The Obama suggestion that the border of the future Palestinian state should be based on the 1967 lines “with mutually agreed swaps” contradicts the provisions of Security Council Resolution 242, and therefore it is as illegal as the unilateral decision to abolish the “right of return” or to define Israel as a state for the Jewish people.
Between retirements and musical chairs, five vacancies appeared at the top of the defence team, and Obama is selecting his new team with an eye to restructuring a modern military.
In the aftermath of the American Abbottabad operation to kill Osama bin Laden and the more recent terrorist attack on the Mehran naval base resulting in the loss of precious lives and the destruction of two Orion aircraft worth billions of rupees, Pakistan looks like a country under siege.
They show no spine whatsoever. Indeed, they demonstrate themselves more for cowering than for daring. And instead of standing up straight and making themselves heard, they behave like slaves, pleading and beseeching the Americans to show mercy on our civilians and refrain from slaughtering them.
Let’s face it, both have been lying to one another. For every “freedom fighter” Hafiz Saeed of ours, the US too has a “diplomat” Raymond Davis. If we had undeclared illegal combatants to help out with otherwise legitimate conflicts, then the US too has its brigade of illegal combatants fighting outright illegitimate wars.
The White House understands that any careless sparks could ignite a new war in the region against Israel. Too many Arab countries are interested in using a new foreign enemy to distract their people from revolutionary fervor.