Fisking a New York Times Article

The original article can be found here.

Now for my Fisking...

Fatah Militants Lay Down Arms to Bolster Abbas
By ISABEL KERSHNER

See, the goal is to bolster Abbas, not peace with Israel

NABLUS, West Bank, July 19 — Scores of West Bank Palestinian militants taken off Israel's wanted list as a gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas are handing in weapons and signing pledges to cease violence against Israel, saying they want to give Mr. Abbas a chance to consolidate his rule here.

The goal is again to have Abbas consolidate his rule, NOT PEACE.

Interviews and encounters with more than a dozen members of the gun-toting, notoriously unruly Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, associated with Mr. Abbas's Fatah faction, indicate that at least in the West Bank they are taking an open-ended timeout.

Open-ended time out = hudna. They are not even pretending it is more.

"Everything must come to an end," said Mahdi Maraka, an Aksa Brigades leader from Al Ein refugee camp here in Nablus, a traditional hotbed of Fatah militancy in the northern West Bank. "There are two tracks, the political and the military. Now is the time for the political stage."

Note: he said "NOW is the time for the political." That necessarily implies that in the future it will be time for the military.)

Nasr Kharaz, 31, an armed militant and spokesman for the Brigades in the West Bank, said, "The military wing of Fatah has stopped armed resistance at this stage."

Note: he said "At this stage."

The Aksa Brigades, which first appeared in 2000, was one of the driving forces of the second Palestinian intifada. It was built by Fatah's grass-roots leadership with the backing of Yasir Arafat as a nationalist force to rival the Islamic militants of Hamas in the armed struggle against Israel.

At the height of the intifada, the brigades — thought to number in the hundreds — carried out scores of shooting attacks on Israeli civilian vehicles and moved on to suicide bombings inside Israel.

But in the occupied West Bank (RT: Note how casually the NYT throws in 'occupied West Bank'...priceless!) in recent years, they have mostly confined themselves to engaging Israeli soldiers who have come looking for them on their turf. (RT: This is a lie. An al aqsa fighter hit Eilat only a few months ago.) Associates of one of the Brigades' chief architects, the jailed but influential Marwan Barghouti, say even they support the amnesty. In Gaza, by contrast, a more aggressive spirit of armed resistance lives on. There, men affiliated with the Aksa Brigades are still firing rockets at Israel.

In the West Bank, Hamas has been adhering to a unilateral ceasefire for its own reasons, its militants underground. All the recent suicide bombings in Israel have been carried out by the extremist group Islamic Jihad.

NOTE: Hamas is the same as Fatah in the West Bank, and Fatah is the same as Hamas in Gaza)

For both Israel and the Aksa Brigades in the West Bank, the emerging cease-fire is an experiment. The disarmed gunmen say they know exactly where their weapons are and who is safeguarding them. (RT: That is rich!) And Israel could always draw up a new wanted list.

But some of the Aksa militants say that the seven years of this intifada have achieved nothing, (RT: Shocka, are they actually non-delusional???) and all of those interviewed said they want to give Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of the embattled Fatah faction, a chance to negotiate an independent Palestinian state.

"We didn't want to be obstacles in the way of the national project," said Ibrahim Sahli, a senior Aksa commander for the northern West Bank better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Jabal, or father of the mountain.

The fatigue of war colors some of the men's conversations. Inside Preventive Security headquarters in Bethlehem, an Aksa member named Khalil Abayat, 45, grinned widely, his face deeply tanned. He said he was five years on the run, "moving from one mountain to another, one cave to another," (RT: I thought caves were like the Four Seasons to them?) sheltering in abandoned houses, with only fleeting visits home to his wife and 12 children.

His brother and cousin were killed by Israeli forces and two of his sons are in Israeli jails. Asked if he is retiring from the resistance, he said: "Enough. I'm exhausted. I just want to rest." (RT: Rest for now, anyway)

In another room in the Preventive Security compound in Bethlehem, Amjad Khalawi, 35, told how he had let his hair grow to his waist since, as he put it, he "disappeared" in 2002. "I didn't see anybody and nobody saw me," he said. He looks forward to marrying the fiancée he has seen only once in those five years.

But for others, the politics are dominant. They want to aid Fatah, which is closing ranks, in its fight against Hamas, which violently conquered Gaza in mid-June. (RT: Yup, the goal is to fight Hamas...for now.)

After the takeover, Mr. Maraka, Abu Jabal and their foot soldiers took revenge in Nablus, burning and looting dozens of offices and institutions affiliated with Hamas. A month ago, when Mr. Maraka, 30, was interviewed in downtown Nablus, where he appeared with an M-16 machine gun and some armed cohorts in ski masks, he said that the moment Mr. Abbas "provides us with security from the Israelis, we won't need these weapons."

Last Sunday, with Israel seeking ways to bolster Mr. Abbas as a brake on Hamas, Israeli and Palestinian security officials announced that they had agreed on a list of 178 Aksa Brigades members to be offered immunity for past deeds; Mr. Maraka, Abu Jabal and most of their cell members were on it. Security officials would not say what any of the individuals on the list were wanted for, beyond saying that they had all been involved in "security-related activity against Israel."

Now we get to the truth. These men did not unilaterally approach Israel. Rather, Israel approached them, saying they will not go after these fights in exchange for a hudna, in their hopes to fight Hamas. Because the goal of Abbas AT PRESENT is to consolidate power against Hamas, this was agreed upon. In exchange, Israel does not go after the hardcore thugs. Handing in weapons is a joke, as one of them admit that he knows where his weapons stash is, but is not going to it now, because he is 'tired' and seeks to take a nap.

The gunmen signed a pledge (RT: Palestinian pledges have aaaaaaaalways been adhered to!) to give up all anti-Israeli activity, handed in their weapons and agreed to remain inside local Palestinian Authority Intelligence or Preventive Security compounds for a week and in their home cities for the next three months. (RT: Wow, they will be homebound for a week! That really shows 'em, huh?) They say they are now relying on Mr. Abbas and the authority for protection from Hamas.

If Israel is satisfied that the former fighters are committed to their pledge, they will be able to leave their fugitive lives behind and become salaried employees of the official security services from which most of them originally sprung. (RT: Oh right, and then when they go back to killing Jews, it will be an international incident if Israel dare attack these storied 'politicians.')

The deal has proved so popular that there is already talk of another list, and Aksa militants seem ready to line up for it. "I don't know anyone who doesn't want to be on it," Mr. Maraka said, speaking in a second interview on Thursday in his temporary billet: a former prison cell now equipped with a TV set, a fridge and a whirring fan, at the authority's intelligence headquarters in Nablus. Abu Jabal, a portly figure, speaking under a vine outside his home in Al Ein, said he was on a brief "vacation" from the Preventive Security headquarters in the city, where he was spending the week.

Both men were relaxed and joking, the weapons that had so long defined them conspicuously absent.

Ahmed Balboul, reputedly one of the most wanted men in Bethlehem, was not on the first list, but hopes to be on the next. Meeting openly in Manger Square, he came unarmed. "I could hand over five rifles for the cameras and buy another 10," he said. "Our intentions are more important than the rifles, and our intentions are turned toward negotiation." (RT: Wow! I had no idea it was so easy to get guns in the West Bank?! Who would have thunk it?)

Naturally, there is deep skepticism about how long any lull in the violence can last. (RT: A lull only means less attempts and/or successes at Jew killing than usual, not the lack of such activities.)

"In Palestinian history there are no beginnings and no ends," said Mahdi Abdul Hadi, director of Passia, a Palestinian research institute. "There are unfolding chapters, like waves in the sea." The Aksa men are swimming with the tide, he said, "but they don't know where it will take them." (RT: Again, honesty! Wow!)

Like the some other groups in the first intifada — the Black Panthers and the Fatah Hawks — and Fatah's military wing, Al Asifa (The Storm) before them, Al Aksa Brigades may yet reappear, or be reincarnated under different name. (RT: Nooooo, you don't say???)

Much will now depend on Israel's willingness to adhere to the cease-fire with Fatah and engage in a serious peace effort toward the establishment of a Palestinian state, many Palestinians say. (RT: That is right, if anything happens, it will be on Israel's head! When in doubt, know that the Zionazis are to blame!)

"Deactivating terrorists is a step," said Miri Eisin, spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "Let's see if it works, and if it does, we can move forward."

Whatever happens, said Qadura Fares, a Fatah politician in Ramallah and an associate of the jailed Mr. Barghouti, "there will never be a vacuum."

"It will be filled," he said, "with either dialogue and peace, or another round of confrontation."

Mr. Maraka, for one, is making sure that the next generation is prepared to continue the struggle if need be. At the intelligence headquarters in Nablus, he proudly showed video clips on his cellphone of his sons, ages 10 and 8, firing an Israeli Galil assault rifle and an M-16 on a barren mountainside. (RT: Such great parenting. I am at a loss over why he is not featured in 'Parenting Today.' He is just a paragon of good fatherly love. Please note that he is teaching Jew killing to his little kids using Israeli and American-made weapons, and earlielr pledged to not be violent. So touching.)

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I hope you all enjoyed that good Fisking. The New York Times made it seem as if somehow Fatah is this peaceful and moderate organization... you look a little closer and realize how far from the truth that is.

My meeting with Elliott Abrams

As mentioned previously, I met with the Deputy National Security Advisor to the United States, Elliott Abrams, a few weeks ago. He was at a local area synagogue, and spoke after Friday night services. The main subject of his talk was Jews in government. Essentially, his claim was that from the 1960s-1990s, it was basically a nonissue to see a Jew in government. However, with the Walt and Mersheimer paper, suddenly, the outside community (not the Bush administration) sees it as a problem that Jews are in government. He said that there are now college courses at elite universities that look at whether the "Israel lobby" and AIPAC control US foreign policy. The Walt/Mersheimer paper is read, and then the Dershowitz response paper is read. Both are 'debated,' to determine the 'truth' of whether AIPAC and the "Israel lobby" control foreign policy. Imagine that. Imagine if there was a class where Holocaust denial literature was read on par with Elie Wiesel's books, and the "truth" of it were debated. Such is the state of modern American academia. Truly frightening. Abrams said that he feared for the future generations, saying he saw antisemitism on the rise not just abroad, but here on American soil, in American academia.

After his talk, there were many questions and answers posed. I raised my hand and asked the first question. My question was: "In light of the fact that Yassir Arafat's uncle was a Nazi who was an architect of the Final Solution, and that Fatah's roots are indeed in Nazism (and there is no indication that Abbas/Abu Mazen thinks any differently)...why is Israel and the US fooling itself by pretending that somehow Abu Mazen is 'moderate' and should be 'negotiated with'?"

Abrams's response was very instructive. He said that Abu Mazen may not be a moderate by "our standards," but he was someone who at least "wanted to talk." However, Abu Mazen has little power, and so it's basically pointless to speak to him until and unless he does have power. He then went on a long sidenote about how moderates rarely do end up in power in these sorts of nations. According to this 'logic,' then it would be up to the US and Israel to do all that is possible to empower Abu Mazen.

But here is where you kind folks will be enlightened. After the talk, a little birdie told me that some people close to Elliott Abrams completely disagree with his characterization of Abu Mazen as "someone who wants to talk," and a "relative moderate," but could not say so publicly. This little birdie also thanked me for saying what I said publicly.

Interesting, no?

Other tidbits from Abrams...

He spoke of Iran and its nuclear threat, and then said that the Democrats wanted to put language into a bill that would take the military option OFF the table for Iran. He said (and I agree with him) that the only way to be effective with Iran is to keep the military option on the table, and he admonished many Jewish organizations who remain silent about this. He also spoke support of the democracy project in these Muslim nations. He believes that democracy is ultimately the answer, since no democracy is a threat to the world.

Afterwards, I privately approached Mr. Abrams. I said to him "Mr. Abrams, respectfully, how can you say that democracy is the answer, when in Egypt, if there were fair elections, the Muslim Brotherhood would be elected TOMORROW? And the same is true in most of the Muslim world. Democracy? What about Indonesia, where the "democratically" elected president said the Holocaust never happened? What about Iraq, where it looks likely that there will be sharia law? Islam itself is both a political system and a religion. Isn't THAT the problem?"

His response was basically that Egypt is in the state it is in because Mubarak (president of Egypt) has suppressed all opposition parties, and hence the ONLY choice now is the Muslim Brotherhood. He said democracy is a long term, not immediate solution there. Then he said that the Indonesian PM who denied the Holocaust was, after all, voted OUT. He spoke ultimately a line about optimism. And he did so privately - with no one else nearby to even listen in. In short, this is what he really believes. I also mentioned Sandmonkey (with regards to democracy in Egypt) - and yes, Mr. Abrams has heard of him.

There you have it, folks. An inside track into the mind of a top official in the Bush administration, and my interaction with him. I hope you enjoy this read.

I should say that after the talk with Mr. Abrams, I spoke with a director from the Obsession movie (who attended this event), about radical Islam and the like. It was interesting that he did not know much to anything about India. He also thought Robert Spencer's words were "extremist," but he has read his books.

My next post will be a detailed rendering of my attendance at the US-Indian-Israeli relations event.

Suicide bombing in Eilat, Israel

Yesterday, there was a suicide bombing in Eilat, Israel, killing three Israelis at a bakery. What gets to me is that these suicide bombers are dying and killing for a false cause, simply because they are taught to hate. When will this sick and diseased society stop blaming the victim, and start blaming the killers? I was in Eilat. Actually, I was in Eilat about two weeks ago, today. That's right, two weeks ago. This city reminded me of South Beach. It was like a resort city anywhere in the world, except that across the water was Aqaba, Jordan, where the world's largest flag is flying high. It was like being in some sort of alternate universe - I physically was in the Middle East, yet the air of the city was anything but...and yet within my vision was that Jordanian city and flag. The following Y Net article describes the reaction to the suicide bombing groups (please note that Al Aqsa, the military wing of the 'moderate' Fatah party, is taking responsibility):

Monday’s suicide bombing attack in Eilat, which left three civilians dead, “underscored the Palestinian resistance's intent to continue the Jihad (holy war) until all Palestinian lands are freed,’ an Islamic Jihad spokesman said. Three people killed as suicide bomber blows himself up in Eilat shopping center, as police search for culprits who drove bomber to scene of attack. "This is a message to the world saying that the Palestinian resistance has the right to choose the time and the place for their actions,” he said.

Just so we are clear, they are saying that the "resistance" has the right to attack civilians in land that is considered indisputably Israeli, despite the so-called "cease fire."

A high ranking official from one of the Palestinian organizations told Ynet that the terrorist attack in Eilat was an operation coordinated between Islamic Jihad's al-Quds Brigades and al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military wing.

Please remember that when you are told the dogma that somehow Fatah is 'moderate' and Hamas is different and 'radical.'

A senior al-Aqsa operative told Ynet, “The attack in Eilat was a natural response to Israel’s continued crimes in the West Bank.

Please note that the attack was not in the West Bank. Furthermore, attacks like these necessitate an Israeli response, and hence hurt the few good Palestinians out there. (note that these monsters not only do not care about the good Palestinians, but actively hate them)

“Each time the Israelis breach the ceasefire we will find a way to respond, be it through rocket fire or suicide attacks,” Abu Ahmad said.

Last I checked, this was the Palestinians 'breaching' the ceasefire unilaterally! Talk about insane, murderous, non-logic! (that is actually swallowed by the useful idiots of the world)

'Israeli leaders stupid' The al-Aqsa member said the bombing should not lead to the collapse of the agreed-upon truce with Israel as "the IDF killed and apprehended dozens of Palestinian activists during the period of calm." Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said, “The suicide bombing in Eilat came as a response to Israeli military policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as its ongoing boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian government.” "So long as there is occupation, resistance is legitimate," he said.

So, I guess it's cool for the Arab world to boycott Israel, and call it the "zionist entity," but it's somehow some sort of human rights violation for Israel to boycott the Hamas government? The fact that the world buys this tripe is a sure sign of its useful idiot mentality. Moreover, they just admitted that there is no such thing as a ceasefire, and they will do whatever they want, whenever they want, because of the so-called "occupation"!

A spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees told Ynet that, “The Israeli leaders in their stupidity maintained that the cessation of suicide attacks was an Israeli success and not the result of an internal Palestinian decision. “

Well, duh. It was a 'hudna' from day one, nothing more, nothing less. This has to be the one statement I agree with. In summary, these so-called 'people' are saying that they can and will do whatever they want, whenever they want, that ceasefires are hudnas (temporary truces to regain arms/strength until a greater attack is initiated), and that they will stop at nothing until Israel is destroyed. Why does the Western world ignore them? Why has the Western world gotten so diseased and sick, that somehow this 'logic' actually passes for something that makes sense? Can someone answer this for me? UPDATE 1: Please consider donating to the Magen David Adom, in the wake of this deadly attack. Every little bit helps. UPDATE 2: The word is that the suicide bomber made his way into Eilat through the Egyptian border, a border which I will soon post pictures of (I was there!), and is not exactly secure. Peretz also said "terrorists will pay the price," whatever that means. (you can see how much faith I have in Peretz) UPDATE 3: It is no wonder that the suicider did what he did, what with parents like these!