By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

Arab media appalled over Freeman debacle

Even relatively liberal Arab newspapers are appalled at the inside-the-beltway fight that caused Charles Freeman, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, to withdraw as newly named chairman of the National Intelligence Council. Like Freeman himself, Arab media blame the pro-Israel lobby and worry that this is a sign that the Obama administration, like its predecessor, will be afraid to challenge Israeli policies. Lebanon's Daily Star editorializes:

The unjustifiable character assassination succeeded in prompting Freeman to resign from his post—and in depriving Obama of the advice of a man who has shown a realistic understanding of the Arab world. But it did not make Israel or America any safer.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former President George W. Bush has been sentenced to three years in prison. Muntandher al-Zaidi also called Bush a "dog" during the ex-president's December 14 joint news conference in Baghdad with Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki, and the defendant's family shouted the same epithet at judges following the sentencing. Muntandher says he was tortured in custody. The Qatar-based satellite TV station Al Jazeera reports:

The journalist, who became a hero to many Iraqis after the December 14 incident, arrived at the court under a heavy police escort. Asked if he was innocent, al-Zaidi responded: "Yes, my reaction was natural, just like any Iraqi (would have done)." After the verdict on Thursday, al-Zaidi's 25-strong defense team emerged from the courtroom to scenes of chaos. Several family members screamed: "It's an American court ... sons of dogs."

Israel now considers Iran to have "crossed the technological threshold" toward building a nuclear weapon, in the words of Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, head of Israeli military intelligence, who warned that U.S. and European diplomatic overtures to Iran will very likely backfire. The Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post reports:

Iran's attainment of nuclear military capability is now a matter of "incorporating the goal of producing an atomic bomb into its strategy," OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin told the cabinet on Sunday.

"Iran is continuing to amass hundreds of kilograms of low-enriched uranium, and it hopes to exploit the dialogue with the West and Washington to advance toward the production of an atomic bomb," he said.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

Israel's recent war in Gaza has not only failed to halt rocket fire on Israel's southern cities, but it has also strengthened Hamas in the West Bank at the expense of the U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority. A key casualty of the war is the Palestinian Authority's prime minister, who resigned. Salam Fayad, a former World Bank executive and political independent, had been crucial to U.S. hopes for rekindling the peace process. Fayad said he resigned to clear the way for a national unity government between Hamas, which controls Gaza, and Fatah, which controls the PA in the West Bank. The PA was obliged by Palestinian and pan-Arab public opinion to seek a unity government after the war cast it in the image of a collaborator while raising Hamas up as the Palestinian symbol of resistance. The Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reports on a poll showing the shift:

The survey said [Hamas Prime Minister Ismail] Haniyeh would garner 47 percent support, beating [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas with 45 percent, if a presidential election was held today. Three months ago, Abbas received 48 percent and Haniyeh 38 percent.

The face-to-face poll of 1,270 people by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research was conducted on March 5-7 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as the factions tried to reach agreement on a unity government with Egyptian mediation.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

An "ugly battle" for power and influence in Iraq is expected to begin after the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by August 2010, President Obama's announced target date, writes Tariq Alhomayed, editor in chief of the influential pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Alawsat. Unless Iraq's ethnic factions can come together in the name of national unity, the power vacuum left in the country by the U.S. drawdown will likely be filled by Iran or, possibly, by other neighbors, Syria or Turkey, Alhomayed writes.

There must be more European, American and Arab communication with Iraq on all levels so that Baghdad will have choices other than Iran. Moreover, the Iraqis, Americans and Arabs must pay attention to the danger of the imminent period; it will be equivalent to a battle for the sake of influence and filling the power vacuum in Iraq. There is no doubt that it will be a difficult and ugly battle.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

In its war of words with Israel, which has heated up since last week's test of an Iranian nuclear power plant, a top Iranian military official warned that an Israeli attack will be met with missiles that can hit "all Israeli land." This claim is considered 100 percent credible by Israeli defense experts, but they are divided about the extent of Iran's ability to arm its long-range missiles with chemical or biological warheads. The Dubai-based Al Arabiya satellite TV station reports:

"Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran has missiles with the range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles), and based on that all Israeli land including that regime's nuclear facilities are in the range of our missile capabilities," the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, said.

"The doctrine of our system is defensive, but in the case of any action by enemies, including the Zionist regime, we will respond firmly using missiles and deter attacks," he said in comments carried by the ISNA news agency.

By Larry Derfner, Mideast Watch

When he takes office as prime minister, very likely in the next few weeks, Binyamin Netanyahu would like to have a party flanking him to the left in a national unity government, but the centrist Kadima party is balking because Netanyahu will not commit to negotiations toward a Palestinian state, while the Labor Party, which did extremely poorly in the February 10 election, fears extinction if it serves as the fig leaf for a right-wing, Netanyahu-led coalition. However, there are people within Kadima and Labor who want to join the government, so Netanyahu isn't giving up on his goal. He is focusing on recruiting Ehud Barak, a former Labor prime minister, in particular. The Jerusalem Post reports: