Mideast Media Sampler 08/29/2011

Blogged from my Android

From DG:

1) Interview with Rep. Allen West


The Jerusalem Post's Herb Keinon had a fascinating interview with Rep. Allen West of Florida. (via Israel Matzav, memeorandum)

You are meeting tomorrow with the Palestinian Authority leadership. What is your message to them?
There is one very simple question I would ask: Do you really believe you are a credible peace partner? Because I think with the reconciliation pact with Hamas, that is a very telling thing. The fact is that they are trying to back-door the process by going to the UN for a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, when we don't have a firm recognition of Israel, we don't have the renouncing of terrorism. I would also ask, what is a Palestinian state? It is something that never existed before.And even the word Palestine.


You take it back to Palestina – which comes from Philistia – which was nothing but a declaration by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 73 AD.


This is a region, it is not anything tied to a certain group of people; it would be just the same as saying we should have an Appalachian state, separate from North Carolina. It's those questions I'd like to ask.

Rep West's Twitter feed is @AllenWest


2) Another reason Megrahi's release was a disgrace


Supposedly now Abdel Basset el-Megrahi is near death (via memeorandum) His release two years ago, on humanitarian grounds, was a slap in the face to all those who lost loved ones in the Pan Am 103 bombing. It was also a slap in the face to the family and friends of Yvonne Fletcher.

Yvonne Fletcher, 25, was killed when officials inside the Libyan Embassy in London opened fire on a demonstration. The Libyans inside the embassy were eventually allowed to leave Britain and no one has ever been charged with the crime.
Libya's opposition National Transitional Council, which controls most of the country, is "fully committed to resolving" the case, a Foreign Office spokesman said on condition of anonymity because of government policy.

Obviously this a maneuver to gain credibility in the West. It would, of course, be a positive gesture for the National Transitional Council to help Britain get those responsible. But doing the right thing here, shouldn't be confused with general righteousness. The council has every reason to make the apparently deposed Qaddafi look bad. Their actions when no self-interest is evident will be important.