You would think, listening to Barnett, that Israel had never tried negotiating with its neighbors, that it wasn't aware of the costs of maintaining a state of war with the region.
All during the Oslo period, Israel tried hard, risked much, and suffered much punishment for negotiating. It is now in a much worse strategic position than in 1991, because it risked negotiating with a terrorist/gangster partner. Look at any timeline of negotiations with Israeli casualties, and you will see how strongly active "peace processes" correlate with dead Israelis.
But Barnett doesn't care to notice. So much easier to paint everybody with the same brush, NYT style.
Of course, the whole Middle East is built around this vengeance model (the ultimate in infantile zero-sum logic, suggesting an evolutionary retardation of the most primitive sort), which is why, no matter Israel's many laudable achievements, it remains hopelessly trapped inside the Gap.
What is Israel supposed to do, teleport itself to Benelux? |
