Saturday, June 28, 2008

Dramatic pause

While the relief of eased regional tensions is welcome, signs point to an unprecedented upheaval and possible catastrophe ahead

Hassan Nafaa
(professor of political science at Cairo University)
Al-Ahram Weekly

"Recent weeks have brought a series of unexpected and exciting developments that may just form a turning point in the mode of interactions this region has experienced for so long. Suddenly, after sharp and intensifying polarisations that seemed at times to be propelling the region towards an immanent inferno, the blackened skies have begun to clear.......

......I suggest two readings of the situation. The first is optimistic and holds that all parties concerned have come to the conclusion that it is impossible for any of the rival camps to gain a victory by force in any of the crisis zones and, therefore, compromise solutions are inevitable. The second reading is the pessimistic one. It holds that opportunities for compromise have long since ended and that recent developments signify only the calm that precedes the inevitable storm, in this case one of cataclysmic proportions.

Regretfully, I tend towards the second reading for several reasons......."

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