solution. [3] The proposal by Saudi Arabia in 2002 that Israel withdraws to the1967 borders in exchange for recognition by all Arab states. Putting the building blocs in place we get two states side by side with East Jerusalem and most of the West Bank reverting to Palestine (Israel has already withdrawn from Gaza), the Golan Heights to Syria, and some minor border...

LONDON – So once again a conservative American government, with a history of being anti the organisation, is running to the UN to find a way out of the quagmire in Lebanon. Ronald Reagan’s Administration did the same in 1983 in cahoots with General Ariel Sharon, then the chief of the Israeli army, who decided to agree to sharp reductions in the Israeli forces in Lebanon on condition that the UN forces be deployed between them and the Syrians in the Bekaa valley. Yet a year before, the UN forces, attempting to contain the dangerous situation between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (which was then based in the Lebanon), had been brutally pushed aside by the Israeli invasion. At first President Reagan had thought that with French and Italian help the U.S. could do the job itself. But Hizbollah engineered an attack that led to the killing of over...