Word: restraining
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Saddam Hussein struck at Israel in 1991 precisely because he wanted to undermine the U.S.-led alliance and turn the Gulf War into a religious war. Back then, the Israeli leadership was wise enough to restrain itself, knowing full well that the U.S. would protect Israel and her interests. The same will be true this time around if (God forbid) there is another Persian Gulf War. Why should Israel risk an apocalyptic Arab-Israeli war for the sake of attacking Iraq when the U.S. is willing and better able to act on Israel’s behalf...
...voted against Arafat include a wide range of groupings within Fatah, each with its own agenda. But their open challenge to their leader - unthinkable even a year ago - was the surest sign yet of his waning political authority. It's no longer a question of whether Arafat can restrain Hamas and other radicals; he's no longer able to bend even his own organization to his will. And while they'll rally behind their leader in his hour of need, they're also making clear that they're forging their own political path rather than awaiting his orders...
...With Sharon openly pushing for exiling Arafat, the Israelis are signaling that the name "Operation Matter of Time" was a carefully chosen message. While Washington's need for allies on the eve of an Iraq operation may restrain Sharon for now, there's a countervailing pressure in the need to look tougher-on-Arafat than his arch-rival in the Likud Party primary race, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And once a U.S. invasion of Iraq gets underway and Palestinian attacks on Israelis continue, the chances of finding Arafat in Ramallah diminish exponentially...
Conspiracy buffs might imagine a family intrigue with George H.W. as the master puppeteer, pulling the strings on his former Administration members Brent Scowcroft, Larry Eagleburger, James Baker and Colin Powell to get the wayward son to restrain his war preparations and tough talk. But the reality has no strings. All those men have gone public with cautionary suggestions for the current President, but the former President did not talk to any of them or review their texts before they wrote and broadcast. Since they left the White House, the elder Bush has treated them as senior statesmen with...
...France and Saudi Arabia have strongly opposed the U.S. launching a war for regime change, but they conspicuously backed the Bush Administration's position at the UN - Saddam must submit immediately to inspections, or else. This was a clear message to Baghdad that nobody would restrain the U.S. if Iraq remains outside of the law on weapons of mass destruction. But whereas the hawks in Washington may have been hoping that Saddam makes their day by rejecting any such ultimatum, most of the allies that signed on to the U.S. position at the UN in recent days have clearly been...