Monday
Jun082009
Video: Iran-First or Palestine-First? A Turning Point Debate on CNN
Monday, June 8, 2009 at 8:27
Usually we don't feature panel discussions on political chat shows, especially when they have an "octo-wall" of speakers. Yesterday, however, there was a turn of debate on CNN's GPS which may be symbolic of the shift in US foreign policy.
This was a clash of "Iran-first" vs. "Palestine-first" in the US approach towards Israel. And Palestine-first won, 16 hands down.
The episode began when the Israeli historian and commentator Benny Morris put forth the case for focusing on a purported Iranian nuclear weapons programme. Then the twist: Morris' assertions were taken apart by Juan Cole, and with only one Israeli on the octo-wall of 7 different nationalities and perspectives, the notion that the issue of Palestine had to be set aside --- especially to threaten economic sanctions or even military action against Iran --- was roundly dismissed. Useful contributions from Hanan Ashrawi, Maziar Bahari, Saad Ibrahim, and Rami Khouri ensured that both the Palestine aspect and the wider aims of President Obama's Cairo speech replaced Tehran as the centre of attention:
This was a clash of "Iran-first" vs. "Palestine-first" in the US approach towards Israel. And Palestine-first won, 16 hands down.
The episode began when the Israeli historian and commentator Benny Morris put forth the case for focusing on a purported Iranian nuclear weapons programme. Then the twist: Morris' assertions were taken apart by Juan Cole, and with only one Israeli on the octo-wall of 7 different nationalities and perspectives, the notion that the issue of Palestine had to be set aside --- especially to threaten economic sanctions or even military action against Iran --- was roundly dismissed. Useful contributions from Hanan Ashrawi, Maziar Bahari, Saad Ibrahim, and Rami Khouri ensured that both the Palestine aspect and the wider aims of President Obama's Cairo speech replaced Tehran as the centre of attention: