| Section 8,
- The Palestinians have no weapons beyond aging Soviet small arms, whereas they're against the most militarized nation in the world by GDP. To paraphrase Einstein, you can't simultaneously seek peace and prepare for war. That said, we're not in the job of evening the scales, we're in the job of ending the fighting - and we directly control one of the two parties. Cut their damned funding - or do you really believe the propoganda that the Arabs are so inhuman as to want to drive the Israelis into the sea?
- Arafat is belligerent, yes. Hamas is belligerent, yes. But so are the IDF and Sharon, but we're not bulldozing Sharon's headquarters, now are we? Not to mention that just because Arafat is a popular leader doesn't mean he's got his hands in all the terrorist pots. What's a bit more disturbing is that both Sharon and Bush would rather prop up some exile nobody to sit at the other end of their diplomatic table than the actual representative of the Palestinians. At least Clinton got them into a room together.
- The reason there is still fighting is because the side of the Israelis - ie: "our" side - has failed to make an acceptable compromise on the division of the land. Jerusalem is already divided - we're talking about the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, for instance. The plan they gave was to have a "Palestine" compromised of three distinct and unconnected ghettos which would effectively destroy any economic feasibility for those Arabs. We must do what it takes to get even the hardliners to drive a fair bargain.
. . . whenever any government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such forms as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. |