Through Glenn Greenwald's post "A real discussion on TV regarding U.S. policy towards Israel" earlier today, I got to watch the video of Queen Noor of Jordan's appearance on "Morning Joe" this morning. She was impressive in laying out facts and strong arguments concerning the ongoing Gaza incursion and the way forward, and effective in countering some talking points by Richard Haas (of the Council on Foreign Relations). To his credit, Haas also made some good points on how to effectively re-frame the debate on a future peace process as being beneficial to all sides involved.
I am posting youTube versions of the video below the fold, but the full segment can also be watched at this MSNBC.com link. I looked for a transcript of this segment for the benefit of those that are unable to watch the videos, but I could not locate it (if you are able to find the transcript, please post a link to it in the comments section.)
Videos:
- M-Joe Israeli War in Gaza - Queen Noor of Jordan 1 of 2
- M-Joe Israeli War in Gaza - Queen Noor of Jordan 2 of 2
I don't have much time at the moment to pen down detailed thoughts, but here are two key points that I want to make:
- this incursion and the resulting bloodshed was unwarranted (Basis: President Carter@WaPo, Dr. Mustafa Bharghouti@HuffPo, Paul Woodward@warincontext.org, Daisy Cutter@DK, my DK comment re. the drop in rocket/mortar fire during the ceasefire months of July-Oct.)
- going forward, Obama must make forging a peace settlement (that establishes a peaceful and democratic Palestinian state, hopefully led by non-militant Palestinian leaders with integrity, and ensures longterm security and peace of mind for Israeli citizens) his top foreign policy priority.
Obama said on "This Week" last weekend that he and his team are working towards just that:
President-Elect Barack Obama
This Week, 1/11/2008
But what I am doing right now is putting together the team so that on January 20th, starting on day one, we have the best possible people who are going to be immediately engaged in the Middle East peace process as a whole.
That are going to be engaging with all of the actors there. That will work to create a strategic approach that ensures that both Israelis and Palestinians can meet their aspirations.
I believe in the power of the human spirit that we all share, and carry the faith that we will find a fair and just end to the I-P conflict in the near future.