February 08, 2005
MidEast Peace
It is a hopeful day in the Middle East. A summit is being held to try and end the violence.
Bush did the right thing. He did not try to work with Arafat. He knew Arafat had no intentions of actually leading his people.
I applaud the position stated by C. Rice. The U.S. will be taking a step back and expects Israel and Palestine to work this out between themselves.
The 'Roadmap to Peace' has been set in motion. It is time for the countries of that region to take responsibility for their share of the problems and step up.
The U.S. is not the only reason for the problems and the U.S. should not have to shoulder all the responsiblity.
It's no longer as easy to blame everything on the U.S..
The U.S. needs to continue to point out that our need for oil is not the only reason for the problems of these nations.
President Bush may actually get some credit for this one. I’ve been critical of his being a cheerleader, rather than a player, but it may work out.
Bush’s giving Sharon a long leash in the West Bank and Gaza may have convinced many Palestinians that they’ll never push Israel into the sea by themselves. The rest of the Arab world sitting on their hands may have convinced them they weren’t going to get any help, despite the rhetoric.
Had Arafat not died it’d be a different story, but the breaks land where they fall, don’t they. I’m following this with guarded optimism - we’ve seen cease-fires before - and wondering who will reap the windfall when Castro finally kicks the bucket.
Good article, Dawn. I’d love to see more articles over here extolling the virtues of our dear leader, rather than spewing hate at the loyal opposition.
Huh. One of the “Problems” the US is blamed for is the 9 Billion Dollars a year in Aid given to Israel which they then use to kill Palestinian Militants and Civilians. Nothing like having Palestinian Children killed by American-Made Tanks, American-Made Apaches and American-Made Missiles to make Arabs think your biased.
As for this “Progress”, all we have is the promise that they won’t kill each other. Israel still controls the water, the roads, the land, the air AND the borders!!! Israel is even now trying to annex more Land around Jerusalem by claiming that no Palestinians now live there AFTER THEY DROVE THEM OUT!!!
Don’t get me wrong. I wish for Peace too. Unfortunatety, Peace is the only thing Israel wants. Peace allows Israel to expand the West Bank Settlements in relative safety. The Palestinians want their Land back and a Country. If there is Peace and nobody is dying, Israel can have what they want without concessions. They will just drag out the Talks without giving an inch of Land. And the Settlement Expansion goes unabated…
Posted by: Aldous at February 8, 2005 11:54 AM“Beware the Peacemaker”
Why is it when it comes to Israel and the Palestinians people allow themselves to get their hopes up so quickly and easily? Everybody acts like this is the first time we could see a light at the end of the tunnel. A couple of weeks off good news does not resolve this regions centuries of issues. Hope is a great thing but an honest look at the road ahead tells us, this is dangerous. You see, with the loss of hope again, at any point on this road, will come an even greater amount of violence. When it comes to hope Palestinians and Israelis have learned to throw it off like an old dirty coat.
To truly bring a lasting peace to this region will require more trust than I believe either has to give right now. Only time will tell and I mean more than a few weeks or months or even years. This will take decades.
wisevil said:
“Why is it when it comes to Israel and the Palestinians people allow themselves to get their hopes up so quickly and easily? Everybody acts like this is the first time we could see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Yes. But this time other mideast
(Egypt) countries are willing to admit they have a stake in this peace process. That peace between the two of them is not just for their benefit.
This is funny - Arafat’s death opens the way to mideast peace and Bush and company rush in to take credit. Truly laughable.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe Bush did the right thing by not condoning Arafat’s leadership, but, the mideast peace that is about to unfold has absolutely no homage to pay to the GOP or the Bush administration. The players would have brought it about even if Howdy Doody was US President wearing a hammer and sickle.
Anyone who sits back and does nothing long enough is bound to have something go right once in awhile. I do applaud Bush for not yet doing anything to interfere with the Palestinians and Israeli’s getting there act together. Let’s hope he can keep up that good work.
Posted by: David R. Remer at February 8, 2005 02:19 PMIt’s a move in the right direction. Not much else to say except, let’s keep our fingers crossed… talk about ‘cautious optimism’!
On a related note, I’m impressed with Condi Rice so far. Never thought I’d write that! But she’s come out of the chutes saying the right things, doing the right things, and generally accomplishing what a good diplomat should do; smoothing ruffled feathers, discouraging talk of war, and encouraging good relations and peaceful resolutions.
Let’s hope the State Department isn’t underminded by the Neocons in the Department of Defense. I’d hate to see Rice’s good efforts replicate Powell’s experiences. But again, some good news which has gone almost unnoticed; Douglas Feith resigned from Defense recently. He was the bozo who headed the Office of Special Plans, and was initially responsible for post-war planning in Iraq.
Posted by: phx8 at February 8, 2005 02:21 PMDawn,
Read your history books regarding the relationship between Israel and Egypt. Egypt is, and has been for decades, very aware of the affects a lasting peace would have on their nation. Recent events change very little for them except maybe hope. They too have learned to throw hope off as if it were an old dirty coat. Hope is great, but reality trumps hope every time.
Palestinian Militants and Orthodox Jews will screw this. Being a Jew myslef I’m much more sympathetic with the Israelis, but both sides have extremes (just like our country!) that prevent the majority from establishing any signifigant gains toward peace and stability. It will be th people themselves who need to step and shut down the radicals who refuse to compromise, otherwise it’ll be just another day in the holy land.
Posted by: Bill at February 9, 2005 07:36 PMBill,
Yes. I agree. After seeing the resistance by the Jewish settlers to the Israeli Army (and calling them Nazis) …
I can see Israel wanting to protect these citizens BUT the only way to get them to leave (or possibly stay) is to remove the forces protecting them. If Palestine accepts them as a community in their state there may be a chance for peace. They of course would not be in Israel.
Then we can see how fast they leave OR if they stay and commit violence or have it committed against them.
I also don’t see how Jerusalum can be ‘shared’.
There are plenty of radicals that need to be exposed for what they are all around this great world of ours. Let them have their freedom of speech but make sure we all know who they are, what they are saying, and who they are saying it to - along with knowing their motives.
Posted by: dawn at February 9, 2005 08:58 PMAbbas just fired three high-ranking security officers for failing to prevent militants from firing on Israeli settlements. Israel did not retaliate, and is reportedly starting to withdraw its troops. Not bad for day 2.
Abbas can keep the peace by shooting on sight any Hamas members who don’t respect the ceasefire. With his latest move, it looks like he may be serious about doing just that.
Posted by: Gandhi at February 10, 2005 02:36 PM
