Yes, you would like such total bs. Yes, Netanyahu opposed the Oslo Accords (and events have proved him right). Did he repudiate them when he became PM? No, because he was bound by rule of law as an Israeli PM -- a concept quite foreign to Arafat. He tried to get some performance out of Arafat, who was busy reneging on every permormance commitment on his side -- #1 being his commitment to take a monopoly of force in the PA and put down Hamas.
But then, Arafat could get away with it then, because American foreign policy in the Clinton years was to bribe our enemies and bully our allies. In effect, an enormous game of 'kick the can', whose predictable results are currently on display in North Korea, Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Israel.
Now Bush is trying on a new foreign policy, one that rewards our allies and punishes our enemies. While this will be difficult in the short-term, it is much more likely to have good long-term effects. |
