Palestine Interview: Hamas' Khaled Meshaal on the "Resistance Bloc" and the New Middle East (Narwani)

Earlier this month, Sharmine Narwani interviewed Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Damascus for the Huffington Post. In Part 1 of the interview, he addressed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Hamas' perspective on the direct talks. Here he speaks about broader regional issues, including the emergence of a "Resistance Bloc", the New Middle East, and relations with Iran, the Ground Zero mosque, and, on a more personal note, his relationship with his father:

SN: The "Resistance Bloc" in the Middle East - Syria, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas - how did it come about?

KM: The forming of this bloc is a natural consequence of events in the region - firstly, the presence of Israel and its atrocities against the region, and then the failure of the negotiation process to achieve something substantial. Even when the Arabs compromised and agreed to the borders of 1967, they did not receive a serious response from Israel. Thus, we have this stalemated situation where Israel has a free hand to do whatever it wants - with the world community turning a blind eye - which leads to the response in the street and to the forming of the bloc you have mentioned.

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Iran Video: Ahmadinejad's Right-Hand Man Rahim-Mashai v. the Protestors

In the midst of its report on the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad road show in New York, Voice of America Persian captured an extraordinary moment.

At the 2:41 mark in the video, Iranian activists catch up with the President's Chief of Staff and close ally, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai near the United Nations and challenge him over human rights in Iran. Planet Iran summarises the conversation:

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Assessing Ahmadinejad in New York: Reality is a Minority Dwelling Place (Sick)

Ahmadinejad, like some other leaders, has constructed an alternative universe based on a vision of what his own country and the world should be. That vision is attractive to the very many people who are unhappy with the ways things actually are.

So when Ahmadinejad wants to condemn the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, he declares that the original event that set these interventions in motion – the 9/11 attack – was a fraud perpetrated by the Americans on themselves. The fact that Osama Bin Laden has proudly claimed credit for the attack is simply irrelevant. The myth fits into the ideal political universe of Ahmadinejad (and others – not just in Iran) who prefer to see all unpleasantness in the Middle East as the perfidious work of outsiders, especially the West.

This hugely complicates any effort of Ahmadinejad or other members of the Iranian regime to pursue a consistent and pragmatic diplomatic path. However, it preserves their revolutionary image with a broad swath of humanity. It also helps explain why Obama’s offer of an outstretched hand – which does not fit in this alternative universe – was not easily accepted.

In fact-checking Ahmadinejad and others who have their own idealized political agenda, one should never forget that the “reality-based” universe is in fact a minority dwelling place.

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Is the Stuxnet Worm a State-Directed Cyber-Attack on Iran?

A few weeks ago we noticed a report on Stuxnet, "a worm that targets critical infrastructure companies doesn't just steal data, it leaves a back door that could be used to remotely and secretly control plant operations". While the report on a threat to hijack refineries and power plants mentioned Iran and India as targets but it also raised the possibility of US energy companies.

In following weeks, however, chatter arose that the worm had been developed by a state --- given its complexity, it was considered to be beyond an individual or even private group --- to cripple Iran's nuclear programme, whether through the Bushehr energy plant or the Natanz uranium enrichment complex.

We refrained from coverage, primarily because we thought the story of Tehran as the target for Stuxnet might be a psychological operation rather than a statement of fact --- after all, Iran's worry that it could be the focus of cyber-warfare might be as damaging as an actual operation.

Yesterday, however the scene changed. For the first time, Iranian officials said that Iran's industries had been infected by the worm; one minister gave a figure of 30,000.

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US Politics: One Progressive Nation Marches on Washington

In the past few months, US media have commented extensively on the "enthusiasm gap" among liberal voters that is threatening the chances of Democrat candidates in the forthcoming elections for Congress. This Saturday sees the progressive base of the party fight back. Over 150 local, state, and national organizations will unite under the banner "One Nation Working Together" and descend on Washington to demand "Jobs, Justice, and Education For All".

This will offer a strong indication of how far the "enthusiasm gap" has affected the progressive core of the Democratic Party. The march has been planned for a long time, marking a month to go before the elections, and it involves most of the major organizations on the Left of American politics. The Democrat’s greatest hope for avoiding the sweeping defeats in November, predicted by many, is for their voters to put aside their disillusionment with the progress made in Washington and realise that the protest of abstaining from voting will ensure Republican control of Congress. This march marks the beginning of concerted efforts by activists to convince those wavering voters that the politics of hope and change must not be defeated by what they see as the politics of hate and fear.

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The Latest from Iran (26 September): Striking News

1835 GMT: Family Matters. A group of 40 women's rights activists has delivered a petition with 5000 signatures to the Parliament urging legislators to halt all efforts in "promoting temporary marriages and polygamy."

1825 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Rozita Vaseghi has been moved out of solitary detention after five months. 

Vaseghi, a Baha’i follower, was arrested in 2005 and summoned in January 2010 for sentencing. She received a five-year prison term and wasbanned from leaving Iran for then years. She was taken into custory in March.

Rah-e-Sabz does the maths and concludes that 1100 years in prison sentences have been handed out to 145 detainees in Evin Prisoner. The youngest political prisoner is 19, the oldest 73.

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Deadline Approaches for Settlements: What Are the Options for Palestinians?

So, why can't Mahmoud Abbas leave the talks and go home if he cannot guarantee another full freeze? Washington Post gives the answer to this question:

In the end the Palestinian president would be foolish to end the talks. In so doing, he would leave Israel free to proceed with unchecked settlement construction while postponing Palestinian statehood indefinitely. He would also place himself at greater domestic political risk, since the end of negotiations would empower Palestinian militants.

If he stays in the talks, Mr. Abbas can oblige Mr. Netanyahu to spell out his specific terms for Palestinian statehood, something he has yet to do. If they resemble those offered by previous Israeli governments, it might be possible to move relatively quickly toward an accord on borders and security. 

In other words, sitting at the table for Abbas is better than nothing. Let's see what Israelis are going to bring to it.

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Israel-Syria Analysis: The Importance of Damascus for the Israeli-Palestinian Talks

Considering efforts to bring Syrians and Israelis to the negotiation table, we said on 17 September:

To strengthen Ramallah’s hand at the negotiation table and to give a regional dimension for the Israel-Palestine talks, the Obama Administration is bringing in another strategy: Israeli-Syrian talks. These would serve both as a back-up measure to prevent radicalism and as an implicit pressure on both the Palestinians and Israelis. 

We then asked whether this wass a "waste of time", given both Damascus' ties with Tehran and the US intention to use Syrian-Israeli talks as a tool for success of the Israeli-Palestinian discussions. We left the door open for a regional settlement as long as Damascus can get deal beyond return of the Golan Heights to Syra.

Following US special envoy George Mitchell's visit to Damascus on 16 September, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will see Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem in New York on Monday. "A comprehensive peace has to include the Syria-Israel track. It’s absolutely essential that Syria be part of this process," Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeff Feltman told reporters.

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Iraq: Is This Really A US "Handover"? (Zacharia)

At a time when Washington policymakers would prefer to put the Iraq war behind them, the American mission in Baghdad is becoming more complicated as U.S. officials embark on one of the most complex power transfers in American history.

Many aspects of that handoff - to be completed in just 15 months, when all American troops are due to leave Iraq - have not yet begun or been decided upon, military officials and diplomats in Baghdad acknowledge.

Since the launch of New Dawn, as the military mission was re-branded on Sept. 1, the United States has entered a gray zone that has left many Iraqis --- and Americans --- puzzled about the U.S. role.

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The Latest from Iran (25 September): A Squeeze, a Meeting, and a Nuclear Signal

1115 GMT: Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Activists News Agency reports 1952 cases of rights violations in the last month, including firings, intimidation, and detentions.

1100 GMT: Economy Watch. The Iranian Labor News Agency offers the frank observation, "Some Iranian officials recently confirmed the existence of Mafia [organised crime] in the country’s import market. However the [extent of the] economic monopoly...still remains unknown."

Iranian officials have not announced the names of the "monopolists" but the report says "political activists" presume they are "connected with high powers". 

0650 GMT: And in Tehran. But will the Iranian political establishment back Ahmadinejad as he presses for the renewed talks on uranium enrichment?

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