US Feature: Government Official Who Makes Perfectly Valid, Well-Reasoned Point Against Israel Forced To Resign (The Onion)

We think this is a satirical story. From The Onion:

WASHINGTON --- State Department diplomat Nelson Milstrand, who appeared on CNN last week and offered an informed, thoughtful analysis implying that Israel could perhaps exercise more restraint toward Palestinian moderates in disputed territories, was asked to resign Tuesday.

“The United States deeply regrets any harm Mr. Milstrand’s careful, even-tempered, and factually accurate remarks may have caused our democratic partner in the Middle East,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an unequivocal condemnation of the veteran foreign-service officer’s perfectly reasonable statements. “U.S. policy toward Israel continues to be one of unconditional support and fawning sycophancy.”

Milstrand, 63, will reportedly appear at an AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] conference to offer a full apology as soon as his trial concludes and his divorce is finalized.

US-Israel Video & Transcript: President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu Speak to Press

Video and transcript of the remarks by US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after their meeting in the White House today:

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, let me, first of all, welcome again Prime Minister Netanyahu, who I think has now been here seven times during the course of my presidency.  And I want to indicate that the frequency of these meetings is an indication of the extraordinary bonds between our two countries, as is the opportunity for the Prime Minister to address Congress during his visit here.

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The Latest from Iran (20 May): From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

Nasrin Sotoudeh2045 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Earlier today we noted an interview of leading principlist MP Ahmad Tavakoli in which he said, "[Opposition figure Mir Hossein] Mousavi could mobilise the social base against [Ayatollah] Khamenei, Ahmadinejad couldn't even if he wanted to."

That was only a fragment --- and, indeed, a misleading fragment --- of an important statement which points to the dilemma for Ahmadinejad's critics: do they push the President from power or do they accept that he will complete the last two years of his term? And what happens in 2013?

Tavakoli's interview because with the current conflict, as he notes Ahmadinejad's recent move on the Ministry of Intelligence and attempt to merge Ministers without informing legislators: "The Parliament's patience with the president is coming to an end."

Yet, when pressed what Parliament might do --- the interviewer suggests that Tavakoli's criticism can be qualified because "he is said to oppose everything" --- the MP offers a telling admission: he voted for Ahmadinejad's re-election in June 2009 not because he liked the President but "out of expediency" to shut off the reformist threat.

Tavakoli continues that Mousavi, if he won the Presidency, could challenge Supreme Leader with a well-established social base. So the vote for Ahmadinejad was loyalty to Ayatollah Khamenei as a necessary pillar of the Revolution.

An EA conservative jumps in with an interpretation, "So Tavakoli points to the long-term problem that no conservative can attract the millions of votes that Ahmadinejad has in 2005 and 2009. There is no clear alternative to the President."

My own addition --- that is certainly true if the Ahmadinejad of 2011 is seen in the same light as the Ahmadinejad of 2009. But what if the President, with his recent actions, has now become the threat to the Supreme Leader that Tavakoli feared at the last election?

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Back to Business After Obama

2105 GMT: Protestors in the far eastern town of Albou Kamal, on Syria's border with Iraq, have reportedly have set fire to offices of the ruling Baath Party.

A tribal leader said, "People want to overthrow the regime. There can be no dialogue with tanks and soldiers, no dialogue with security men who kill, arrest and smash the homes of civilians. We want democracy and freedom. We want to feel we are real citizens, not numbers."

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Latest Syria Video: The "Azadi" (Freedom) Protests --- Set 2

Kisweh in Damascus:

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Syria: Today's "Azadi" (Freedom) Protests

Baniyas on coast:

Daraa:

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Iran Analysis: Guardian Council Smacks Down Ahmadinejad over Oil Ministry

I returned from an academic break just now to get a question from a journalist, "The Guardian Council have just said that President Ahmadinejad cannot be Minister of Oil. Is this significant?"

Yes, yes, and most definitely yes.

First, the news. The Guardian Council, which rules on disputed issues between the Iranian branches of government has declared that Ahmadinejad committed a "constitutional violation" when he named himself caretaker Minister of Oil last weekend.

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Middle East Special: Assessing Obama's Speech "It's Domestic Politics, Stupid"

Little new was said in this speech, despite the hype. Negotiations between the US and other nations, especially on issues as complicated at Israel and Palestine, do not happen in a public forum in a 40-minute address. This moment at the podium is unlikely to have a huge effect on how the international community, or the Middle East, views Obama.

Instead, the President was looking at many of the Republicans who have vowed to block him at every turn, many Democrats who are frustrated with the lack of progress in his foreign policy, and many Americans who are scared of what they do not understand, namely a rapidly-changing political situation in the Middle East.

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Iran Letter: Imprisoned Attorney Sotoudeh to Her 3-Year-Old Son Nima "What Should I Tell You?"

Nasrin Sotoudeh and Her FamilyWhat I want you to know, my beloved Nima, is this: firstly, although I am not the first person to have received such an unjust sentence, and I know that it is highly unlikely and wishful thinking on my part, I nevertheless hope that I will be the last.

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Iran Shocker: Ahmadinejad "The West is Plotting for Droughts"

The Press TV summary is straightforward: "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that Western countries are plotting to generate drought in some areas of the world, including Iran."

Of course, the President, speaking on Thursday in central Iran, had masses of scientific evidence to back up this claim, “According to reports about climate, whose authenticity has been verified, the European countries have used certain equipment to discharge clouds and prevent rain-bearing clouds from reaching regional countries such as Iran.” 

Ahmadinejad explained that Tehran would pursue the matter through its legal authorities, but he was very pessimistic about a resolution: "I believe that the war of the future will be the war over water.” 

This is not the first time that Iranian officials have discovered dastardly Western measures to unsettle Iran's climate, to the point of disaster. For years they have claimed that earthquakes have been caused by the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) of the US military and the University of Alaska. The Americans says HAARP is for reseach of the ionosphere, but Tehran knows that it is a super-weapon.

And of course, there is the super-super-weapon of Western women's chests. In April 2001, Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Kazem Seddiqi revealed to the audience, ""Many women who do not dress modestly lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which increases earthquakes."