Posted on 04/05/2005 8:31:47 PM PDT by Zivasmate
Backing seen weakening for Abbas By Charles A. Radin and Sa'id Ghazali, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent | April 5, 2005
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is being hailed internationally for his peacemaking efforts with Israel, is failing on virtually every important domestic front and is rapidly losing support in the territory he governs, Palestinian and Israeli officials, activists, and analysts say.
Violence has surged in the West Bank. Firing by Al Aqsa Brigades gunmen at Abbas' own headquarters last week was just the most widely publicized of numerous recent incidents in which militants disrupted public order and scorned efforts by members of Abbas' administration to rein them in. The same day, other gunmen torched a Palestinian Authority checkpoint in Tulkarem. Abbas' interior minister was fired on recently by Al Aqsa gunmen in Jenin.
Numerous attempts to disarm the gunmen have failed. Abbas's programs for injecting new blood into stagnant ministries and getting rid of ineffective and corrupt officials are stalled. And Abbas -- generally known by the nickname Abu Mazen -- is incurring deepening enmity both from the Palestinian establishment, which is resisting him at every turn, and from the young guard of the ruling Fatah movement, whose members believe he is not fulfilling his principal commitments.
''Abu Mazen promised us to unify the security forces, to fix the judiciary system, to arrest those involved in corruption and to put them on trial," said Issa Qaraqei, the West Bank leader of the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, which supports Palestinians being held in Israeli jails on charges ranging from terrorism to engaging in banned political activity.
Qaraqei and many of the prisoners are members of the Fatah young guard -- middle-aged men who generally were excluded from power under the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
how can it be expected that a peaceful and reasonable person(not that abbas is necessarily) can govern a pack of rabid animals ?
Hmmm....
"how can it be expected that a peaceful and reasonable person(not that abbas is necessarily) can govern a pack of rabid animals ?"
I think that's a question you should pose to our president.
"The MSM hates Abbas and many in the PLO hate him.
Hmmm...."
What is the MSM looking for? Is he too "moderate?"
i have many questions i would love to pose to our president.
"i have many questions i would love to pose to our president."
Such as?
"So, how's that 'limited government' thingie you promised coming along? Are exploding spending levels and record deficits part of that plan?"
In all fairness, he's had to fight a war which costs big bucks, he did give everyone a tax cut, which helped revive the economy 3 years ago. And he did promise alsmost no-growth spending in next year's budget.
Bush's so-called "tax cuts" are simply more borrowing piled on the national debt, to be repaid later (with a lot of interest tacked on) by someone else, because he simply refuses to do anything about out-of-control spending.
And "no-growth" spending in a $2.57 TRILLION budget with vastly-increased spending and more record deficits built in? Don't make me laugh.
Bush is furthering the coming national bankruptcy as fast as he possibly can. He's just another Big Government cheap politician.
New headline: "Brainwashed Mindless Ghoulish Masses Unhappy with New Leadership Advocating Peace"
The MSM wants to see Abbas fail, they want to see the PLO terrorists in charge and they want to see Bush and Sharon fail.
May be propaganda.
"Bush is furthering the coming national bankruptcy as fast as he possibly can. He's just another Big Government cheap politician."
I'll give it one more try. So far, the deficit has not hurt us, the economy is growing, we are about to cut our war expenses, interest rates are still relatively low, and the guy is doing some real governing, instead of acting like a paper pusher and posing often before the TV cameras, as most presidents do.
I also think he will nominate conservative judges, and will not back off.
"The MSM wants to see Abbas fail, they want to see the PLO terrorists in charge and they want to see Bush and Sharon fail."
Why? Is it because they need something more exciting to write about or because they hate America and Israel to the point that they want to see terrorists succeed?
This is really not the thread for it.
BTW it is exactly the WOT that has increased the president's discretionary budget at a higher rate than inflation plus population growth.
If you really want to complain and be accurate at the same time, there's the president's new prescription drug plan that I believe we start paying for in 2006.
how did a goober like him manage to get such a beautiful lady as Laura to marry him.
Maybe he's not as big a goober as you think. This "goober" has won 4 straight elections. As to your question, maybe you should ask Laura.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.