http://normblog.typepad.com/normblog/2007/12/yasmins-prize.html

A vile statement article of racist views? Is that how you view the YAB article?

I’m afraid thats not rational analysis but mud-slinging. It’s worse than Martin Amis because she hasn’t made any pronouncements on British Jews, generalised about any community or even attacked any particular organisation. She is saying that we should challenge and question the pernicious effect of any lobby group, and has frequently been critical of Muslim lobby groups like the MCB.

If Geras or yourself are going to call that article a vile bunch of anti-semitic views, then you contribute to the general downtrend of any sane discussion on the matter.

As thomas notes, just about every issue of politics (and that includes many matters of economic policy, as opposed to economic ivory tower-ism) is full of discussion that is biased and not particularly fact based. That’s why people who have some grasp of the facts are all the more needed in the debate to help policy be nudged towards some rational basis.

Specifically, he calls her for,

1.
Pretending to be brave for saying things that are a commonplace of bien pensant conversation.

2.
The allusion to the existence of her Jewish friends as an insurance policy against accusations of anti-Semitism. Do I have to point out how commonly this sort of thing appears in racist discourse? “I have loads of Irish friends but you have to admit…”, etc etc

3.
Being outraged that Labour Friends of Israel supports Israel and not, say, Paraguay or Fiji and is unlikely to make great efforts to put across the viewpoints of Hamas or Hezbollah.

4.
Suggesting that British Jews lobbying for a cause that they believe in and the media frenzy surrounding the Abrahams affair is a source of encouragement to Islamicist and fascist antisemites. Or, in other words, that it is the actions of Jews that are responsible for them being hated.

Yes, it’s all done in a sarcastic tone and free resort is had to parody but the analysis is there for anyone who wants to see it. And one more thing; of what what relevance is NG’s age to the quality of his arguments?.

—–

PS. What I have just written contains certain elements of parody and sarcasm too. I trust that’s not a problem and doesn’t breach the comments policy

You have to admire her daring, being willing to stick her neck out so. Even as I write Mossad agents are probably preparing a nasty surprise for the rug in her front room. That’s to punish poor Yasmin for saying things that are now two-a-penny in polite company.

I’m sorry Eamonn, but is that supposed to be critique? What did he actually critique? He just said the article was “displaying the neatest combination of stupidity and unpleasantness”. I think subtlety is lost on Geras in his old age… if he can’t distinguish between someone asking (silly) questions and someone trying to spread conspiracy theory smears.

Furthermore, I find it amusing that when Muslims are associated with conspiracy theories to Islamicise Britain (as Melanie Phillips is frequently liable to claim) or ‘Eurabia’, we don’t see that level of condemnation.

SAN FRANCISCO – THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY, a genre spy-thriller by Robert Spirko, is now in its second printing and was fourth on the best-seller list at Atlasbooks, Inc., a national book distributor. Ingram Books is the worldwide distributor.

Spirko, a financial and geo-political analyst who has given his advice to the National Security Council, turned his attention to the Middle East in 1987, after discovering several common elements related to the Middle East question. He wrote down his analysis, and when he was finished, he not only had a solution to the quagmire, he had a story to tell. THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY foreshadowed the Persian Gulf War by three years, and the resultant Iraq War followed by the Sept. 11 attack.

Spirko states, “The chief threat in the region I see right now is the threat to Saudi Arabia by Iran and Al Qaeda. If Al Qaeda were to overthrow the present royal family in Saudi Arabia, cutting off the oil supply to western nations including Japan and China, it would bring down entire world economies. France and Germany would be begging us to go to war to retake those oil wells. It would be World War III.”

“If such a scenario were to occur,” he reiterates, “France and the European economies would collapse in a matter of weeks.”

“Another looming concern is Iran which wants to develop nuclear weapons to couple with their Shahab 4, 5 & 6 missiles on the drawing boards which have a range to hit London, Israel, all of Europe, southern Russia and the United States. Also, the Iranian government has said it initially had 300 centrifuges to enrich uranium to weapons grade material. They have increased that to 3,000. They will soon increase that again to 10,000 centrifuges,” Spirko says. “They have the additional capacity to add another 20,000 centrifuges in mass production techniques that will enable them to produce at least seven nuclear bombs in about a year. Where did they get these centrifuges?”

Spirko answers that question by stating an Arab proverb, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“Simply put,” Spirko explains, “they probably got them from Saddam Hussein before the Iraq War started and were probably smuggled out of Iraq and into Iran just like he did his air force of 600 Soviet fighter planes. In other words, he gave them to his former enemy rather than let them be destroyed on the ground.”

“Why would he have done any differently with the 30,000 centrifuges he supposedly had on a decentralized basis inside Iraq before the war?” Spirko asks. “Isn’t it strange that Iran could come up with a nuclear weapons program in about six months to a year when it took the United States six years under the Manhattan Project with 5,000 of the world’s most brilliant scientists like Robert Oppenheimer, Niels Bohr, Seaborg, Einstein, Fermi, and others working on it?”

Another point Spirko makes on the Mideast is that, “It is time for the Israelis and Palestinians to return to the Peace Talks, resume where they left off and “freeze in place” the already-agreed-upon negotiating points,” Spirko says.

“And, it’s all related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict which I said back in 1987 was the crux of my book. It always has been, and always will be until it’s settled,” Spirko says. “That linkage is exactly what Osama Bin Laden stated in a taped message aired the weekend before the election in November of 2004. Whether you believe him or not is beside the point. That’s what’s he told us, and we’d better take that into account.”

The novel is a mass market paperback produced by Olive Grove Publishers, and can be purchased at area bookstores through Ingram Book Group, New Leaf Distribution, and Baker and Taylor, priced at $14.99, ISBN 0-9752508-0-9. THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY can also be ordered on the web at http://www.atlasbooks.com, or email orders from: order@bookmasters.com, or from Barnes & Nobles, Border’s, Dalton’s, efollett.com & Follett bookstores at colleges and universities, WaldenBooks, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com and other popular retail bookstores. Or, readers and store managers can call 1-800-BOOKLOG, or 800-247-6553 direct, to order.

SAN FRANCISCO – When it comes to spy novels and Middle East intrigue, after 16 spell-binding years, the gripping story behind the Middle East quagmire – its issues of nuclear weapons and the quest for a Palestinian State – is finally being told in a ground-breaking new book entitled, THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY.

Author Robert Spirko created the work in such a way that every reader in the world would understand all the intricate issues in the Middle East and how close the region actually came to the brink of nuclear Armageddon. THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY, a genre spy-thriller by Robert Spirko, was fourth on the best-seller list at Atlasbooks, Inc., a national book distributor. Ingram Books is the worldwide distributor.

Mr. Spirko has a unique way of holding the reader in his grasp as the plot of THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY unfolds. He literally takes you from your armchair and immerses you into the lifestyle of the Bedouin, the Israeli, the PLO and the mindset of the Middle-Easterner.

THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY is not just another spy-novel; it is the quintessential spy-thriller because it forces the reader to understand how both sides “think” and why that thinking ultimately led to repeated wars in the Middle East.

Spirko, a financial and geo-political analyst, turned his attention to the Middle East in 1987, after discovering several common elements related to the Middle East question. In working for peace, and after several frustrating years, he put down his analysis in writing and when he was finished, he not only had a solution to the quagmire, he had a story to tell.

But, nobody was listening.

Today, all that has changed, thanks to Olive Grove Publishers who decided to give his book a chance.

When the Palestinian question came to a festering crisis in 1990, he had already predicted several of the actual events before they occurred. For instance, Spirko predicted the Intifada and Persian Gulf War, missing the actual invasion date of Kuwait by only one week. He did this through spectacular supposition, analysis and prediction based on what he was “seeing” in the region.

When Spirko typed his manuscript, he set the work to fiction, about what he thought might occur soon in the Middle East involving weapons of mass destruction, nuclear proliferation, the Palestinian uprising before it occurred, and how the Palestinian question begged to be answered, little did he realize that every event he described in the book would eventually transpire.

His story of what was really happening behind the scenes in the Middle East is truly astounding and remarkable, and his contribution to the Camp David Peace Talks in 2000, formulated a solution to the Jerusalem question. When the BBC got wind of it, they termed it “as nothing short of brilliant” – Jerusalem becoming the simultaneous capitals of both Israel and Palestine in congruous or concentric zones.

Spirko originally copyrighted his book on October 20, 1987, in the U. S.
Library of Congress where intelligence agencies reviewed his work.

Today, finally, somebody is listening.

Spirko feels that both sides must return to the Peace Talks and resume where they left off and “freeze in place” the already-agreed-upon negotiating points.

“It’s like a marriage where both spouses storm away mad in an argument.
They don’t divorce and then try to resume their relationship, they come back together, settle their differences, and resume their marriage. It must be the same for the Middle East Peace talks,” Spirko says.

The story begins in Beirut, Lebanon, once a great financial capital of the Middle East, which lay in ruin, having been systematically blasted to rubble during 20 years of inexhaustible civil war and siege by Israel, the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah and Lebanese factions. Soon, the quest for a Palestinian State would be framed by these events; namely, the invasion of Kuwait by a neighboring rogue state, Iraq, with Saddam Hussein’s goal of seeking nuclear parity with Israel.

In Mr. Spirko’s story, Rick Waite, a forgotten UPI correspondent, and Adrienne Waters, a Pulitzer Prize journalist from the London Times, meet-up in Beirut with a PLO operative named Ahmed, who discovers a secret intelligence memo about a secret plan to destroy Israel.

In the ensuing chase to find the answer to this secret communiqué and what it means, a deadly race against time begins as the unlikely trio tries to halt the launch of a secret weapon from a hidden PLO base camp in the Syrian Desert. U. S. and British intelligence operatives have their own agenda, and attempt to stop whatever is going on to save the entire region from a nuclear holocaust.

Spirko weaves a tale of chilling duplicity and thrilling action, as the characters evade and devise a method to announce the discovery of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles to the rest of the world – all while United Nations’ delegates bicker endlessly.

An executive at BookMasters, Inc., says, “The book is absolutely stunning in the manner in which Mr. Spirko, tells his tale. He is truly a master as an analyst, and it’s totally unlike anything else we’ve ever read in a spy-thriller. It keeps you turning pages and won’t let you quit – until the very end. And, what an ending it is! If you crave twisting plots, thrilling spy-action and intriguing characters, then this is the book for you.”

Spirko, whose own background includes a stint in the U. S. Air Force and has given his advice to the National Security Council in Washington, D. C., has a degree in journalism and knows first-hand about the newsroom and what it takes to be an intelligence field agent. His knowledge of the trade makes the story real, daunting, and strikingly similar to “The Year of Living Dangerously.”

“THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY drips with reality,” quips a book reviewer from Olive Grove Publishers. “If books were rated by Siskel & Roeper, it would be given a two-thumbs up.”

Not since, Casablanca, do characters as earthy as Rick Waite, or as beautifully mysterious as London Times reporter, Adrienne Waters, or as desperate as PLO operative, Ahmed, bring fresh characters to a story that will be remembered by readers for a long time.

The novel is a mass market paperback produced by Olive Grove Publishers, and can be purchased at area bookstores through Ingram Book Group, New Leaf Distribution, and Baker and Taylor, priced at $14.99, ISBN 0-9752508-0-9. THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY can also be ordered on the web at http://www.atlasbooks.com, or email orders from: order@bookmasters.com, or from Barnes & Nobles, Border’s, Dalton’s, efollett.com & Follett bookstores at colleges and universities, WaldenBooks, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com and other popular retail bookstores. Or, readers and store managers can call 1-800-BOOKLOG, or 800-247-6553 direct, to order.

For readers who want to know what was really going on in the Middle East prior to the Persian Gulf War, Sept. 11th, and Iraq War, THE PALESTINE CONSPIRACY, is a must read.

It helps greatly to understand how foreign policy differs from domestic politics, which should put Chris at an advantage as all roads lead to realpolitik and, more recently, game theory, and for the Middle East its also crucial to review and understand how and why US foreign policy towards Israel altered between the late 40s and mid-late 50s in response to the rise of Nasserite Arab Socialism. There isn’t much in the current conflict that isn’t an extension of cold war politics.

When you start everything is mixed, when you end it is to your satisfaction, for you will and must continue the process until you reach that point.

The problem with any prejudice is that it focusses on the outcome, rather than the process, so that we become limited by our preconceptions whether or not the outcome of the practice coaligns with the expectations we believed it would result in at the start.

I’d continue to tell you what conclusions I have come to from my own personal analysis of the problems of the Middle East, but that would enable others to forgo that process themselves and make categoric assumptions about what I believe. Sometimes it seems easier to jump to conclusions, just because we want to avoid the tribulations that the road leads us through.

Scoop hat tips Norm Geras, who is on the same sarcastic trip: Oh look Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is trying to pretend she’s not anti-semitic by mentioning she has Jewish friends. Har har!. I thought this guy was supposed to be an incisive academic?

For the record, I thought YAB’s article was lame… and Leon (at Pickled Politics) summed up my own thoughts. So yeah, it’s a silly line to go down… but neither sides help by absurdly hyper-ventilating every time.