The Middle East Media Sampler 2/8/13: Brennan Thinks Maybe Hezbollah Not So Moderate After All!

From +David Gerstman:

1)Not much political about them

Once upon a time, President Obama's counter-terrorism chief and current CIA nominee, John Brennan advocated engaging with Hezbollah. In 2009, Barry Rubin quoted from a paper written by Brennan:

“It would not be foolhardy, however, for the United States to tolerate, and even to encourage, greater assimilation of Hezbollah into Lebanon's political system, a process that is subject to Iranian influence. Hezbollah is already represented in the Lebanese parliament and its members have previously served in the Lebanese cabinet, reflections of Hezbollah's interest in shaping Lebanon's political future from within government institutions. This political involvement is a far cry from Hezbollah's genesis as solely a terrorist organization dedicated to murder, kidnapping, and violence. Not coincidentally, the evolution of Hezballah into a fully vested player in the Lebanese political system has been accompanied by a marked reduction in terrorist attacks carried out by the organization. The best hope for maintaining this trend and for reducing the influence of violent extremists within the organization—as well as the influence of extremist Iranian officials who view Hezbollah primarily as a pawn of Tehran—is to increase Hezbollah’s stake in Lebanon’s struggling democratic processes” This kind of thinking would do far more than bury Lebanon. It would bury U.S. interests and influence in the Middle East. And so it is only appropriate to quote William Shakespeare’s lines for another funeral oration: “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now!” Yes, it would be foolhardy for the United States to encourage growing influence and power for a radical Islamist terrorist group that is a client of Syria and reasonably close to being an agent of Iran. Brennan seems to give no evidence of any serious knowledge about the Middle East. 

The recent Bulgarian investigation, implicating Hezbollah in last year's terror attack in Burgas, apparently has Brennan rethinking his position.

Islamist Gangs Enforcing Sharia in Great Britain -- and More

The following by David J. Rusin is reposted here with permission of Islamist Watch:

IW News Brief: is
Muslim Patrol, Halal Housing, and More

by David J. Rusin  •  Jan 28, 2013 at 10:46 am

http://www.islamist-watch.org/blog/2013/01/iw-news-brief-muslim-patrol-halal-housing-and-more

Islamist Watch (IW) maintains an extensive archive of news items on nonviolent Islamism in the Western world. The complete collection can be found here; lists organized by topic are accessible on the right side of the IW homepage.

The following are some of the recent developments covered in the IW database:

Islamist gang enforces Shari'a on London streets

The Middle East Media Sampler 1/9/2013: Hagel and Kerry and Brennan -- Oh My!

From +David Gerstman

1) Cabinet making

In 2008, on the campaign trail, candidate Barack Obama flattered himself by evoking Abraham Lincoln and promising a cabinet composed of a "team of rivals."

Now headed into his second term he has proposed three new officials for his government. The Washington Post sees this as an opportunity for A Senate Debate on Mr. Obama's foreign policy. The editorial works from the assumption that John Brennan and Senators John Kerry and Chuck Hagel are qualified and should confirmed as Director of Central Intelligence, Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, respectively.

An Arab Writer Presents The Case Against Chuck Hagel

With Kerry, Hagel and Brennan selected by Obama to join his administration, the case will be made that the only reason to oppose these nominations is that they are not strong enough -- or are in fact opposed to -- Israel. Thus the fact that Hagel denigrated a choice for a diplomatic position because he was gay will be passed over.

What is important to realize though, is that these 3 appointments in the past have consistently insisted on the importance of the US talking to Syria and Iran, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Perhaps that is why Obama's choice of Kerry, Hagel and Brennan are not a cause for concern just for Israel.