Saturday, March 01, 2008
FROM THE HALLS OF MONTEZUMA TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI. The United States has dispatched the warship USS Cole off Lebanon’s coast as a ‘’show of support’’ for the Siniora government. This is the literal definition of gunboat diplomacy because it is that very government that is currently ‘’negotiating’’ with the opposition on a raft of issues ranging from the presidency to the makeup of a new cabinet. The latest round of talks, known as ‘’the four party talks’’, grouping two loyalists, one opposition leader and the Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, ended unfruitfully earlier this week. Or should that be ‘the five party talks’’? Just as some Muslims say that when an unrelated man and woman are alone in a room together, the third party in the room is the devil, it can be said that when you negotiate with American or her allies, the third party in the room is the threat of force.
12:30 pm
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