Sideshow Diplomacy

Well, gosh, thanks for slapping everyone else in the face. Israel has a long-standing and stable democracy; Palestine also took significant steps after the death of Yasser Arafat. Commentators described the 2005 Palestinian election as, "the most open and transparent election the Arab world has seen in years."

But, since the Bush Administration doesn't like Hamas, I guess it doesn't count. (Note that if the Hamas-led government fails, they are almost certain to return to violence to achieve their goals. We're not fostering democracy, we're practically insuring terrorism.)

And while the Middle East has its share of hereditary monarchies, there are several constitutional monarchies, including Oman and Kuwait.

A boot to the head to the media for waxing enthusiastic about how the new government advances the likelihood of troop strength reductions by year's end.

How can you run articles about plans for nuclear strikes and seemingly permanent installations and believe we're going to tie things up in Iraq with a pretty red bow on top? Sheesh. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid at those press briefings.

"We really want to be ready to hit the ground running with this new government when it's ready to go," Rice said during her journey from Ankara.

Is anyone else taking note of the rush job that's going on here? We rush them into picking a 'compromise' candidate, and what's next? We're gonna hit the ground running � securing concessions for those 'temporary' bases and getting those oil profits at long last, no doubt.

I'm seeing far more carnival huckster than carefully-considered diplomacy here.

And just hitting the headlines is the news that the sister of Iraq's vice-president has been assassinated.

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