1/09/2005
And Mohammed shall lead....
Well not quite, but he does contribute a great turn of phrase.
"I believe he is the only one capable of taking us to the safe side of this ocean of conflict," Mohammed Juma
It appears the Palestinians have chosen Mahmoud Abbas aka Abu Mazin to lead them. In their first election in nine years, the Palestinians have overwhelmingly gone for a man that the thugs of Hammas appear to dislike to a great degree, which is to anyone else a great recommendation. Many are hopeful and glad there is an election but are boycotting the election none the less. One of the best quotes is by the 73 year old Ahmad Darawish
"A people who don't elect their leaders and rulers freely are slaves or even worse,".
The elections even appear to be cleanly run with no deaths reported in connection with the voting, and getting the stamp of approval of the Jordanian observers as well as former US President Jimmy Carter.
The results are reported as 66-70% vote capture for the presumptive President elect, and that is in the eyes of regional on lookers enough to give him a large degree of legitimacy, a mandate some would say. I wish him, Palestine, Israel, and all their people the best, peace through superior fire power only works if you have the firepower to kill all your enemies.
The question remains though:
If the Israeli's and Palestinians can put aside their mostly religious squabbling to accomplish what amounts to the creation of a monument to democracy, why can't they do it if not every day, most of them?
