There are so many overlooked aspects of big news stories worth remembering. Here’s an example of one. A Facebook note from an old Vermont connection, transplanted to Texas:

Hey Matt,

Jim

I interviewed Ray Hananiya for my radio story today about fallout from the Ft. Hood tragedy. He’s a Christian Arab American from Chicago, an Army veteran and he belongs to a group called the Association of Patriotic Arab Americans in the Military. Hananiya also a does a morning radio show in Chicago about Arab American issues. He told me when incidents like the one at Ft. Hood happen, people call into his show and ask, “why did your people do this?” Here’s another example of the kind of ignorance Hananiya says he’s run into: “I had a woman come up to me and say, ‘I can’t believe you abandoned your Christian faith to become an Arab.’”

UPDATE: More on fears of a backlash from BBC online.

Joe Klein gives Hillary Clinton good marks. On her Pakistan trip for example:

Press accounts either emphasized the embarrassment of a Secretary of State’s getting pummeled or fixed on Clinton’s undiplomatic bluntness. But they missed the point: her candor, her willingness to listen to and acknowledge criticism, had begun to undermine the prevailing Pakistani image of the U.S. as arrogant and bossy, more interested in having the Pakistani military fight its war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban than in having a true strategic partnership.

But he says the Secretary has struggled to get into synch with the White House. And overall progress on a host of the big issues has been limited.

There is a growing perception that the Administration’s policies have been thwarted across the board: Afghanistan is a mess, Iran seems ready to scuttle the nuclear negotiations, there’s no progress in the Middle East, the Syrians and North Koreans remain recalcitrant, the Russians have been offered a freebie on missile defense, and the Chinese have been given a pass on human rights with no apparent quid pro quos.

Daniel Levy explains the lack of progress on Israeli-Palestinian issues. Folks at the White House and State Dept. might want to pay attention when some like Levy – who’s been quite supportive of the Obama’s administration’s Mideast efforts – drops a kicker like this.

When will there be a serious American implementation plan for a two-state solution that recognizes the asymmetries of power and vital needs of each party and that is determinedly pursued by an administration which has, from day one, made Israeli-Palestinian peace a strategic American priority? On this question, we are all still waiting for an answer.

Mark Landler says the administration’s next step is to just try less.

The Times says Obama has given Karzai six months “to sideline his brother and reduce corruption or risk losing American support.”

Hamid Karzai says he’s the man to stop corruption in Afghanistan. And Afghan lawmaker Shukria Barakzai says she’s going to help him.

Hamid Karzai acknowledged that Afghanistan has a corruption problem, and said he will use “any means” to remove this “stain on our soil.” (video here)

How corrupt is Afghanistan? “It’s bad,” Sarah Chayes told me today. Chayes is part of Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s advisory group, and she’s been working on development projects in Kandahar for most of the last 8 years. Chayes said doing almost any official business in Afghanistan means paying off corrupt officials. The tape here is a bit dodgy (she spoke to me on a mobile phone from Kandahar), but she’s well worth listening to.  //7:56

Gideon Levy says it’s time to take off the kid gloves.

When Clinton returns to Washington, she should advocate a sharp policy change toward Israel. Israeli hearts can no longer be won with hope, promises of a better future or sweet talk, for this is no longer Israel’s language. For something to change, Israel must understand that perpetuating the status quo will exact a painful price.

If Obama is serious about this, something has to give. Time isn’t on the side of those advocating a two state solution. And he’s got to know that.

After Abdullah Abdullah bowed out of the messy Afghan election mess, President Obama called up Karzai today to congratulate him and Obama implied that he also gave the Afghan president an earful.

Finally getting the latest podcast up. We go back to the Middle East, via Washington, DC.

J Street’s coming out party fuels lots of controversy. I talked with the pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby group’s executive director, Jeremy Ben-Ami. Also, Jerusalem Post columnist, Isi Leibler; writer and activist, MJ Rosenberg; and Prof. Yossi Shain, expert on the Jewish diaspora.

And if you missed my radio story on US-supported security forces in the West Bank, now’s your chance!

Thanks for listening, folks. Please send tips, ideas, thoughtful criticism… and I will be in your eternal debt.

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