Middle East Madness I: LOSERS: Lebanon / Israel / Fatah-Abbas / "Moderate" Arab Regimes

Lebanon, because its infrastructure is being blown to bits, and the possibility of a civil war -- this time over the role of Hezbollah, rather then the presence of the Palestinians, as was the case in 1975 ...

Israel, because -- having gotten a close-to global consensus that recognition of them by the Palestinians [ ! ] must be a crucial part of any final settlement -- is now making every Arab / Muslim / Third World leader who WANTS to deal with them look like complete traitors and sell-outs ...

And for what ??? A clearly futile campaign to "destroy" Hezbollah ... how pathetic and ridiculous ...

The very first of these "traitors and sell-outs", of course, are Fatah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose legitimacy -- already shaky -- has taken a body blow with the pre-Lebanon Israeli destruction of the Gaza infrastructure ... about which they could do nothing ...

In this context, it is SO annoying to hear the Israelis talk about Abbas as being "irrelevant" ... if so, it's about 80% THEIR fault, having given him so little in return for his evident co-operation with them that -- combined with endemic Fatah corruption -- Hamas seemed like a reasonable alternative to Palestinians literally sick and tired of the miserable conditions of their existence ...

This dynamic w/Fatah and Abbas is, finally, replicated for Egypt, Jordan and any other Arab / Muslim regime -- say, for example, Turkey -- that, again, is ready and willing to deal with Israel ...

Talk about pissing in the faces of your friends ... horrible ... and stupid ...