Ramzy Baroud
Palestine has become a "non-member state" at the United Nations as of Thursday November 29, 2012.The draft of the UN resolution beckoning what many perceive as a historic moment passed with an overwhelming majority of General Assembly members: 138 votes in favour, nine against and 41 abstentions, writes Ramzy Baroud.
Ramzy Baroud writes, in life, some phenomena cannot be explained by ordinary logic or technical language, let alone official discourses. How did Gaza manage to fight back with such ferocity and undying vigour in quelling the latest Israeli war despite years of a bloody siege and one-sided war in 2008-9?
Many key phrases have been presented to explain Israel's latest military onslaught against Gaza, which left scores dead and wounded. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flexing his muscles in preparation for the Israeli general elections in January, suggested some, writes Ramzy Baroud.
Europe is different, as we are often reminded. The general wisdom is unlike the US' unconditional support for Israel. European countries tend to be more balanced in their approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, writes Ramzy Baroud.
The link between political statements and action, and money is obvious for all to see. What may appear as political concessions can oftentimes be attributed to some frozen or funds waiting to be delivered. It is transaction-based politics at its best, writes Ramzy Baroud.
Apparently, 'popular resistance' has suddenly elevated to become a clash of visions or strategies between the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and its rivals in Gaza, underscoring an existing and deepening rift between various factions and leaderships, writes Ramzy Baroud.
US elections are manifestly linked to the Middle East, at least rhetorically. In practical terms, however, US foreign policies in the region are compelled by the Middle East's own dynamics and the US' own political climate, economic woes, or ambitions, writes Ramzy Baroud.
It seems that media consensus has been conclusively reached: Turkey has been forced into a Middle Eastern mess not of its own making; the 'Zero Problems with Neighbours' notion, once the foreign policy centrepiece of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), is all but a romantic notion of no use in realpolitik, writes Ramzy Baroud.
Since the Second World War, US foreign policy has been largely predicated on military adventures, by severely punishing enemies and controlling 'friends'. Diplomacy was often the icing on the cake of war, writes Ramzy Baroud.
Insulting Islamic symbols often represents a breaking point for many Muslims. Spiritual, religious figures and symbols often represent the last hope to which poor, humiliated and disenfranchised people cling onto with absolute ferocity, writes Ramzy Baroud.