Archive for May, 2011

May 26 2011

Road to Palestine becoming clearer, but still difficult

Published by under Articles,Palestinian politics

By Daoud Kuttab
The marathon of speeches that the US capital Washington witnessed last week cleared the view as to what is needed for Palestinians to reach their coveted independent state. Clearing the view, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that getting a state will be easy or attainable in the near future. Continue Reading »

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May 21 2011

When Obama blinked first, Mitchel’s mission was doomed

Published by under Articles,Palestinian politics

By Daoud Kuttab – Special to CNN

The appointment of George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace for the newly-sworn-in U.S. president was a source of much hope in the Middle East.

Senior U.S. officials toured the region soon thereafter to make sure people understood the importance of the appointment and its timing.
Mitchell took the appointment seriously and did what no other envoy before him had done. He created a team of supporters and opened an office in the U.S. Continue Reading »

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May 21 2011

What Obama Should say?

Published by under Articles,Palestinian politics

When US President Barack Obama makes his scheduled speech today, he will have to deal with a totally different kind of Arab world than when he took office or when he made his famous Cairo speech.

Arab peoples led by youth, who constitute the vast majority of the population, have found their power and have been demanding a say in their future. No longer can the US or other Western countries simply depend on a few pro-Western dictators who obey the orders from Paris, London and Washington in return for those capitals ensuring that they stay in power. Continue Reading »

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May 12 2011

Mahmoud Abbas: Mr. Consistency

Published by under Articles

Say what you may about the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, but supporters and opponents agree on one thing: he is consistent.

Continue Reading »

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May 02 2011

For most Arabs, bin Laden and his views are long-dead

Published by under Articles,Other

If al-Qaeda followers turn to Yemen to pursue the work of Osama bin Laden’s network, they will be in for a surprise. The people of Yemen, like most of the Arab world, have long since divorced themselves from bin Laden and his ideology, as they are showing in the youth-led Arab uprising. For the past few months, hundreds of thousands of Yemenis — young and old, men and women — have been carrying out a nonviolent revolt with sit-ins, demonstrations and civil disobedience. Although the ruling party and its proxies have done everything they can to induce Yemenis to take up arms, the demonstrators have shown resilience, discipline and a determination to keep protests peaceful. Continue Reading »

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