Thanks, tb.
re terrorism and root causes, most intelligent wonks, I think, would argue that in practice what works best is coming down very hard on actual violent militancy and terrorism while at the same time trying to coopt the moderate parts of the population at issue by taking steps to address some of their main concerns and grievances. ... The application of this approach to Israel would be, come down hard on specific terrorists and the groups that launch them but also take steps to end the occupation, improve life for ordinary Palestinians, etc
I would have more respect for the proponents of this approach if they didn't avoid recognition of harsh reality in favor of diplomatic mendacity, as in "ok, maybe we'll recognize that Hamas and PIJ and al Aqsa are the terrorist organizations, but Yasser Arafat and his PA are still the legitimate government and we will continue to pay him $15 million a month and not ask questions about where the money goes...what's that you say? you have Fatah invoices for bomb belts with Arafat's signature? no, no, we don't want to see them..."
An approach based on differentiating between terrorist groups and moderates only works if you actually differentiate between them, not if you just pretend that some terrorists are really moderates. Besides, when has even the US State Department favored Israel coming down hard on Hamas, let alone Fatah? Diplomacy for diplomacy's sake seems to be their motto. |
