Headlines:

• Brzezinski: US Must Stop Following Israel "Like a Stupid Mule"
• Egypt Endorses Dodgy Constitution with Islamic Dressing
• Palestinians Win UN Vote for a Non-Existent State
• Panetta: Post-2014 Afghan Effort to be Substantial

Details:

Brzezinski: US Must Stop Following Israel "Like a Stupid Mule":

Leading US strategist Zbigniew Brzezinski - unofficial dean of the realist school of American foreign policy experts - has drawn an unflattering picture of US-Israel relations. In a speech to the National Iranian American Council, Brzezinksi said, "I don't think there is an implicit obligation for the United States to follow like a stupid mule whatever the Israelis do. If they decide to start a war, simply on the assumption that we'll automatically be drawn into it, I think it is the obligation of friendship to say, ‘you're not going to be making national decision for us.' I think that the United States has the right to have its own national security policy." By denying any US "obligation" to "follow like a stupid mule whatever the Israelis do," Brzezinski accurately implied that this is exactly what the US has been doing up until now. And by plaintively opining that "the United States has the right to have its own national security policy," the former National Security Adviser underlined the fact that since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, who secretly went to war with Ben Gurion in a doomed effort to abort the Israeli nuclear weapons program, the US has not enjoyed that right. Brzezinski's assertion that the US is being led by the nose like a stupid mule by the Israelis is perhaps the most candid statement of its kind ever uttered in public by a high-level US strategist. Brzezinski's remarks reflect the mainstreaming of the arguments presented by leading US political scientists Walt and Mearsheimer in their book The Israel Lobby.

Egypt Endorses Dodgy Constitution with Islamic Dressing:

Egypt's Islamist-run assembly has backed a draft constitution, including a measure keeping sharia, or Islamic law, as the main source of legislation. The draft will now be sent to President Mohammed Morsi, who is expected to call a referendum on the issue. The move comes after the constitutional court said it would rule on Sunday whether to dissolve the assembly. Egypt's judiciary is in a stand-off with the president after he granted himself sweeping new powers. Egypt has been gripped by protests since the decree was issued last week - more demonstrations are planned for later on Friday. Mr. Morsi says his decree should only apply for as short a time as possible. Liberal, left-wing and Christian members of the constitutional assembly boycotted the vote, accusing the Islamists of trying to impose their vision. The assembly backed all the 234 articles of the draft after a marathon session that began on Thursday and continued through the night. Its aim was clearly to pre-empt any challenge by the courts, which are in a confrontation with Mr. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood which backs him, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo. According to Egyptian state TV, the articles passed stipulate that Islam is the religion of the state, and the principles of sharia are the "main source of legislation". This is unchanged from the previous constitution under Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled as president last year. Salafists and some members of the Muslim Brotherhood failed to have "principles" replaced by "rules". The draft also says that Christianity and Judaism will be the "main source of legislation" for Egyptian Christians and Jews, state TV reported. The assembly also adopted a new article that al-Azhar mosque and university, authorities on Sunni Muslim jurisprudence, must be consulted on "matters related to sharia". The president will be limited to two four-year terms of office.

Palestinians Win UN Vote for a Non-Existent State:

The Palestinians won an overwhelming diplomatic victory at the UN on Thursday after 138 out of 193 member states voted to upgrade their status at the global body, sending one of the strongest signals yet in favour of an independent Palestinian state. Speaking before the vote at the UN General Assembly, Mahmoud Abbas, the veteran Palestinian leader, described the resolution as the "birth certificate" of the Palestinian state. He said Palestine was in "desperate need of peace" and insisted that the UN move was intended "to launch a final serious attempt to achieve peace" with Israel. The resolution will raise the status of the Palestinian delegation from a non-member observer "entity" to that of a non-member observer "state". It falls short of full UN membership and most analysts say it is unlikely to affect the balance of power between Israel and the Palestinians in the near future. Palestinian officials argue, however, that the upgrade will allow them to join other UN agencies as well as the International Criminal Court - a prospect that has alarmed Israel and that may give the Palestinians greater political leverage. They hope that Thursday's vote will bolster their position in negotiations with Israel and strengthen the increasingly fragile political position of Mr. Abbas himself. One of the few positive surprises for Israel came in the form of an abstention vote from Britain, where popular opinion is seen as particularly supportive of the Palestinian cause. Thursday's vote was timed to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the historic UN vote to partition British-ruled Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state.

Panetta: Post-2014 Afghan Effort to be Substantial:

The U.S. intends to wage a counterterrorism campaign inside Afghanistan even after the main U.S. combat force leaves in 2014 in order to prevent al-Qaida from fulfilling its ambition to re-establish a sanctuary there, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday. Panetta told a Pentagon news conference that the U.S. should have an "enduring presence" in Afghanistan to pursue the counterterrorism effort, and to train and advise Afghan forces. Panetta said al-Qaida poses a continuing challenge in Afghanistan, even though it currently has only an estimated 100 fighters in the country and has suffered many setbacks since the U.S-led invasion in 2001. "The fact is that they continue to show up," Panetta said, adding that intelligence indicates that they are looking for ways to strengthen their position and influence in Afghanistan. Last week Panetta said al-Qaida and affiliated terrorist groups in Pakistan see the rugged reaches of northeastern Afghanistan - especially the provinces of Kunar and Nuristan - as a viable safe haven. He vowed not to permit them to regain that sanctuary. In his remarks Thursday, Panetta would not say how many American troops he thinks will be needed to conduct the counterterrorism mission - nor did he mention a time period. He said the size of the counterterrorism force is now under discussion. The U.S. currently has about 66,000 troops in Afghanistan. The Obama administration is considering how many should remain after 2014, with some officials favoring a figure of about 10,000.

Abu Hashim