"The Washington Note" - 5 new articles
Who Will deliver the Palestinian State?The is a guest note by Fadi Elsalameen, publisher of the Palestine Note.
His hard work on building and reforming Palestinian institutions has paid off: Palestinians see him as a serious leader that can deliver to his people with or without the Israelis. He has raised the bar of leadership so high that officials in the Fatah movement are feeling extremely uncomfortable and challenged. A senior Fatah leader and member of its central committee told me, last week, while the Brooking Institutions' Saban Forum was taking place in Jerusalem "everyone comes to Ramallah to see Fayyad; they add us and Abu Mazen on their programs just as an excuse." The Fatah official was almost right: the Saban Forum did send a delegation to Ramallah, but they didn't add him or Abu Mazen on the schedule, they only met with Prime Minister Fayyad. This is the right approach: if the Palestinian politicians remain in internal political quagmire, the world should pay attention to those who are building in Palestine and help them build. The international community should deal directly with the new style of leadership that is emerging in Palestine. It is the wish of the Palestinian people. The cult of self-appointed personalities that have done nothing for the Palestinians other than use their cause to create prestige for themselves and their families should be ousted. Everyone on the streets of the West Bank and Gaza will agree. Why can't they retire from political life, join universities in Palestine, and write books for the next generation to learn from their mistakes? Jibril Rijoub is one example of a Fatah politician that changed his useless political existence into a popular and productive head of sports. He is successfully building sports teams, and stadiums and giving sports a whole new meaning in Palestine. When Arafat passed away, he took with him his style of leadership, and left the people with Abu Mazen and the personalities surrounding him as the figures of the transition period that followed. That is why soon after people voted for Hamas. They did it for two reasons: to punish Fatah for its corruption, and out of a deep desire for change and improvement they wanted to see if Hamas could deliver what Fatah couldn't. Alas, to most Palestinians, Hamas and Fatah are both incompetent at this point. Nothing has been accomplished by either party to advance the cause of the Palestinians. In fact, the Palestinians are years behind. Their PA and Fatah leadership enjoys traveling and shopping on trips abroad. Meanwhile, Hamas is implementing Talibani backward policies such as Hijab in schools, and demanding women judges to cover in courts. Both Fatah and Hamas supporters are dismayed with their party leadership. We must take note of an important change that is occurring in Palestine. Anyone on the streets will tell you Salam Fayyad is always visiting us, while Abbas and his people spend more days outside Palestine than inside. Salam Fayyad represents the new Palestinian style of leadership that will deliver the Palestinian State. He is in touch with his people. He has visited almost every town in the West Bank. He puts on his shorts and runs in marathons for the handicapped, and when tragic personal events strike simple people in Palestine he calls them on the phone to elevate their spirits, promises to visit them personally, and then he actually does visit. Fayyad's is a promising example of leadership. The world owes it to the Palestinian people -- who have yet to see a bright day in their lives -- to support this kind of leadership and give it a chance to succeed. The people are ready to elect it and give it a mandate to implement its vision, and the world, especially the Arab world, must come through and help it deliver. -- Fadi Elsalameen What Does Europe Think of Ergenekon?
Europe is correct to be skeptical of Turkey's European Union accession prospects - but Brussels should be wary not because Turkey is not "part of Europe," but because its democracy remains fragile and its liberalism incomplete. The most obvious evidence of Turkey's uneven progress is the ongoing Ergenekon investigation that continues to roil the country. The criminal case has led to the arrests of 194 individuals suspected of being members of Turkey's derin devlet (Deep State) - a murky, extra-legal organization that is suspected of having close ties to the military and the bureaucracy. At first glance, the investigation might be considered a healthy development akin to Italy's "clean hands" investigation in the 1990s, which somewhat successfully purged the Italian state of corruption. But a closer examination of the investigation suggests that a higher degree of skepticism is in order. In a paper for the Central Asia - Caucasus Institute Silk Road Studies Program at Johns Hopkins' School for Advanced International Studies, long-time Istanbul denizen and analyst of Turkey Gareth Jenkins describes in painstaking detail how the investigation is best understood as the result of wild conspiracy theories combined with a partisan effort to weaken the secular establishment, the government's chief rival for political power. The paper, "Between Fact and Fantasy: Turkey's Ergenekon Investigation," can be read here. Here is part of Jenkins' alarming conclusion: Even the most cursory objective examination of the investigation raises deeply disturbing questions, which multiply and intensify the more closely the alleged evidence in the case is examined.... Jenkins' report raises serious allegations and Europeans would be correct to raise concerns. Indeed, the accession negotiations are meant to encourage Turkey to adopt liberal reforms, while discouraging illiberal governmental actions. It is surprising, therefore, that the Ergenekon case is nearly absent from the European Commission's most recent progress report on Turkey, published last month (two months after Jenkins' report was published). Here is what the 94 page (single-spaced) report has to say about the Ergenekon case. Investigations into the alleged criminal network Ergenekon continued. Charges include attempting to overthrow the government and to instigate armed riots. Ammunition and weapons were discovered in the course of the investigation. A first trial, which started in October 2008, is ongoing. A second indictment, covering 56 suspects including three retired generals and a former commander of the gendarmerie, was submitted to court in March 2009. A third indictment covering 52 suspects was presented to the Court in July. The cases concerning these two indictments are discussed in one single trial, which started in July 2009 and is ongoing. This is the first case in Turkey to probe into a coup attempt and the most extensive investigation ever on an alleged criminal network aiming at destabilising the democratic institutions. Furthermore, for the first time a former Chief of Staff testified voluntarily as a witness. Concerns have been raised about effective judicial guarantees for all the suspects.... In the context of Turkey's judiciary, there is another reference. High-profile cases raised concerns about the quality of the investigations. Furthermore, there is a need to improve the working relationship between the police and the gendarmerie on the one hand and the judiciary on the other. Reports by civil society organisations and statements by witnesses, in particular regarding the alleged criminal network Ergenekon, the murder of three Protestants in Malatya and the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink cases, highlighted these concerns in specific cases....There have been reports of violations of procedural rights of the accused in the judicial proceedings regarding the alleged criminal network Ergenekon. Finally, Overall, some progress has been made, in particular on limiting the jurisdiction of military courts. However, senior members of the armed forces have made statements on issues going beyond their remit, and full parliamentary oversight of defense expenditure needs to be ensured. The alleged involvement of military personnel in anti-government activities, disclosed by the investigation on Ergenekon, raises serious concerns. Nearly all of the report's analysis of the Ergenekon investigation focuses on the case's potential to strengthen civilian political power and weaken the power of the military. This has been a European objective for a long time, but it is not the only lens through which the Ergenekon investigations should be analyzed. On the judicial concerns that Jenkins raises in his paper, the European Union Commission report notes merely that "concerns have been raised about effective judicial guarantees for all the suspects." It does not elaborate at all. Whether or not Jenkins' analysis is entirely correct, it certainly suggests that the investigations merit further attention. Europe should start paying attention, but it is important that it pay attention in the right way. Populist political campaigners should not use the investigation as evidence that Turkey is not "part of Europe" and never can be. Instead, Brussels should conduct as thorough an investigation as possible, make its results known, indicate that the investigation must be conducted in accordance with liberal norms, and insist that reforms must be implemented before Turkey can join its Union. -- Ben Katcher LIVE STREAM: Ad Melkert on the Future of Iraq
With all of the talk and controversy about the war in Afghanistan in the past months, it has been easy for many to forget that despite the reduction in violence brought about partly by the 2007 troop surge, Iraq remains troubled. Violence is on the rise again, and last month's deadly bombings showed the continued threat that insurgent groups pose to the Iraq's government and people. Moreover, unresolved political questions continue to inhibit Iraq's transition toward stability and government accountability. The passage of a long-awaited election law Sunday elicited relief from many in the region and the U.S., only to be swept away when Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi vetoed the law Wednesday. The veto appears to be an attempt to gain more parliamentary seats for Iraq's minorities and Iraqis living abroad, and will likely delay the parliamentary elections scheduled for January 18. This setback, coupled with lingering security fears, could potentially delay the withdrawal of the bulk of American troops from Iraq, scheduled to begin in 2010. The Special Representative in Iraq for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Ad Melkert, will discuss his insights about the present situation and future of Iraq from 4:00 pm- 5:30 pm today at the New America Foundation. The event will stream live here at The Washington Note. -- Andrew Lebovich Afghan Endgame: WNYC's Brian Lehrer & Steve Clemons
I am pleased and applaud President Obama for requiring his advisers to come to him with plans including serious "exit strategies." Lehrer properly noted that I am a skeptic of a surge of forces into Afghanistan now and lined up some callers who were proponents of committing greater resources toward the problem. I thought that this was an excellent exchange -- and covered the terrain well. Brian Lehrer knows how to expertly peel back the onion skin of these complex national security issues. -- Steve Clemons Interview with former UK Ambassador to US Christopher Meyer on the Afghanistan Debacle and 500 Years of British Foreign Policy SuccessI interviewed former UK Ambassador to the United States Sir Christopher Meyer on his new book Getting Our Way: Five Hundred Years Of International Diplomacy. I have begun the book -- and it's a terrific review of five centuries of the world's big moments and how competitive statecraft in very difficult circumstances turned out. Here is a review from The Guardian.
Meyer wrote one of the major insider accounts of the lead up to the Iraq War, reporting from private memos and other personal observations about the Tony Blair-George Bush relationship. I recommend DC Confidential: The Controversial Memoirs of Britain's Ambassador to the U.S. at the Time of 9/11 and the Run-Up to the Iraq War. Fascinating diplomat -- and great interview. Hope you find it useful. Leaving Italy this morning -- and heading back to Washington. On other fronts, for those who want advance word, I will be chairing a meeting at the New America Foundation in Washington, right after I land at Dulles, titled "Iraq: The New Forgotten War" with a distinguished former Dutch political leader, Ad Melkert, who was former executive director of the World Bank and who now serves as Special Representative for the UN Secretary General in Iraq. Melkert attracted a lot of headlines as he headed a key committee that wrestled with then President Paul Wolfowitz over various ethics questions -- ultimately resulting in Wolfowitz's departure from the Bank. The meeting will stream live here at The Washington Note and also at the website of the New America Foundation starting at about 4:15 pm EST (so anyone around the world can watch). Those in DC are welcome to attend -- and more information on logistics is here. -- Steve Clemons More Recent Articles |
For the past several years Palestine Prime Minister 
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Meyer has important insights into Afghanistan, stating that the "penny is dropping in London that the democracy project in Afghanistan is a fool's errand." He is increasingly of the view that the entire Afghanistan exercise is a disastrous mess without any "clarity" of objective. He offers a logic-led critique of matters rather than just asserting the Afghanistan War is doomed.