Somewhere on A1A...

Friday, May 30, 2003


Contingency Planning

During a career as a Navy pilot, I spent untold hours planning and training for contingencies. We made detailed plans for all kinds of possibilities, the great majority of which never required action. Most of my career was involved in one way, or another, in contingency planning. The manpower involved... including think tanks, Pentagon civilians, Congress, Congressional Staffs, numerous Commissions, Service Colleges, War Colleges, University studies, and the National Security Staff ... is mind-boggling, and that’s even before you include the front-line forces. Possible scenarios are identified and analyzed to death by thousands of people, even some smart liberals. Open, free debate, and thinking outside the box was encouraged, even demanded. Every conceivable perspective deserved thought and effort.

Through the years of the cold war, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of contingencies were studied, planned and gamed. Then the results were studied, debated, and adjustments were made and it was gamed again. Tommy Franks had the benefit of twenty years of planning, gaming and Lessons Learned to help him in putting together his campaign plan for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He obviously had a great education and used the information well.

Is anyone at State involved in similar exercises? Or are they purely in a react mode? Sometimes it seems that schmooze is their only plan. Is it the Department of Defense’s problem that inadequate planning for the diplomatic phase has caused problems in post-war Iraq? I don't think so. Any blame for that should rest entirely with the Department of State. Forward thinking seems to be entirely lacking at Foggy Bottom.

There is one contingency, in particular, that I would like to see debated, studied, gamed and planned. The scenario is based on one basic condition. The issue involved affects millions of lives around the world. At the very least, an examination of this possibility could impact every decision made by every American official involved and it will likely impact the world's thinking. With all the lives and national treasure already affected by conditions, certainly this contingency deserves some consideration. Someone ouhgt to be considering the possibility. The condition...? What if the Arabs are lying? What if they don’t want peace with Israel? What if their actions of the past 55 years really do mean that the destruction of Israel is their goal?

Let’s see that possibility debated, examined, studied, and analyzed. Nothing else has worked to bring peace to the region, so let’s put some smart people to work on the possibility that some of the problems might be caused by the Arabs' lack of sincerity in their desire for peace with Israel. What is there to lose?

Shabbat Shalom.



Thursday, May 29, 2003


Road Map

Creating a second palestinian state, the basic principle of the Road Map, is something I can agree with ONLY if the Arabs prove they want peace. The profound changes necessary in the Arab culture to live in peace with Israel are not likely to come about. For that reason, the Road Map is likely just a short-lived slogan. As the chance for peace grows nearer, the Arabs will see it as weakness and will almost certainly respond with even more violence, once again destroying, temporarily, the hope for peace. Then the cycle will continue, Israel and the west will tire of the violence and decide that "something must be done." Whatever group of leaders is then in charge will assume that they are smarter and more capable than anyone preceding them and the EUnuchs with some US pressure will demand more concessions from the Israelis.

Meanwhile, the Arabs, the perpetual victims and perpetrators of the violence, will continue their work to drive the Jews from Israel. They've taught their populations for almost 2 generations that driving the Jews into the sea will restore their pride. But, we ignore it. That we continue to ignore it instead of demanding a halt to their incessant incitement of hatred worries me. That we will impose the Road Map's solution despite Arab failures to meet theri obligations terrifies me. Why is it so difficult to expect decent behavior of the Arabs? Why do we expect superlative behavior of the Israelis?

Yashiko Sagamori has it right:

Of course, Ariel Sharon’s consent to the rape is conditional on the Arab terrorist Abbas’ fight against Arab terrorism. However, the terms “fight” and “terrorism” remain to be defined and, therefore, are open to interpretation. The interpretation, most likely, will come from the US State Department. The US State Department, most likely, will heed to the Arab rhetoric, as it has always done, and take the side of Arab terrorists saying they are fighting Arab terrorism. Or would have fought it had Israel not been an obstacle, or will fight it as soon as Israel meets some very important conditions. This is perfectly consistent: Arabs have been saying all along that their terrorism against Israel is Israel’s own fault. Besides, nobody expects them to go for an A plus; C minus is still a passing grade, and, considering that even after they become a full-fledged member of the United Nations they will still remain a terrorist organization, any excuse, no matter how flimsy, will be enough for them to avoid an F. Of course, a few Jews will be blown to bits now and then by an Arab who hates Jews so much that he’ll gladly blow himself to bits in order to kill them, but if such is the price of peace in the Middle East, then Israel, no questions about it, will have to pay it.
Will the Road Map lead anyone to peace? Sadly, no it won't. Unless the Arabs can agree with the Israelis on the final destination the map is useless. I don't, for even a second, believe that the Arab vision of peace is the same as the American vision or the Israeli vision, or the European vision. But the Arabs know how to talk the game and we just buy their talk and ignore the way they act.

With the US State Department interpreting the sincerity and effectiveness of Arab actions in fighting terrorism, there is little doubt that we'll accept anything the Arabs say. I can only hope the President has the fortitude to tell them they are wrong. Is that just another naive hope?

More on the Road Trap and its consequences on America's National Security.



Wednesday, May 28, 2003


Let them Earn It

If there is to be a second palestinian state, we should not pay another dime for it. At least Six Billion Dollars of our tax money has been squandered by the Arabs. That's right we've given the Arabs $6,000,000,000 Capital B illion. Throw in what the Eunuchs and Saddam and the non-refugee Arabs have contributed, and there is more than enough to build a paradise in Jenin, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Gaza, and everywhere else they live. That is if you throw the will to do it into the mix.

The Arabs have no will to build anything in Judea Samaria or Gaza, they only have the will to murder the Jews who live there and the will to drive the Jews from their midst. I hear from the Arabs that they live with shame and humiliation every day, yet they refuse to accept that they've humiliated themselves and continue to do so, by subjecting millions of their own people to a miserable poverty stricken life. They've built nothing with what they have and what they’ve been given and can only talk about taking more from the Jews. They celebrate murders of Americans, and cheer American losses in combat. How do we respond? By giving them more freaking money! Fifty Million this time. It's outrageous. They don't deserve another dime. And they don’t deserve any of the legitimacy and credibility that we give them.

The Arabs have opposed every effort at peace for more than 55 years. Most Arabs have never backed off from their stance that Israel has no right to exist. The Arab block constantly adn continuously work against Israel and the United States in the United Nations. Yet we still pay them? It's insanity, plain and simple insanity.

We continue to give them money, and believe their rhetoric and demand more from our friends in Israel, and they continue to murder us and curse us. Does anyone really think that $6Billion more will change things? The Arabs have figured out that terrorism works. Unlike us, they look at our actions not our words.

We bluster on and on about fighting a worldwide War on Terrorism, while at the same time we continue rewarding the PLO for their terror. We appease Arafat, his terrorists and the rest of the Arabs with more payments and more legitimacy, and more pressure on Israel. We talk loudly and carry a twig when and where the Arabs are concerned. We believe their lies and ignore their actions. They ignore our speech and learn from our actions. Who are the crazy ones? We believe their blustering lies about their desire for peace while they blow up more kids and continue to preach and teach hate. We pay the price in money and lives only to see peace prospects disappear. And how do we react? We offer to pay them more? Who are the crazy ones?

The more they kill the more money they get. Saddam used to pay them, Saudi princes pay them, The EUnuchs pay them, and we Americans pay them. Hell, America even pressured Israel to pay them for the privilege of having her citizens murdered. The more htey kill the more hte world demands fo Israel. The closer the two sides seemingly come to a settlement for peace, [I say seemingly because the Arabs don't want peace,] the more Jews get killed, the more violence the Arabs use. And why not? We've shown them time after time that terror works works. We keep proving to them that violence brings more money and more concessions. Would someone at State PLEASEwake up and smell the freaking roses. Why would anyone expect a different outcome this time?

The naivety of my hope that this President would finally put a stop to the nonsense has been exposed.
If you can stomach getting irritated some more then go see this FrontPage article by Michael Harty.

If the Palestinian clamoring for the death of America is not enough to give us pause in our politically correct effort at transmuting their victim hood into statehood, then consider what kind of state would arise from such a nation of adolescents. A nation’s government spawns from the collective character of its people. The reason Islamic populations are run by bureaucratic thugs and princely despots isn’t because of America, it’s because the Arab-Islamic culture is amenable to tyranny. Remorseless indifference to another’s liberty has been their way since the first forced conversions to Islam by the conquering Arabians centuries ago. Under the emperor’s new clothes lurk human shields, the murder of apostates, clitoridectomies, forced marriages, and harsh physical punishments for blasphemy and adultery to name a few. The minaret dictates what clothes can be worn, what books can be read, what prayers can be said. In the Palestinian controlled areas, girls suspected of breaking moral codes or dishonoring the family are murdered. Hordes of men with guns blazing into the air call for the death of America, while the most dangerous times on the streets for ‘unbelievers’ is just after Friday ‘prayers’. When Palestinians are granted power, all their inherent Islamic ethnocentrism will be put into practice, and just as in other Muslim nations, there will be religious intolerance, social repression, political corruption, cultural prevarication and the perversion of truth. Is this the type of state we help to create?



Terrorism Pays

As much as I don't like the idea of the Bush Administration getting too cozy with the far right wing, I do wish he'd listen to Cal Thomas today. I disagree with Cal Thomas more than I agree with him, but he's right about this.
We are on the verge of losing all credibility in our War on Terror. We may earn some points with the EUnuchs, but we'll be demonstrating in no uncertain terms to terrorists everywhere that Terrorism Pays.

A dangerous game is being played by the U.S. State Department, extending over several administrations. Ignoring, or downplaying, Palestinians terrorist acts and choosing to pressure Israel into making dangerous concessions (while accepting empty and unfulfilled promises from Israel's mortal enemies), American officials have laid the groundwork for Israel's destruction on the installment plan.
The President may be apying debts to the UK by addressing the problem, but I'd feel a whole lot better if, FOR ONCE, the US would articulate the possibility of consequences in the event of more Arab broken promises. Throughout the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Arabs have not conceded anything. Their promises have always been empty from the start. The language is never backed up with action. Meanwhile Israel continues to offer concessions with nothing but hatred and murder in return.

Once again, the burden should be entirely upon the Arabs to show that they actually want to live in peace with a secure Israel. Until that is proven nothing should be conceded.


Tuesday, May 27, 2003


Reformer or Foil Hatter?

Thanks to those who pointed out the background of Francisco J. Gil-White. This guy's web site makes you wonder about the quality of the faculty at our Universities, and about what is being taught. As editor of this online journal, there's more evidence of his professionalism. You be the judge.



Sunday, May 25, 2003


From a Reformed palestinian Supporter
Francisco J. Gil-White is Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and a Fellow at the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict (SACSEC), at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an anthropologist and psychologist specializing in ethnicity and the psychology of ethnic conflict. Here is the first article of a series I'll be following with interest:

Here is what I used to believe about the Middle East (all of these beliefs are quite popular):

1) That the media (at least the American media) has a uniformly pro-Israel bias;
2) That Arafat’s Fatah is a secular nationalist organization trying to combat the fundamentalist influences of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Islamist terrorists;
3) That Palestinian terrorism is not anti-Semitic, but aims at national liberation;
4) That the Palestinian leadership has attempted to implement the Oslo accords in good faith, but the Israelis have sabotaged the process;
5) That Israel is a state overwhelmingly made up of European and American Jews who moved into Palestine and displaced Middle Eastern natives;
6) That historically, Jews were well-treated in the Arab world, and that current Arab hostility therefore stems from the current conflict.

Now, having spent time studying the historical record, I believe I was wrong about all six points.



Friday, May 23, 2003


Shabbat Shalom

Allison points out this from the International Herald Tribune, which every one should read.

The victims of Islamikaze bombers in Israel get so little respect from most of the world that their stories are hardly ever told. It takes the murder of a few Arabs to get attention for the victims. Too much of the world just doesn't care that Jews are murdered simply for being Jews. After all, the world seems to say, How can the Jews be victims?

Maybe it's beginning to change, though I'm not betting on it. Suicide bombings killing Arabs is becoming more common and the Arabs are actually condemning the act... at least when non-Jews are killed.

There's little change in Israel. Maybe a few news outlets will tell a story like this, but because it doesn't fit the story they want to tell, since it doesn’t fit the truth as they’ve been reporting it for decades, it's not likely to get much play. Arguably the only reason it's getting any play at all is because Arabs were killed and there is an Arab hero. So, call me cynical.

Of Israel's 6 million citizens, approximately a million are Arab. Although Israeli society is far from integrated, it is far from apartheid. In Haifa, Arabs and Jews live together in the same neighborhoods. On Jerusalem's streets the two peoples rub shoulders daily, their children play in the same parks and some attend the YMCA's binational kindergarten. In a northern town like Afula, or a southern one like Beersheba, Arabs and Jews ride beside each other on the escalators of the shopping mall.
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When ambulances raced most of the 71 wounded in the blast Monday to Afula Hospital, they were received by Dr. Aziz Daroushe, the Arab physician in charge of its emergency room. About 20 percent of the hospital staff and 40 percent of its patients are Arab. Hitam Hamoud, 26, a Galilee Arab also injured in the blast, lies in its intensive care unit. He has regained consciousness and his condition has improved enough to exchange notes with his parents by his bedside; doctors are waiting until he is stable enough to be operated on.
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Over the last two and a half years of the intifada, many Arabs have numbered among the casualties of attacks perpetrated by Palestinians.
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Shahada Dadis, 30, a pharmaceutical representative, was shot to death in January 2002 while on the way to Jenin with medical supplies. A 1-year-old Arab girl suffered third-degree burns to her face and body in a bombing in Hedera in the autumn of 2000. Maysoun Amin Hassan, 19, who was scheduled to study psychology at Haifa University, was one of nine people killed in a bus suicide bombing in August 2002.
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Ahmed Salah Kara, 20, a truck driver, was shot dead when a Palestinian gunman opened fire at an industrial depot in April. Nizal Awassat, a father of 11, was killed in August 2002 when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire as he sat in a coffee house beside Jerusalem's Old City.
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Suad Jaber, on her way to hand in the final semester paper for her degree in mathematics and statistics, was among 14 killed in a bus bombing in October 2002. Kamar Abu Hamed, 12, was killed with 17 others on her way home from school in March.

The stories of Jewish victims are neither more tragic, nor less. When people set out with murder in their hearts, there is no telling whose lives will be shattered. How can any be justified, how can any be glorified, how can any lead anywhere but sorrow?
It's a good story, but it saddens me to read. Arab lies have become de facto truths for many otherwise intelligent people across the world. This will only help to reinforce the lies. But just maybe someone will see the futility and cruelty of a system that encourages its youth to hate and kill. Maybe someone will see the faults in the society that deals with adversity in such destructive ways. Maybe someone will see the self-destructive acts for what they are. I can only wish.



From Hillel: A bit of positive news about an apology from an Anti-semite.


Thursday, May 22, 2003


Arafat/Mazen: Partner for Peace?

The Arabs may not have been successful on the battlefields over the last 55 years, but they've been wondrously successful in the arena of public opinion. By broadcasting outlandish lies and repeating them over and over, they have effectively changed history and completely altered the debate. Continued Israeli military victories in defensive wars have been morphed into Israeli aggression.

Playing to western morality and western liberalism’s sense of justice, the Arabs have succeeded in making themselves look like victims even while they continue to wage the war of 1948. By purporting western moral values on the Arabs, leaders in the west, and in Israel have continually been hoodwinked into believing that peace is possible.

Meanwhile the Arabs have spoken about peace in English and French and German, but continue to teach and talk hatred in Arabic. He Arab schools teach a version of history with little resemblance of truth, their Mosques preach hatred of Jews, their newspapers spread ancient lies as well as new. Nowhere are Arabs taught that Israel is a legitimate country. Everywhere Arabs hear of the promise of return of their lands and of the evil Jews and their American supporters. Yet we don’t listen to what they are saying.

We don’t listen to their clergy, we ignore textbooks, we disregard their newspapers and television broadcasts. We don’t judge their actions, we excuse them, solely because of a strong desire for peace. We are almost incapable of honest dialogue with the Arabs and continue to give them legitimacy and benefit of the doubt that no other rival could ever hope to receive.

Uri Dan in yesterday’s Jerusalem Post gives us one perspective that’s worthwhile

LEADERS SUCH as former US president Bill Clinton and prime minister Ehud Barak failed to understand what they were facing, even after bin Laden blew up the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998. In July 2000 they attempted to appease and flatter his terror twin, Arafat, at Camp David.
As long as Barak and Clinton gave in to his demands and tried to persuade him that they were his best friends, Arafat made no waves.
Clinton and Barak failed to understand that Arafat had always regarded them as his enemies not personally but as a matter of basic philosophy shared by the members of the axis of evil.
Arafat showed his real face, beginning a war of terror that caused Barak's ignominious fall, just as he accompanied the end of Clinton's presidency with his terrorist attacks on Israel after extorting unprecedented concessions from the two.
And it’s not just Clinton and Barak who failed to understand what they are facing. Virtually every leader faced with the issue have made the same misjudgment. Although they have all had the best intentions, they have erred in their assumptions that their Arab partners have the same peaceful intention. George W. Bush would do well to study the history and to consider that maybe Uri Dan is right:
Those who do not surrender, who do not give in to this terror will always be the enemy of the local, regional, and international terrorist camp.
President George W. Bush was thus right when he warned, after the Muslim massacre in the US on September 11, 2001, that the US faced a threat from the "axis of evil," which has replaced the "empire of evil," as President Ronald Reagan referred to the USSR until it collapsed with a tremendous shock.
In one respect the Muslim axis of evil is more dangerous, elusive, and sophisticated than the former Soviet empire. Saddam Hussein was an honored member, together with Osama bin Laden, the leaders of Iran, Bashar Assad of Syria, the heads of Hizbullah, and, of course, Libyan despot Mu'ammar Gaddafi.
These rule the empire of terror, and among them a special place is reserved for Yasser Arafat.
One should bear in mind that despite all the casualties suffered by Israel, the worst attacks up till now have not taken place here but in the US itself, in Indonesia, in Riyadh, and in Casablanca. It doesn't matter who the Israeli prime minister or US president is; the axis of evil will act against anyone who dares to stand up to it on the battlefront, against any leader of a democracy who proclaims the message of freedom.
A new version of the Trust but Verify doctrine needs to be applied to any peace process with the Arabs. Their vision of peace is profoundly different from ours. That must be recognized. Their vision of the history is different too and that must be addressed. We cannot take their words as truth. We must scrutinize their actions and be quick and forceful in pointing out when the actions don’t match their rhetoric. Most of all we should deal from a position of strength. Appeasement does not work.



Wednesday, May 21, 2003


Jewish Cognitive Dissonance

Psychiatrist, Jew and Republican Congressional candidate Irwin Savodnik on the downside of being a Jewish Republican.

One evening in 1996 my wife and I were sitting in a French bistro with a physician and his wife we had known for years. I told them I was entering the Republican congressional primary, and, since we were both doctors and concerned about health care, they might have some interest in the campaign.

We were greeted with a tirade. My friend's face reddened as he screamed that he would do everything he could to see that I was trounced at the polls.

My wife and I were stunned.

"You're a Jew and a Republican," he proclaimed to the entire restaurant. "That's despicable."
We have not spoken since...

...More recently a one-term Jewish congressman from Virginia the only Jewish Republican member of the House Eric I. Cantor, has leapfrogged into the majority leadership, becoming chief deputy whip.

Cantor is a fervent defender of Israel and, unlike his Jewish compatriot in the Senate, Arlen Specter, a self-confident conservative who speaks openly about his Jewishness and his politics in the same breath.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, once a diminutive political presence whose members could barely eke out a minyan in 1985 (the year it was founded), now has 15 chapters around the country, including Birmingham, Alabama, Kansas City and Palm Springs.

Perhaps most importantly, Jews have been willing and able to topple politicians deemed hostile to the Jewish state. Most notably, Atlanta's Cynthia McKinney, and Birmingham's Earl Hilliard learned last year that sympathizing with Palestinian terrorists cost them at the polls. That these were Democratic primaries should not obscure their significance to both parties.

As a psychiatrist and former liberal I can empathize with the struggle inside the Jewish psyche. The values at stake are at the heart of Jewish identity in America, and represent a long and noble collectivist tradition.
Stuck in the middle. Although the Republican cloak is not a great fit and isn't always comfortable, it's better than being smothered by the Democratic quilt put together by too many of the far left, whose interests too often are opposite mine.



Tuesday, May 20, 2003


Don't miss Mona Charen

It's so frustrating to continually see and hear supposedly intelligent people, even self-proclaimed intellectuals, ignoring the history and the truth behind the plight of Arabs living in refugee camps. Mona Charen's column reminds us of some of that history and how it relates to more current events. She leads with Mark Twain's report from 1867:

In 1867, Mark Twain visited the Holy Land and was dismayed at what he found, "a desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds -- a silent, mournful expanse. . . . A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action. . . . We never saw a human being on the whole route. . . . There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country." (From "The Innocents Abroad.")
The situation in 1867 is a far cry from the thriving country today. If only the violence could stop. But the Arabs don't want that. Arabs in the disputed territories could have built their own thriving country with the BILLIONS of dollars that America and European countries have given them. Think of the paradise that might have been with a little help from the Arabs... not money, but will. All the Arabs have lacked is the will to make life better for their brothers in the territories. The will doesn't exist, and the free world excuses it. Charen sums it up well:
There is very little sincere concern around the world for the "plight" of the Palestinians. If there were, their situation in Arab countries would draw more attention. As it is, Palestinians are only useful as a club with which to beat Israel. It is disgusting that the Arabs are willing to do this to their own cousins, and equally dismaying that world opinion endorses it.




Terrorism in Real Time

We've all felt the worry, even the panic, at not getting information fast enough about some horrible event. Maybe the phones are all busy or not being answered, or the cell circuits are jammed. Perhaps it's the TV and radio news that can't update you soon enough or maybe it's a slow loading web page. Paula Stern writes of her frustrations in getting information on an attack in her old neighborhood.

What happens when the event is a terrorist attack, unfolding before your eyes, in the town in which you used to live, to friends you still hold dear? The answer is, of course, terror. Blinding fear. You click on sites and when that isn’t fast enough, you flip the channels, desperate for them to tell you the ending to a story that is still in progress. But if this is a small event, not instantly dramatic enough to be reported, the television stations will hesitate to interrupt their programming until more information is available. News anchors need to be able to offer real information and too little is known. A quick news break tells you only what you already know, perhaps even less.

Another update is posted to the Web. First reports of injuries, unconfirmed. The army is there. Gunshots, flares. Helicopters. Somewhere, someone is typing into a computer, converting it to HTML and posting it on the Web. It takes only minutes; it takes too long.
It reminds me how much I use and appreciate sites like The Command Post.


Monday, May 19, 2003


Peace?

The past two days ought to serve as announcement to the world on what the Arabs think of peace with Israel.

Five mighty Arab armies are soundly defeated in 1948, yet Israel still reaches out to them as neighbors. 1967, 1973, again and again the Arabs are soundly militarily defeated yet the Israelis still sought peace. Now the cowardly Arabs fight with terror in their continued struggle to wipe Israel from the maps. Killing people at a shopping mall... how courageous, how honorable.

It's time to stop talking with the Arabs about peace until they actually do something to prove their intentions are peaceful. Thirty days, ninety days, whatever... but they should be given a deadline to meet and NO violence should be accepted without real consequence.

The biggest fault in all of the peace initiatives during the past 55 years has been the denial of the possibility that the Arabs don't want peace. Diplomacy cannot be managed without good contingency planning and there is ample evidence that a likely contingency is the Arabs only want peace as one step in destroying Israel. So given the possibility that peace negotiations from the Arab side are disingenuous, what should be done?

When will we listen to what the Arabs have been telling us through their actions for 55 years? Taking reality into account when deciding what to do and how to proceed in any dialogue with the Arabs, is not saying that things are hopeless. It’s only hopeless if the truth is forever ignored while it destroys our dreams.



Is there a Difference?

Dateline Cairo: the Jerusalem Post reports that Arabs are Lashing Out at Terrorist Groups. Ok, so it's not news, but this quote at the end of the article may enlighten us,

During a visit to one of the bombed Riyadh residential compounds Sunday, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri described the terrorist attacks as "a struggle between those who want Islam to be a universal, respected, just and moderate ... and a small group of people who want to depict Islam as (a religion of) murder, terror and destruction."
It looks to me as if the only difference between them is in method. Both have the goal to make Islam a universal way of life.

If Islam were not so connected with violence there would be much less cause for alarm, but it's not the case. Whether or not you believe in Huntington's Clash of Civilizations or not, the violence on the borders of Islam is plain to see. Maybe the recent attacks on Muslim countries are the beginnings of a separation of moderate Islam from its violent brothers. Time will tell.





Sunday, May 18, 2003


Road Map Doomed

Ninety Days. I would demand 90 days of no violence from the palestinians. Before I could even consider transferring Jews from the disputed territories, the Arabs would have to prove they want peace. If the Arabs can deliver 3 months free of violence only then would I consider any negotiations about the future of the territories.

Immediately I would begin talks with the recognized Arab governments. I would be working for full recognition and normalization of diplomatic and trade relationships. The signal must be sent that the Arab world as a whole, and specifically the nations that attacked Israel in 1948, must recognize their integral role in the conflict. If the Arabs are unwilling to talk and or if the Arabs cannot cease the violence, then we are simply fooling ourselves into thinking there will ever be peace between the Arabs and a secure Israel.

It's time for the Arabs to demonstrate that they have given up on their desire to destroy Israel. It needs to be demonstrated and not simply spoken about as some ethereal vision. There are simple concrete steps the Arabs can take. Israel has continually shown ti is willing to concede more than it should and more than it needs to in the interest of peace. Only Jordan and Egypt have come close to demonstrating that peace is desirable, but even they continue to keep the focus on the mythical palestinian people with their only object being to pressure Israel into yet more concessions.

Still the Israelis continue to suffer the violence and hatred maintaining their noble, sincere and urgent desire for peace. The only problem is they have no partners for peace. The Arabs have something else in mind. The world has been painfully slow in recognizing that.

The mere fact that some Arabs want peace doesn’t mean that peace will ever be possible. The only real hope for peace is the democratization of the region. How likely is that to happen?

It’s time to take a cold hard look at the reality of the situation between the Arabs and the Israelis. If the Jews were half as ruthless as the world makes them out to be, there would be no Arabs living in squalor on land they claim. If the Arabs had truly desired peace they would have built beautiful cities of Ramallah and Gaza over the last 55 years. The mere existence of the camps in Jenin, Ramallah, and everywhere in the disputed territories is evidence that only one side has ever desired peace. When will the world wake up.

Instead of pressuring Israel into making any more concessions, instead of pressuring them to even talk to the palestinians, we should be putting all possible pressure on the Arabs to demonstrate they really want peace. That pressure should start immediately.

The Arabs have avoided their responsibilities for 55 years. It’s time for that to change. At the end of 90 days I would start real occupation of territory the Arabs claim. Arab residents would be expelled instead of Israeli residents.

If, somehow, the Arabs accepted a solution with a second palestinian state living with Israel, transfer of a large population would be necessary. But for some reason it’s OK to assume Jews will be transferred, but it’s anathema to even think of Arab transfer. We can’t ignore reality forever.

Is ninety days too much to ask?



Friday, May 16, 2003


Jihad Hits Home

This New York Times story about the Shaken Saudis raises many more questions than it answers. It also raises hope that maybe, just maybe, the Arabs will start to see the terrorists in Israel as the murderous barbarians they are.

"Those people who say they want to make jihad against the United States or Israel, what they did is pointless," said Mr. Blehed, a part owner of Al Hamra, the compound where his son died. "Jihad is not like this."

Many Saudis are reeling from the deadly explosions in the eastern suburbs of this sprawling capital, in part because at least seven of the victims were natives, and the 15 attackers probably were too. In recent years, terror attacks around the world, although carried out in the name of Islam, the faith born here, seemed distant. Jihad was something that happened elsewhere.

"This time it was different: it was an attack against your own people," said Khaled M. Batarfi, the managing editor of Al Madina, a daily newspaper. "It's huge; it's organized. It's like what happened on Sept. 11 in America but on a smaller scale — these things happen to others."

The gory scenes of charred bodies spread across their newspapers and on television are disturbing in a way other recent terrorist attacks were not. "If this was not the Saudis' Sept. 11, it was certainly the Saudis' Pearl Harbor," said the United States ambassador, Robert W. Jordan.
This attack may finally stir the moderate forces in the Arab world to act. As they see and feel, first hand, the damage these Islamist fanatics can do becasue of the hatred they have been taught, maybe they will be stirred to action. This attack has at least brought some change.
The need for a crackdown has been a common theme here this week. The country's newspapers, especially Al Watan, have been waging a campaign pointing out that it is not that great a leap from criticizing women as infidels for opening sports clubs to declaring open season on anyone fitting that description.

The newspaper used to get only hate mail for such sentiments, said its editor, Jamal Khashoggi, but it has now started receiving supportive missives, demanding a crackdown on the radicals.

Before this week, many Saudis, and especially those in government, tended to paint fanaticism as something foreign. This week, the usual statements about events "strange to our society" were absent. The creeping recognition that it is something homegrown has made Saudis more jittery, not least because the Web sites beloved of the radical fringe are predicting more to come.
We don't need prophets to tell us there is more to come, all we need is to listen to what the Islamists tell us. Lets' hope that maybe we'll finally get some Arab help in our efforts to defeat these terrorist Islamic murderers.


Thursday, May 15, 2003


Jackie Mason on Dems and The President
He hits the nail on the head with this one:

Somehow, the Democrats cannot understand how the cumulative effect of their constant attacks on George Bush has only succeeded in lowering their own popularity. They have moved from the roof of the building to the basement in the polls since they decided that President Bush is really an accidental president, whose only job is to wait to be thrown out of office. Every time they compete with him, he succeeds, yet they cannot believe that he actually knows what he is doing. They convince themselves that they are brilliant and the only reason they keep losing is that he is a dummy who just happened to get lucky again.


This is not the first time the Democrats made such a ridiculous mistake in their estimate of their opponent. They did the same thing with Ronald Reagan. They were just as irrational in their assessment of his intelligence as they are now in their estimation of George Bush's I.Q. However, this "dummy" has the same deceptive craftiness that derailed and dismissed the Democrats two decades ago. Since the Democrats relish the pleasure of looking down at George Bush, they never take the true measure of what they are up against. That is why they are so wantonly reckless in their attacks on him, like a mob of floundering zealots who are hitting everything except the target. As with Ronald Reagan, they have decided he is the wrong man for the job. No matter how irrational, absurd or even ridiculous their attacks, they think the people disrespect Bush as much as they do and so will buy their act. Fat chance. read the rest...



Wednesday, May 14, 2003


Who is Mahmoud Abbas?

Upon hearing Colin Powell announce a gift of $50 Million to the palestinians over the weekend I started screaming at the TV, I Knew had to take a breather. So I took a couple of days off from scrutinizing the news, specifically avoiding any mention of the Road Map. My batteries are recharged.

I'm a little concerned, no, I'm worried, about the President's rhetoric regarding the new palestinian structure. I have serious reservations about the new Prime Minister's history. Why does the President refer to one him as a man of peace? How much of the rhetoric does the President believe? Does the administration really see a change in the PLO leadership, and more importantly in their goals? Time will tell, but the rhetoric is disconcerting.

Read Uzi Landau's thoughts on Abu Mazen.

With his cultivated appearance Abu Mazen serves as a European-manipulated Trojan horse intended to mislead Americans into thinking a new prime minister means a new PA.

But the message he is bringing the Palestinian public is not fundamentally new. As long as there is no essential change in the PA, the question of its leader is merely tactical and cosmetic.

The road map in its current form was born not of President George W. Bush's determination to fight terrorism, but of the defeatist spirit and cynical interests of the Quartet.

Instead of punishing the PA for its blatant violation of Oslo and stipulating that peace hinges on replacing the Palestinian leadership, the road map grants them unprecedented gains.

For instance: the establishment of a Palestinian state as a non-negotiable principle; "ending the occupation that began in 1967"; internationalizing the conflict by giving the Quartet monitoring powers; dismantling outposts, and freezing settlements all bonuses the Palestinians didn't even receive in Oslo.



Tuesday, May 13, 2003


It's election day in my city and we're choosing a new mayor. The choice is depressing.

On one hand there is the inexperienced son of a billionaire, Whiny Rich Kid and on the other is Corrupt Cop. I'll not be voting for the candidate of my choice since he was defeated in the primary. Instead I'll be voting against the cop who led a corrupt and often lawless police department. No need for congratulations, the vote will make me a racist in some circles.

So, instead of thinking of the depressing state of American politics, try this story on. The Exploding Snowman is Switzerland's answer to Grondhog Day.

When the snowman's head blew off - less than six minutes after the bonfire beneath it was lit - the 10,000 cheering Swiss holiday-goers knew the summer was going to be a good one.

It seems unlikely that the polite, precise Swiss would pin their hopes for a good summer on a snowman figure's exploding head.

But such is "Sechselauten" (SECTS-ah-loy-ten), Zurich's unlikely version of Groundhog Day, which combines elements of Nevada's Burning Man Festival with nearly two centuries of tradition - plus parades, all-night parties and a dash of feminist ire because women are excluded from the official festivities.
continue reading...


Monday, May 12, 2003


Blogger is eating posts. I'm losing posts between draft and publish.... Any fixes and sugestions are welcome! I guess I need to make the effort to learn moveable type...


Friday, May 09, 2003


Builders and Defenders

Michael Totten's piece about Builders and Defenders had me spending way too much time yesterday reading all of the related linked articles and thinking. I've got a longer post in the works but I wanted to throw some options into the mix while I work through them for the post to follow.

In analyzing my own migration from the left to a more right leaner, I've thought of a few different models that might help explain the change I experienced. I think Michael's model is a great place to begin.

I'm enjoying the exercise and reading all of the discussion, but my main problem with the model is I just don't see many on the left building much of anything... Oh there are plenty of ideas about things to build but the details are usually lacking. The defenders is also an incomplete description, and I can’t say I would describe my move as going from builder to defender.

So, how did I change? If builders and defenders doesn’t work for my case what does? Is it the idea men and the detail guys? Maybe the thinkers and the doers? Or the dreamers and the doers? Artists and engineers? Humanists and Scientists? No matter how I think of it, it all boils down to a debate in America is as old as Jefferson and Madison, between the Idealists and the Realists. In my case, I want to look at the change that made me switch sides, why am I now a Neo-con and no longer a liberal? What questions must I answer to get at the root cause of the change? How would the rest of you Neo-cons answer?

Generally, why has there been more movement from the left to the right and not vice-versa? Is it because the idealism of our youth gets tempered by the world’s realities? A true lefty would argue that more education and more experience would lead us to be more left leaning, why isn’t that true? Why is there an assumption of intellectual superiority on the left? Has the left moved away from us or have we changed more? What's so attractive about the right? About the left? God knows there's a lot that's unattractive on both sides.

The differences are easy to see in the extreme, but what about the vast middle, the fat part of the bell curve? What are the defining issues and/or characteristics? Is there a model that works for those of us more in the ideological middle? I’d like to read some other stories from the Neo-cons out there. Is there a common thread? When did you cross? Are the ages common or is tied to events and dates? Are there common issues that pushed us? Is there a model like Michael's that works for most cases?

As you can tell, my thinking on the matter hinges on losing my youthful idealism. Coming of age as the Viet Nam war was winding down certainly affected me, how did it affect you? I'm tracing my steps to see where that idealism was lost and where reality started to take over. Are there specific events and issues that changed your perspective? Please join the discussion. ….. more to come….

other links: Joe Katzman
Amygdala
Kieren Healy
Charles Johnson
you can find your own way through the comments and their links.... and don't miss the comments



Wednesday, May 07, 2003


Tomorrow, my city is going to elect a new mayor. The choice to replace a hugely popular and highly successful man is an example of the worst in American politics. On one hand we have a novice politician with more money than the city budget, on the other we have the retiring Sheriff who presided over one of the more corrupt police departments in the country.

The wealthy son of a multi-millionaire with no government experience won the primary largely by buying it. The father is an outsider to the old money network in town who spent his success buying up large chunks of northeast Florida. His influence is significant, but only on the local scene. No one really knows why the son wants to be mayor, and he hasn’t told us during the campaign. It appears that like Bill Clinton he wants to be somebody rather than really do anything.

The Sheriff did receive some national notoriety when a documentary of his police department won an Academy Award last year. Maybe you saw it, it was about a group of detectives who beat a confession to murder out of an innocent 14 year old. One of those detectives was the Sheriff’s son. That's sad enough but one of the Sheriff's campaign pledges is to bring discipline back into the public schools. One wonders if it's the type of discipline his son learned which led him to beat an innocent youth.

The movie added to the handful of cops already convicted of murder and conspiracy in the killing of a local businessman, plus the ongoing corruption investigations by our state and federal prosecutor’s offices, it’s a wonder the man has any credibility let alone that his candidacy has any chance at all. But, he’s black. To question the Sheriff’s qualifications is to subject oneself to charges of racism. To vote against this corrupt public official is akin to “going back to the politics of the 50’s and 60’s.”

So we have the little, whiney, white, inexperienced, rich kid up against the corrupt, burly, inarticulate, black working man. Both of them are easy to vote against. Neither deserves to represent the city. It’s a contest of money vs. race. The money will likely win. For too many people the election of an unqualified white man will lead to charges of racism. The race card will be played, unfairly, on people who simply made a choice based on public record.

My vote tomorrow will be against a corrupt, scandal-ridden public official that I would be embarrassed to have represent my city. I can only hope that, should the whiney rich kid win, that he has anticipated the way the result will polarize a large part of the city. He’ll have a short window of opportunity to show his sensitivity, but I’m probably



Fascinating Perspective
Road Map status report as seen by the PLO
Lynn at In Context beat me too it, but I'm leaving it up anyway, our sources are different.

I stumbled across the Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) and was drawn to the PLO perspective on their progress in meeting their obligations of the Road Map. For instance:

palestinian obligation: Palestinian leadership issues an unequivocal statement reiterating Israel’s right to exist in peace and security and calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to end armed activity and all acts of violence against Israelis anywhere.”
“Palestinians declare an unequivocal end to violence and terrorism.”

Among the Actions Taken: · PA Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, issued the following statement to the Israeli government and the Israeli public:
“-We want a lasting peace with you achieved through negotiations.”
“-We denounce terrorism by any party and in all its shapes and forms both because of our religious and moral traditions and because we are convinced that such methods do not lend support to a just cause like ours, but rather destroy it.”
“-I repeat, there is no military solution to this conflict.” (29 April 2002)

Status: SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETED. President Arafat is prepared to reiterate past statements and to comply fully with this obligation. read it all...
This fantastic vision of their accomplishments and readiness for governing themselves shows me that common diplomatic language is probably not the best way to communicate with Arafat et al. Although the inclusion of factual information doesn't make this report card any less delusional, it does show you how wide apart our perceptions of the situation are.

Looking at the reality of the region's history has led me to conclude that until the Arabs realize they have been utterly defeated there is little chance for a meaningful and lasting peace for Israel. The Quartet's Road Map is doomed to fail just as every plan before. By negotiating with a small group of Arabs and denying that the surrounding Arab states are the biggest part of the problem, we are giving up on any real chance for peace. The conflict is among all Arabs and Israel. It is NOT an Israeli - palestinian dispute. For 55 years the Arabs have deluded themselves into thinking they will be victorious in the war they started in 1948. They still can't admit Israel defeated them so easily.

For 55 years the Arabs have been trying to make the world believe that it was the palestinians who were defeated instead of Syrians, Egyptians, Jordanians and Iraqis. For 55 years they have tried to convince the world that the Israelis have been the aggressors and that poor, peace-loving palestinians have been subjugated and brutalized. They've had some success by repeating the lies so often and pointing fingers at the Jews, all while subjugating and brutalizing their palestinian brothers . For 55 years they've deluded themselves. I is now time for them to face reality.



Tuesday, May 06, 2003


Arab News on Islamikazes

WTF?

Human bombers are by their very actions extremists and fanatics. But the Palestinians are not fundamentalists or fanatics. They do not want to die; they want to live in peace in Palestine. The fact that fanaticism admits no nationality and that human bombers and Palestinians are self-evidently not one and the same thing could not have come at a more appropriate time for the new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.

He is under intense international pressure to crack down on the militants in order to move the peace process on. The British angle allows him to do it — and with the backing of most Palestinians who, while finding it difficult in the past to condemn those who sacrificed their lives attacking the Israelis, would of course be happier if such attacks never took place.

Abbas can do it because it is now clear to one and all that such killings are not part of a Palestinian national agenda.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's saying that, because the latest bombers were British, it proves that palestinian Arabs are peace-loving? What a load of crap. I come to an entirely different conclusion. It tells me that the threat from Islam can come from anywhere in the world. It shows me that Arabs have been so successful at using the refugee camps in the disputed territories to focus their hate on Israel and Jews, that even upper Middle class Brits decide to kill themselves for the chance at taking a couple of Jews with them. It shows me that there is something seriously wrong with much of the Islamic world that continues in its refusal to face its responsibility for spreading hate and violence. Yes, there are fanatics of every flavor, but it becomes more apparent every day that it is not just a small minority of Muslims who are fanatics.

Islamic fanatics are killing people all over the world, and when they're not killing they're spouting their anti-Semitic venom and anti-American hatred wherever they can find an audience... college campuses, anti-war demonstrations, CNN, NPR... Where, in all of this, are the voices of a moderate Arabs? Are there any who condemn the fanaticism, who condemn the violence, and who can face their responsibility for creating the environment that nurtures and spreads hate? Are there any qho can distinguish between a terrorist bomber and the soldier who is trying to stop them? Why must every "condemnation" of terror by an Arab have the clause "on both sides" added to it? What made these British citizens hate so much they decided to die for the chance to kill a Jew?

No, I don't think that the British bombers prove that the palestinians want peace. The Arabs want to destroy Israel, they've proven for 55 years that they care nothing for the refugees in the territories. For 55 years they've denied their failures and ignored reality. For 55 years they've done nothing to improve either the land the refugees occupied or the lives of those occupying the land in Gaza and the West Bank. For 55 years they've taught and spouted hatred of the Jews and denied the existence of Israel. For 55 years they've killed innocents in Israel, in Germany, in the United States.. anywhere there is a Jew. For 55 years they have repeatedly shown us they are not interested in peace.

The Road Map, like every other peace proposal, is doomed to failure. Too many Arabs and too many Muslims are not interested in peace. While the Friedman camp continues to insist that trading land for lives is the right thing to do, the Arabs show us they'd rather trade lives for land. To quote Golda Meir once again: We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.

And please go read this by a Gotham soul speaking from a junk yard about the far-reaching threat of Islamic extremists.... and some not so extreme.




Monday, May 05, 2003


Arab News on the Road Map

I think the Road Map for Peace in the Middle East is unworkable. The Arabs are unwilling, maybe even unable, to fulfill their obligations within the framework. The Arab News sees it the same way.

The blood-soaked events of the past week are clear evidence that Mahmoud Abbas, the first Palestine prime minister, and his government cannot walk the road to the road map for a Middle East peace alone. They will need help from many quarters, foremost from Palestinians themselves.

Such support is not at all forthcoming, and for good reason. Palestinians had to bury 12 of their own following an Israeli raid in Gaza last week. Not surprisingly, there were chants against Abbas in the funeral procession. A bomb attack on a Tel Aviv café which killed three Israelis came a few days earlier, prompting a grim reminder of how difficult it will be for the road map and Abbas to succeed. On that very day, Abbas was sworn in with a promise to crack down on activists and work for the success of the new internationally backed Middle East peace plan.

Abbas is a critic of attacks against Israelis, and in his inaugural address as the Palestinian Authority’s new prime minister he pledged to control militant groups and illegal weapons. He rejected “terror on either side and in any form” and vowed to put an end to the “chaos of arms” in the Palestinian areas, an implicit warning to the various Palestinian militias that the “security pluralism” of the intifada must soon end. But Hamas is not listening, rejecting the road map outright and calling it “a plan to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”
I have two concerns about the Road Map's implementation. One: How much harm will come to Israel and its' people (not to mention Americas' credibility) during the time it takes for the Quartet to recognize that the Arabs will not support it? And Second: What concessions will the Quartet's next plan demand of Israel?

Update [ 5-5-03 4:43] More on the Road Map from Haaretz
The road map requires the Palestinians to put an end to the violence. Against the background of the intensifying conflict, it is difficult to find a single Palestinian who thinks it is possible or necessary to disarm the armed factions that conduct the terror attacks. Abu Mazen may have succeeded in forming a government, but his political plans to end the military intifada and turn it into a nonviolent struggle now appear to be hopeless.



Friday, May 02, 2003


From the Beeb we see some,not at all surprising, news about our British/Muslim/ISM terrorists in an interview with their teacher.

The cleric, who founded the fundamentalist group in Britain, was not prepared to condemn the suicide bombing. "There is no way for me to condemn the self-sacrificing operation that took place in Palestine against occupying forces," he said.
Any Eunuchs, any ISMers, any peaceniks, and all Arab apologists, please note: A waitress, and a couple of guys playing the blues in an Israeli city at a beach bar are not "occupying forces, unless you deny the existeance of Israel. Why is there is no condemnation of the selfish, cowardly act? The simple fact is that the VAST majority of Arabs and most muslims have a different objective in the Middle East Peace process. How many more people will be killed in the name of peace before we finally take them for their word? When it comes to peace with Israel the Arabs cannot be trusted... the burden should be entirely on their shoulders to prove otherwise.


Moderate Islam Watch
From the Arab News, an article on some students who left the US after 9-11 and returned to Saudi Arabia.

Sultan’s description of the American people as a whole was positive, especially when it came to life on the West Coast.

“Not once have I been mistreated or racially harassed or abused in any way,” he recalled. “They were very kind and accepting toward me. If the equivalent of what happened in New York on Sept. 11 had happened here, I don’t believe that our people would have shown the same self-restraint and patience toward the Western expatriates living here that the American people have shown toward the Arabs and Muslims living there.”

One young man, who wanted to be called Yousuf, complained of an inability to relate to Saudi people.

“Here, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” he said. “People have no respect for creativity, no respect for original thought.”

Yousuf studied in the US for years and was hoping to gain some work experience there before returning to Saudi Arabia and working for his family. All that changed after Sept. 11.

“Everything here is segregated — men from women, rich from poor, and foreigners from locals. This is a land of segregation. The majority of people try to justify this, but I feel that we should focus on integration, not segregation.”

Yousuf said there was a contradiction in the behavior of many Saudis. “When people are outside the country, they go wild. When they are inside, they go to the other extreme.”

“I am very angry at my people,” he added. “They have this terrible habit of blaming the world for their own faults.”
Maybe things are beginning to change. Maybe we're seeing the genesis of reform and modernization in the Arab World. Certainly hope lies with the young people like those quoted here. But as we see from the experiences of these young men, America has a big role to play in encouraging reform and serving as an example.

How do we protect ourselves from those young Muslim men whose mission is violence, while embracing and welcoming the young Muslim men and women who come in peace? Although I'm uncomfortable with the rhetoric on both sides of the issue, I hope and trust we'll find a reasonable, workable balance.


Thursday, May 01, 2003


Mike's Place

It seems to me that the Road Map is getting too much attention and that too much of it is overly optimistic. While I understand the desire for a happy ending, the reality of the situation leaves me with a sense of cynical pessimism. Still, life goes on, but something has to change.

The story of Mike’s Place is intriguing as a window into survival under the constant threat of violence from hostile neighbors. At Mike’s, life went on. In today’s HaAretz, Roni Singer tells us about a couple of filmmakers who were making a documentary about Mike’s and how the theme of the film will change because of the bombing. Mike’s was going to be a symbol to show the world that life in Israel so different from what the world sees. “[They] wanted to show in the movie that life here is actually quite usual, perhaps not normal but not what they think.” The bomb changed that.

"We are not sure which way to continue. Jack wanted a movie about how life is normal here and how people are not afraid. How can we show that message now? The camera filmed something else."
The filmmakers were at Mike’s when it happened. Their lives have changed and now the documentary will show their dream, how it was shattered, and how life goes on… They don’t think they can have a happy ending.

Happy endings are going to be a long time coming. More than a generations of Arabs have been brought up in a culture that teaches hate of Israel and its Jews. The lies they teach their children, just like the lies the Al Jezeera fed the Arab world through the war in Iraq, led to false hope followed by shame. Arab intransigence has kept them from learning to cooperate with Israel for 55 years. Almost every opportunity for the Arabs to extend a hand of peace towards Israel has been wasted. Why is it different this time?

Hopefully Mike’s will continue in the same way that life goes on every day in Israel. The dream of peace will return, the pieces will be put back together and life will go on. Maybe the Arabs will stop the violence and decide to live in peace with Israel. Maybe the Road Map will serve its idealistic purpose; maybe there will be peace… But then again, maybe there won’t…

The dreams being documented in Mike’s place have been shattered in the same way that the ideals of Oslo were destroyed. There is a new reality, but something must be done… life goes on. Take a few minutes, go to Mike’s Place and browse. Enjoy it like I did, put some Blues into the CD player, grab a beer and take a walk through the gallery, look at the menu, and say a prayer for those killed ... and for the injured, and for all of the shattered dreams.
L'chaim....

update: Charles at lgf has posted an introduction to the 3 people murdered. More on Mike's Place, hat tip to Allison.


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