SNAFU!!!... or is it?

It has been quite a while since my last post. Again, it is not that there are no news, it is simply that there are very few news worth reporting that constitute a significant change. In Israel corruption is on the rise, in Syria elections are forthcoming (I will let you guess the name of the next president) and in Egypt Gamal Mubarak is getting married while reforms are on hold (thank you left wing Iraq war opposition for explaining to the Bush administration Mubark Sr. position on the futility of fighting for democracy in the Middle East). And Iran? IAEA's Muhammad Al-Baredai predicts a new Shia bomb within 3 to 8 years to threaten Israel; but more importantly some Sunni governments...

But not all is bleak, for in Lebanon things show some improvment, with the new Al-Qaeda branch called Fatah -al-Islam being targeted by the Lebanese army. This is good. Good because for the first time the Lebanese government is doing something against armed militias in its territory. It is a further symbol of Hezbollah losing grip after the July war. Fatah Al-Islam has been operating from within Palestinian camps supported by Hezbollah due to its support for Palestinians vis-a-vis Israel. But now with Hezbollah weakened, both it and the Palestinians are pulling away from it altogether. Because with legitimacy in the balance and intl. control things are harder for the Shia militia. Hopefully the world will support Lebanon's attempt to re-assert its sovereignty and not fail it in the name of some misguided principles or information.