Pressure Points is a new blog, primarily about the Middle East but with a special interest in democracy promotion and human rights issues more broadly.Read the whole thing.
Why start a new blog? There’s no escaping the element of vanity in any blog: it is written with the expectation that readers will appear. If you write it, they will come. We’ll see about that, but the purpose here is to discuss American human rights policy and events in the Middle East from a particular perspective: that we must use our own greatest strengths, defend our values and interests, and probe the weaknesses of our opponents in protecting our national security.
Here is a sample of some of what Abrams writes about the alleged Dahlan coup and his consequent being kicked out by Abbas:
To me, this episode is a reminder of two things: First, that Fatah remains in disarray. All efforts at serious reform and modernization have failed. Last year, Fatah called off local elections in the PA once again, mostly because it was simply unready. Presidential and parliamentary elections are long overdue. If there is ever to be a stable and democratic Palestinian state, it will need democratic parties that can win elections. Fatah today is not able to do that.Read the whole thing.
Second, that the gap between Fatah and the Palestinian Authority remains significant—and indeed is growing. Dahlan was a Fatah security guy, who handled the various gangs Arafat had created and played off against each other. He never had a role in the increasingly professional PA security system. That system reports to Prime Minister Fayyad, has been trained mostly by the United States, has brought law and order to the streets of the West Bank, and works closely with the Israelis to stop terror.
If the Dahlan story helps show that the old days are over, it will be a positive event.
Technorati Tag: Elliot Abrams and Mohammed Dahlan.
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