Free Republic

Frankly, I don't care that Chicago lost its bid for the Olympics. Really, I don't. But maybe the president's trip to Copenhagen was useful since his top battle commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, traveling from England to Denmark, had the opportunity to meet Barack Obama on Air Force One. Their talking with each other is, after all, a rarity. In fact, Obama and McChrystal had spoken but once since the general took on AfPak as his turf in early June 2009. With whom, then, is Obama conversing? And how independent of mind on military matters are they? Or are...

Dennis Ross, Out As Special Envoy To Iran; Was He Ousted Because He's A Jew Or A Bit Hawkish On Nukes? The news that Dennis Ross, long time State Department strategist and peace processor, is being bounced as special envoy to Iran comes from an article by Barak Ravid in the reliable (at least on these matters) Ha'aretz. The story seems to assume that Ross was declared persona non grata by Tehran either because he was a Jew or because he believes that Iran should not be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons. If the Obama administration so readily capitulated to...

Well, almost everyone blogging today for TNR on the president's Cairo speech seems to have been overwhelmed by its power. Forgive me: I was overwhelmed in a more-than-slightly different way. I am writing on the speech and its implications for next week's print edition (which will also be published online). But I wanted my readers to grapple with material other than that of the star-gazers. So here's David Frum who always calls it like he sees it. Yes, he is a conservative. But these are matters that cut across both liberalism and conservatism: The president’s Cairo speech: worse than feared....

Earlier this week, the Boston Globe ran what was virtually an epitaph, a very long epitaph for itself. The author blamed the paper's owner--the New York Times Company--for most of its troubles. There was a lot of nostalgia for the old publishing family, the Taylors, who sold the newspaper to the Sulzbergers. (The Times is actually a public company dominated by the family because of two classes of stock, one with power, one without. The Sulzbergers own the controlling stock. But the family trust is being ripped apart: its beneficiaries no longer are getting dividends.) In any case, the Taylors...

David Brooks, the "House Conservative" of the New York Times, should seriously consider putting his self-description as "conservative" in quotes at all times in order to comply with truth in packaging. I mean how conservative can you be when liberal sources are quoting you favorably, especially when you sound like, without quite saying so, you are endorsing Barack Obama? The liberal New Republic cites Brooks favorably for his almost endorsement of The One: Has David Brooks Endorsed Obama? Not in so many words, but please continue: Well, not exactly. After all, he has one paragraph in his column in Friday's...

Actually, I don't think the right has played as dirty as this. A Times article by Michael Luo this morning unveils a new netroots enterprise, Accountable America, the unabashed purpose of which is to terrify conservatives from giving campaign money to Republican causes and Republican candidates. It's actually ingenuous. You get a list of past Republican donors and send each of them one, two, many e-mails with the explicit warning that contributing to conservative campaigns may be dangerous to the donor's health. Or, as Luo puts it, "The warning letter is intended as a first step, alerting donors who might...

Former defense minister Amir Peretz will begin a campaign after Pessah, which celebrates freedom, to bring about the release of Fatah terrorist Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti was convicted of murder and sentenced to five life sentences in prison for killing Jews and a Christian monk during the second Intifada. But he is also a rising star in Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah and his likely successor. In a speech at a pre-Pessah toast for Labor activists loyal to him, Peretz said that after the holiday, he would visit the families of Barghouti's victims and ask them to publicly press for...

Excerpt - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday appointed newly elected Labour party chairman and former premier Ehud Barak as defence minister to replace Amir Peretz, an official told AFP. "The prime minister had a one-on-one meeting with Barak today, after which Barak sent Olmert an official request to be named defence minister as soon as possible," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. ~ snip ~

Israel News Agency: Keep Olmert, Fire Peretz (Photo) Israel Defense Minister Amir Peretz, right, seems to be viewing a military drill through binoculars, apparently without realizing the lens caps were left on. The army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi is at left. An actor on the right, a professional on the left. By Israel News Agency Editorial Staff Jerusalem ----May 2...... A few have described the present political environment in Israel as one which has been swept up by a tsunami. Politicians, defense personnel, journalists, foreign diplomats, business people and a vast majority of the general public in...

Israel's political and military leaders are facing a crisis of confidence. The consensus view in Israel, as Peter Berkowitz wrote in THE WEEKLY STANDARD just a few weeks ago, is that Prime Minister Edhud Olmert, "and even more his hapless defense minister, Amir Peretz, as well as Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, an honorable man who only two weeks ago resigned as chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces--had proved themselves in the Lebanon war last summer unfit to continue to lead the nation." Hapless indeed. Yesterday Peretz was inspecting troops in the Golan Heights alongside the IDF's new chief...

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has decided to remove his defense minister, Amir Peretz, two TV stations reported Thursday. Citing sources in Olmert's office, Israel TV and Channel 2 said Peretz would be asked to resign and take another cabinet position, and if he refused, he would be fired. Olmert's spokesman, just before takeoff from Sharm e-Sheikh Thursday night, denied the Channel 2 report. "Olmert has not decided to remove Peretz from his post and the issue has not even been discussed," he said. Channel 2 speculated that Peretz would not be offered the finance portfolio, currently occupied by Avraham Hirschson...

Excerpt - 07:09 Report: PM mulling Ehud Barak, Gabi Ashkenazi as new defense minister (Army Radio) 07:07 Olmert aides: PM plans to remove Peretz from Defense Ministry (Army Radio

Peretz okays transfer of 5,000 rifles to Abbas [bows to US pressure] Peretz okays transfer of 5,000 rifles to Abbas JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 1, 2006www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1162378305990&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Defense Minister Amir Peretz has authorized the transfer of 5,000 rifles to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Presidential Guard, Channel 2 reported Wednesday night. [Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: According to the report, DM Peretz bowd to heavy pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Rice to approve the transfer of weapons from Egypt and other sources to the PA. It should be noted that while Mr. Abbas swears he will not...

Peretz to Yesha Residents: Leave Outposts Peacefully – or Else 23:32 Oct 16, '06 / 24 Tishrei 5767 by Hana Levi Julian Defense Minister Amir Peretz announced Monday afternoon that residents of unauthorized outposts in Judea and Samaria would be forced out of their homes, one way or the other. Peretz told members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that he has given the Yesha Council leadership two weeks to convince outpost residents to leave their homes voluntarily. After two weeks, he said, the IDF would forcibly expel Jewish residents from their homes in unauthorized communities. During Sunday’s...

Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who was one of the early leaders of the Left's "peace camp," rejected one of its most basic tenants on Tuesday when he told a gathering of activists, "It's not the case that Israel has rejected partners for peace. It's more correct to understand that every time Israel sought a partner over the past year, there wasn't one available." The audience, which represented about half of the 100 organizations that compose the Palestinian-Israeli Peace NGO Forum, sat quietly through his half-hour speech in Tel Aviv. It was his first meeting with activists from the left-wing "peace...

Defense minister says that 'every war creates opportunities for wide-scale diplomatic process'; calls on Israel to renew talks with Palestinians, prepare for contacts with Damascus Vered Luvitch Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that "every war creates opportunities for an extensive diplomatic process," and that "we need to hold negotiations with Lebanon and lay the groundwork for negotiations with Syria." Peretz made the statements during a Bar Mitzvah party for 65 IDF orphans that was held in Tel Aviv. Peretz said: "I'm certain that our enemies understand they cannot defeat us. I plan to do whatever I can to restore the...

Israeli Defense Minister and labour party leader Amir Peretz was sued yesterday in Rabat by three well-known Moroccan lawyers for terror crimes in Lebanon. The Moroccan lawyers, Khalid Sefiani, Abderrahim Jamai and Abderrahmane Benameur, known for their activism in human rights, organised a press conference in the headquarters of the Moroccan National Press Syndicate (SNPM) in Rabat to reveal the details of their initiative. “It is not at all a symbolic act. We want Amir Peretz to pay for the war crimes he has committed in Lebanon,” Sefiani told the Moroccan paper Maroc Soir. The lawyers' choice of the Rabat's...

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert briefed opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu on recent developments in the operations in Lebanon in an 80-minute meeting at the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem on Friday. A spokesman for Netanyahu said that no political matters were discussed at the meeting but that Olmert thanked Netanyahu for his recent appearances defending Israel on American and European television networks. He said Olmert told Netanyahu that he was Israel's "best spokesman in the foreign press" - a compliment that could potentially cause a dispute between Olmert and his vice premier, Shimon Peres. Netanyahu condemned a Foreign Ministry official...

We have a lot of respect for Condoleezza Rice. For the U.S. Secretary of State, who is currently in the midst of a whirlwind Middle East tour, the path of least diplomatic resistance would have been to echo the widespread call for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Hezbollah and Israel. But to her great credit -- and that of her boss, President George W. Bush -- she didn't. Instead, this week, she told Lebanese officials that any ceasefire would have to be part of a broader deal that included Hezbollah's withdrawal from Lebanon's border with Israel, and the...

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Thursday night that, "We expected Hizbullah to break the rules, and now we intend to break them. "We do not mean for this event to end when the situation returns to how things were a few days ago," he said. Peretz's comments came before his meeting with Assistant Secretary of State David Welch.

…The first pragmatic reason to be for Gore, then, is that he is electable. He won once. {SCOTUS stole the election.] He can win again. … That Bush has been such a clot as a president, such a golem magnifies Gore's stature as a thinking person with beliefs he can defend honestly and persuasively. … Hillary starts out with so many in the electorate--left, far left, right, far right, center--nearly half of the public … She is just disliked. The phenomenon is actually volcanic. The more she shifts her ground the more shaky it is, and she has shifted her...

Peretz: No Hamas member immune Defense minister approves further ‘Summer Rain’ operation plans during meeting with top security officials, but stresses: Diplomatic effort not yet lost cause. 'We are in decisive moment with respect to deciding rules of game between us and terrorist elements in Palestinian Authority,' he adds Hanan Greenberg Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Thursday, “We are in one of the most significant moments with respect to deciding the rules of the game between us and terrorist elements in the Palestinian Authority in the coming period." The defense minister was speaking during a meeting convened with top security...

Defense Minister defends his restraint: Palestinians our neighbors for always. I greatly desire peace, but will not permit Israeli bloodshed. Great IDF force and capabilities behoove restraint, for moral and political reasons Defense Minister Amir Peretz responded Tuesday to critics claiming that the IDF response was not harsh enough, saying, "I hear many remarks decrying my restraint, and it doesn't affect me. Israeli national security will not be built impetuously. Blind rage may be a very bad advisor in crisis situations." Peretz spoke during a ceremony for national security prizewinners at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, in the presence of...

Peretz: No decision to delay outpost evacuation Police, IDF continue preparation for outpost evacuation, and thus far Defense Minister Amir Peretz has not postponed the plan; but Gaza incursion could cancel evacuation Ronny Sofer Despite the rising tensions with the Palestinians and the IDF's large-scale preparations for incursions into Gaza, Defense Minister Amir Peretz has not decided to cancel next week's evacuation of illegal outposts in the West Bank. However, defense officials said, "The evacuation is dependent on a possible incursion into the Gaza Strip." Officials estimated that should a large-scale offensive be launched to free abducted IDF soldier Gilad...

Minister of Defense Amir Peretz said today that the government will not be moved to order military strikes on Gaza because of protests and demonstrations by Israeli citizens who are under threat from the Palestinian Authority. His comments were made during an address at the Caesaria Conference on Israeli domestic and foreign policies. Peretz was referring to the ongoing protest actions taken by the citizens of Sderot, who have suffered more than 1,000 PA rocket attacks since Israel's August 2005 unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. Residents have held protest vigils, hunger strikes and have closed down their city in recent weeks....

Sderot: Qassams land during president's visit Two rockets land in Sderot area as Katsav, Peretz visit Qassam-battered town. 'I have no intention of making restraint part of my work plan; restraint has run its course,' defense minister says. President: PA leadership directly responsible for rocket attacks. Leaders set to meet with hunger strikers in show of sympathy for residents' distress. Meanwhile, residents agree to end hunger strike at president's request Shmulik Hadad Hunger strikers in Sderot complied Monday with President Moshe Katsav's request and agreed to end their strike, nine days after it was first declared. However, residents said they...

Last update - 22:38 15/06/2006 Peretz: Outpost pullout plan ready within 2 weeks By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent Defense Minister Amir Peretz instructed the Israel Defense Forces on Thursday to conclude preparations for the evacuation of unauthorized West Bank outposts within two weeks. On Peretz's orders, the first stage of the outpost evacuation will encompass sites considered to have the greatest potential for violent confrontation, outposts whose settlers have in the past physically assaulted soldiers, policemen, and Israeli and Palestinian civilians. The defense minister issued his instructions after consulting on the matter with IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, Deputy...

Peretz signals end of military restraint Shortly after IAF air strike against Qassam cell in Gaza, defense minister says 'restraint shown after incident on Gaza beach has ended' Hanan Greenberg Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Tuesday signaled the end of Israel's military restraint after the recent incident in which seven Palestinian civilians were killed. "We showed restraint in the face of the international outcry over the incident on Gaza beach but this has come to an end," he said on a tour in the north. Peretz spoke minutes before an air strike in Gaza in which 9 Palestinians were killed...

Peretz signs evacuation order for 12 settlements Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST May. 17, 2006 Defense Minister Amir Peretz signed an evacuation order on Wednesday night for 12 illegal outposts in the West Bank. The orders were originally signed by former defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, but they since expired, and Peretz's decision on Wednesday was to reinstate them. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also gave his approval for the evacuation orders.

Peretz´s First Mission as Defense Minister: Destroy Outposts 10:19 May 08, '06 / 10 Iyar 5766 by Hillel Fendel Only one day into the job, DM Peretz has already set one of his main priorities for the coming months: the destruction of Jewish outposts throughout Judea and Samaria that have been deemed illegal. Brig.-Gen. Kamil Abu-Rokon, the head of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, informed the Supreme Court Sunday night that he has a plan underway to map out all the unauthorized outposts, with an eye to their destruction. He said the goal is to complete the list,...

Apr. 25, 2006 1:43 | Updated Apr. 25, 2006 19:12 Peretz, Olmert meet on ministers By SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL AND JPOST STAFF Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz and Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the proposed reduction of ministers and the elimination of deputy ministers in the new coalition government. Senior Kadima officials said that they expected Olmert to reduce the number of Kadima ministers by one, for a total of 11 Kadima ministers in the government. Kadima sources saw the move as a way of encouraging the rest of the coalition partners to make...

Peretz 'will have to learn quickly' Peretz. 'It doesn't matter who stands at the head of the security system.' Photo: Eli Elgarat Members of the defense establishment are not afraid of expressing themselves over the probable new incoming boss, Amir Peretz. His future conduct is regarded as a 'mystery,' and he is being given a chance, but under the carpet, a lack of faith is hiding Hanan Greenberg If Labor Chairman Amir Peretz becomes minister of defense, as is looking increasingly likely, he will have a lot to learn in his new position, senior security figures told Ynet. "I don't...

Apr. 22, 2006 11:23 | Updated Apr. 22, 2006 23:32 Olmert, Peretz agree on largest government ever By GIL HOFFMANOlmert and Peretz - partnersInterim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Labor Chairman Amir Peretz talk in the Knesset during its inaugural session. Photo: Associated PressIsrael will have its largest government in history with 27 ministers by the end of the week, according to an agreement reached on Thursday night between Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Labor chairman Amir Peretz, sources close to both men said Saturday. Olmert and Peretz met after 11 p.m. at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and...

Apr. 2, 2006 3:02 | Updated Apr. 2, 2006 9:10 President Katsav to kick off coalition talks By GIL HOFFMAN AND JPOST STAFF President Moshe Katsav will begin holding consultations with party representatives on Sunday ahead of his decision this week on whom he should ask to form Israel's next government. The consultations will kick off at noon when Kadima representatives Haim Ramon, Avraham Hirchson, Roni Bar-On, Dalia Itzik, Avigdor Yitzhaki and Marina Solodkin visit Beit Hanassi. They will be followed by MKs from Labor, Shas, Israel Beiteinu and the Likud. Katsav will meet Monday with representatives from the National...

Goldman Sachs Associate Global Markets Economist Michael Vaknin, who covers Israel says, “The economic repercussions are negative, and worse than we expected. The coalition will be less stable. Pre-election polls gave the impression that Kadima will link up with the Labor Party to create a majority bloc, but on the basis of the results, Kadima will have to bring in more parties, which will undermine stability, especially as there is no common denominator between the parties. “The election results indicate that the next government will focus on a social agenda, and we hope that the government will be able to...

Excerpt - Exit polls released as polls closed at 10 P.M. Tuesday showed Kadima gaining from 29 to 32 seats, Labor from 20-22, and the Likud 11-12. ~ snip ~

I'm probably a little early, but I see on Fox that they're already showing the ritual votes of the leaders, etc.

Who will best deal with poverty? Peretz 31% Olmert 18% Netanyahu 27% None 24% Votes: 370

aybe you remember, back in 1989, the controversy over Piss Christ, a piece of art by the now fashionable artist Andres Serrano. He himself had been living on a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and his brave break-out work (a crucifix immersed in urine) was hung in various public museums and was debated and mostly defended by the high culture elites until it became part of the canon. So much part of the canon that I suspect almost no one any longer blanches or even blinks when he sees the image anywhere. Then you may remember that...

Peretz: We'll pay settlers who leave Labor party leader presents 'moral road map,' says he will favor unilateral withdrawals should peace talks with Palestinians fail, offer fair compensation to any settler who wishes to leave West Bank Ronny Sofer Labor won't hesitate to evacuate more settlements: The Labor party will favor unilateral withdrawals should negotiations with the Palestinians fail, and offer compensation to settlers willing to voluntarily leave the West Bank, Chairman Amir Peretz said during his speech at the Herzliya Conference Monday evening. "Every citizen who wants to leave his home in Judea and Samaria will be fairly compensated....

"The only thing that's going to solve this," Steven Spielberg told Time magazine, "is rational minds, a lot of sitting and talking until you're blue in the gills." This, I suppose, is what goes for heavy thinking in Hollywood. Imagine Dreamworks negotiating with Paramount if the latter were continually shooting up the former. So maybe before the Israelis and Palestinians sit down with each other — as they've done innumerable times over the years, at Camp David and Oslo and secret hideouts for very long periods, even producing hopes that many credulous folk took for real — the Palestinians should...

he only thing that's going to solve this," Steven Spielberg told Time magazine, "is rational minds, a lot of sitting and talking until you're blue in the gills." This, I suppose, is what goes for heavy thinking in Hollywood. Imagine Dreamworks negotiating with Paramount if the latter were continually shooting up the former. So maybe before the Israelis and Palestinians sit down with each other--as they've done innumerable times over the years, at Camp David and Oslo and secret hideouts for very long periods, even producing hopes that many credulous folk took for real--the Palestinians should sit down just with...

Nov. 24, 2005 0:49 | Updated Nov. 24, 2005 14:33 Braverman joins Labor, not Kadima By GIL HOFFMAN AND SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL Ben Gurion University President, Professor Avishay Braverman Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski Ben Gurion University President Avishay Braverman announced Thursday his enlistment in the Labor Party, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who sought to enlist him to his new party. The move was announced at a joint press conference conducted together with Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz. While Prof. Braverman officially joined the party, no prospective position was mentioned. Braverman and Peretz publicly exchanged kind words. The...

A prominent politician from the moderate Labor Party joined Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new party Wednesday, the first such defection, adding impetus to a movement that could break a decades-long electoral stalemate over peace policies. The move by Cabinet minister without portfolio Haim Ramon came hours after President Moshe Katsav signed a decree for the dissolution of Parliament, paving the way for a general election on March 28. For procedural reasons, the order will only take effect on December 8. Sharon will stay on as prime minister until elections and should have a free hand to change his Cabinet before...

Major opinion polls released on Tuesday showed that if elections to the 17th Knesset were to be held now, Ariel Sharon would win a third term in office as prime minister, and could set up coalitions with as many as 71 seats in the 120-seat house. The Haaretz-Dialog survey, conducted by Prof. Camil Fuchs Monday night among a representative sample of 600 Israelis from all sectors of the population, showed that Sharon could set up a center-left coalition with Labor, Shinui and Meretz-Yahad with a margin of 66 seats. Sharon would also be able to set up a coalition with...

AP) JERUSALEM Israel's dovish Labor Party voted Sunday to pull out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government, and Sharon reportedly decided to quit his Likud Party to set up a new movement — beginning a campaign for elections expected in March. Sharon is expected to take several prominent Likud Cabinet ministers with him to his new party, along with some from Labor — possibly including its ousted chairman Shimon Peres. Advancing Israel's election from the original November 2006 date would likely sideline Mideast peace moves and counter whatever momentum was gained from Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and part of the...

Sources close to Israeli prime minister: Ariel Sharon has finally decided to leave Likud. He will make the announcement Monday, Nov. 21, and is expected to ask President Katzav to dissolve the Knesset. This means a general election in 90 days unless another MK can form a viable government. Earlier, defense minister Shaul Mofaz said he would not follow Sharon out of Likud to form a centrist party. He is joining the Likud leadership race against half a dozen contenders led by Sharon's archrival Binyamin Netanyahu. New Labor leader Amir Peretz broke up Sharon’s government coalition by ordering the party’s...

Nov. 14, 2005 14:29 | Updated Nov. 14, 2005 20:24 Labor ministers sign resignation letters By SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL AND GIL HOFFMAN Netanyhau and Peretz, future rivals for top post? Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski [file] In a move signifying their support for Labor Party head Amir Peretz, all eight Labor Party ministers submitted to Peretz letters of resignation from the government Monday evening as per his request. In order for the resignations to take effect, the letters must be submitted to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Peretz, who refused to comment on the resignations, was expected to lead his party out of...

Nov. 14, 2005 18:38 | Updated Nov. 14, 2005 18:45 Peretz fronts bill to pay off settlers By SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL In a move that stirred controversy among MKs of all parties, newly elected Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz submitted a Knesset bill Monday that would grant compensation to West Bank settlements where 60% of the residents left voluntarily. In a statement accompanying the bill Peretz wrote that he intended to create "incentives for the continuation of voluntary evacuation of the Israeli citizens located in Judea and Samaria.” "[The disengagement] was a concrete example of the nation's ability to establish...

Peretz ready to bolt coalition New Labor chairman asks party members to prepare resignation letters Attila Somfalvi Labor Chairman Amir Peretz is preparing resignation letters with the signatures of Labor party ministers, to be used as a bargaining chip during his scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday.Peretz and Peres Photo: Yaron Brenner Aides to Peretz say the move will prevent the prime minister from preemptively sacking Labor party ministers by citing any number of pretexts. A Peretz source also said the Prime Minister's Office has attempted to arrange a meeting between the newly elected Labor party chairman...