Category Archives: Peacekeeping Operations

Israel, Palestine, and the Arab Spring

Map of Palestine under the British Mandate, showing Palestine of 1922 including what is now Israel, West Bank, Gaza, in the west and Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the east.

The America that inspires people all over the world is the America of Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” and Ben Afleck’s “Argo.” It is a place where people can rise from humble origins to run companies or become President. It is the country of Carnegie, Ford, and Edison, of Warren Buffet, Bill Hewlett, Dave Packard, Steve Jobs, and Meg Whitman and the country of Lincoln, the Roosevelts, the Kennedys, Reagan, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. These men and women inspired and continue to inspire people here in the United States and also in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, including Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs and Persians. They inspire people who want freedom and opportunity, a better life for themselves and their children.

This is “American Exceptionalism.” It is not that Americans are better, but that America is better.

And Israel, Palestine, and the Arab Spring …

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BBC: two U.N. peacekeepers kidnapped in Darfur

Two peacekeepers seized in Sudan, according to the BBC.

Two members of the joint UN/African Union (UnAMID) peacekeeping force have been kidnapped in Sudan’s western Darfur region, officials say.

A Unamid spokesman said the pair – a man and a woman – were abducted in the western town of Zalingei.

The victim’s nationalities have not been made public.

* * * *

Spokesman Noureddin Mezni said armed men attacked the Unamid staff residence in Zalingei at 0430 (0130 GMT) and abducted the pair, whom he described as civilians.

Mr Mezni said the abductions were the first of UNAMID members, although there have been a series of kidnappings of aid workers in the region.

He said contact had been made with the captors, but did not give any further details.

Abducting United Nations workers from an official U.N. residence would seem to be a fairly clear challenge to U.N. competence and authority in the region, unless we’re badly misinterpreting the situation.

In such matters, we’d prefer to be wrong.