Monday, June 08, 2009

Hezbollah Suffers Defeat in Lebanese Election

Huh?

Lebanon’s Western-backed coalition defeated Hezbollah and its allies, according to official results Monday that dealt a stunning setback to the Iranian-backed militants and set the stage for renewed political deadlock in the volatile nation.

The winners celebrated in the streets, setting off fireworks and driving around in motorcades honking hours before the official results were even announced.

Sunday’s parliamentary vote was an early test of President Barack Obama’s efforts to forge Middle East peace. A win by Hezbollah would have boosted the influence of its backers Iran and Syria and risked pushing one of the region’s most unsettled countries into international isolation and possibly more conflict with Israel.

The election was a good thing.  No doubt about that.  But how is it an “early test” of Obama’s efforts in the Middle East?  This strikes me as the reporter’s rather parochial mindset that assumes that everything ties back to America.  Not everybody in the world makes decisions based on what America is doing.  They have their own interests, priorities, and issues too.

(6) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1211 hrs
Foreign Affairs + Politics + Politics - General

  1. It’s called arrogance. Remember, Obama is god.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2009 at 1318 hrs


  2. No - It’s MSNBC writing the article. Everything good that happens is from something Obama did or did not do. Everything bad comes from Bush or worse yet that evil Mr. Cheney.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2009 at 1518 hrs


  3. “...and lo, the One did smile upon the Middle East and said, ‘fear not, for I shall pour out my goodness upon the land, and it shall be changed.’  And the Mohammedans and the Israelites did realize that they were the ones they had been waiting for, and joined hands in peace.”

    Posted by Calvin on June 08, 2009 at 2133 hrs


  4. Recommended reading: Robert Baer - The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower.

    Baer’s argues that Iran is performing well by succeeded by manipulating proxies such as Hezbollah and by ignoring proxies’ religions and political beliefs in order to reduce the influence of Sunni Arabs. Interesting read.  Check the reviews at Amazon.com.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2009 at 2140 hrs


  5. And yet if the results had gone the other way we all know the right wing talkers would’ve used it as an opportunity to slam Obama’s middle east strategy. Are we really going to spend time harping on the predictable meme’s fostered by the partisans on each side?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 08, 2009 at 2204 hrs


  6. The problem here is that the AP isn’t supposed to be a partisan.  If Axelrod had said this, it wouldn’t have been newsworthy.

    Posted by Owen on June 08, 2009 at 2212 hrs


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