Warsi Resignation: An Astonishing Charge Sheet against No 10 over Gaza

THE GUARDIAN: Sayeeda Warsi's sudden departure and biting challenge to David Cameron's policy on Israel may have long-term repercussions for the Conservatives

Sayeeda Warsi's resignation may yet prove to be a passing summer storm. But the vitriolic tone of her attack on David Cameron's policy towards Gaza, and her status as the first Muslim cabinet member, suggests her departure has the potential to inflict both political and moral damage on the Conservatives months before the general election.

More importantly, she may have opened the possibility that longstanding, unequivocal British political support for any Israeli government is now under question.

After all, it is not often a minister leaves government warning that its actions, or silence, are morally indefensible, not in the national interest, liable to foster terrorism in the UK and likely to undermine British influence in the Middle East by failing to be seen to be fair-minded. There was a raw emotional power to her resignation as she set out her anguished reaction to the collapse of hospitals, the death of young children on beaches and the realisation that children the same age as those in her own family were being killed in the Israeli raids.

Few ministers have quit accusing George Osborne of failing to speak out against the flattening of schools and hospitals, or recounting tales of backbenchers in tears at the refusal of David Cameron to condemn Israel. » | Patrick Wintour | Tuesday, August 05, 2014

Baroness Warsi Sparks Tory Rebellion Over Gaza

THE INDEPENDENT: First Muslim cabinet minister slams PM for “morally indefensible” policy

David Cameron was facing mutiny among senior Tory MPs last night as they lined up to condemn his handling of the Gaza crisis and to warn his stance was alienating millions of British Muslims.

The rebellion was triggered by the resignation of Baroness Warsi, the first Muslim cabinet minister, over his refusal to take a tougher stance on the Israeli bombardment during which 1,800 Palestinians have died. Her dramatic departure, in which she warned the Prime Minister’s approach was “detrimental” to the national interest and risked radicalising young Muslims, won plaudits from several former Tory ministers. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, also appeared to back her.

She called for an immediate arms embargo against Israel and said that the Government’s “approach and language during the current crisis in Gaza is morally indefensible”. In a swipe at Mr Cameron, she lamented the sacking of moderate ministers such as Kenneth Clarke in last month’s reshuffle. » | Nigel Morris, Oliver Wright | Tuesday. August 05, 2014

'Obama's Middle East Policy Is in Ruins'
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL – EXTRACT: The conservative Die Welt writes: "US President Barack Obama's Middle East policy is in ruins. Like no president before him, he tried to win over the Arab world. After some initial hesitation, he came out clearly on the side of the democratic revolutions. … In this context, he must accept the fact that he has snubbed old close allies such as Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Egyptian military. And now parts of the freed societies are turning against the country which helped bring them into being. Anti-Americanism in the Arab world has even increased to levels greater than in the Bush era. It's a bitter outcome for Obama."

"Obama was naive to believe that one only needed to adopt a new tone and show more respect in order to dispel deep-seated reservations about the free world. In practice, the policies of the Obama administration in the region were not as naive as they may have seemed at times, and the Americans have always been much more involved in the Middle East than the passive Europeans. But Washington has provided the image of a distracted superpower in the process of decline to the societies there. This image of weakness is being exploited by Salafists and al-Qaida, who are active in North Africa from Somalia to Mali."

"One thing is clear: If jihadists believe they can attack American installations and kill an ambassador on the anniversary of Sept. 11, then America's deterrent power has declined considerably. For a superpower, it is not enough just to want to be loved. You have to scare the bad guys to keep them in check." Read the whole article » | David Gordon Smith with reporting by Hasnain Kazim | Friday, 14. September 2012

Israel Doing 'Immense Damage' to Peace Process Nick Clegg Says
Nick Clegg tilted Britain’s Middle East policy sharply towards the Palestinians on Monday with an attack on Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank.

Read short article here | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, January 16, 2012

US to Extend Hand to Syria in First Step to Reshaping Middle East
Photo of Bashar al-Assad courtesy of Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: A new US-led initiative to reshape the political landscape of the Middle East starts tomorrow with the first senior American envoys arriving in Syria after years of isolation.

Jeffrey Feltman, the acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East, and Dan Shapiro, of the National Security Council, are due to arrive in Damascus for preliminary talks with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the first such high-level delegation since 2005.

With Iran on the verge of developing a nuclear capability, the West is moving swiftly to draw its main regional ally away and lure it into renewed peace talks with Israel, changing a dynamic in which Damascus is a central component of Iranian influence across the Middle East.

In the interlocking jigsaw of Middle East politics, Syria is a vital link between Iran and its affiliated militias in Lebanon and Gaza. It provides a hub for funds, men and weapons to be channelled into Lebanon for the vehemently anti-Israeli Hezbollah movement, while also supporting a base for Hamas’s most senior leaders in exile. It has also played a key role in allowing foreign jihadists to enter Iraq and attack the US forces and their Iraqi allies there, causing years of havoc.

However, it came close to securing a peace deal with Israel almost a decade ago, and hopes are rising again that ending the isolation of the Bush years and actively engaging the repressive Baathist regime might cause a detente with the West.

At a Gaza donors' conference in Egypt this week, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, shook hands with Walid Moualem, her Syrian counterpart, a clear sign of a thaw in relations. Mr Feltman, who was Ambassador to Lebanon during the so-called Cedar Revolution, in which Syria was forced to end almost 30 years of occupation, also met the Syrian Ambassador to Washington last month. >>> James Hider in Jerusalem | Friday, March 6, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)

Jerusalem Skeptical of Obama's Middle East Policy
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Not everyone is ecstatic about Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential elections. Many in Israel are concerned that, should Obama make good on his promise to talk to all comers, Israel could be left out in the cold.

Barack Obama was the candidate that the world wanted the US to elect. But in Jerusalem, his victory is not universally welcome. There are those, particularly within the Israeli Foreign Ministry, who worry that Obama will deviate from Bush's path of leaving well enough alone. While few would argue that American attention in the region is unneeded, some are concerned that Obama may go overboard and make good on his promise to negotiate with all comers. The Foreign Ministry is particularly concerned that Obama may look to smooth relations with Iran.

The concern is not that farfetched. During the campaign, Obama repeatedly said he would welcome a dialogue with Tehran. Many in Tel Aviv see it as a foregone conclusion that the US under Obama will begin seeking out such negotiations.

"That is the biggest danger for us, because we wouldn't be at the negotiating table ourselves," former Mossad leader Efraim Halevy said recently.

The danger, he said, comes from the fact that such talks would necessarily touch on Iran's relations with other countries in the region, like Syria and Lebanon, and with the Palestinians. "When our regional interests are up for discussion, we can't be represented by a proxy," Halevy said. Jerusalem is also worried that Obama may begin talks with Iran without preconditions. >>> By Pierre Heumann in Jerusalem | November 5, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>