Chronology of the Latest Crisis in the Middle East

[Karmadillo]

Not the CNN/Bush Administration approved version, but worth reading.

http://www.counterpunch.com/lin07252006.html

The Bush administration, Congress, and the press repeatedly echo the Israeli government’s position that the current warfare between Israel versus Palestinians and Lebanese is a consequence of the “kidnapping” of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit by Hamas-led militants on June 25, 2006 and the “abduction” of two more Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah on July 12, 2006. Yet every hostile action in this part of the Middle East is seen by someone as a response to a prior action by the other side. The only logical starting point for objectively examining the sequence of causes and effects is to begin with a watershed event that was clearly independent of any preceding military or political provocation. In 2006 that event was the Palestinian elections of January 25.

A careful examination of the sequence of events reveals that every significant military action by a Palestinian or Lebanese militia was clearly in response to desperate conditions imposed on Palestinians by Israel. While one may not condone many of these actions because they result in the loss of life, they must be understood in the context of the entire crisis in this part of the Middle East and the living conditions of Palestinians, many of whom have been exiled from their ancestral homes since the U.N. partition of Palestine in 1948.

Chronology of Crisis

The following chronology of major events was compiled from Associated Press, New York Times, Financial Times, The Observer, and other established news agencies.

January 20, 2005

Facing mounting criticism of his conduct of the war in Iraq and “the war on terror”, President George W. Bush at his second inaugural address tries to give a positive face to his administration by adding “promotion of democracy” as new cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. He says, “So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” An outcome of this policy was the encouragement given to Hamas to participate in future Palestinian elections.

mid-January 2006

Public-opinion polls in Palestine continue to suggest that Fatah will win the most seats in the elections for the Palestinian parliament. The polls indicate that Hamas could win more than one-third of the seats.

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[snappyturtle]

1. Excellent! K&R

This would be an excellent piece for Condi to read since she's in the ME doing our bidding!

[Karmadillo]

2. Kick.

nt