>How could it kill his career? The majority of Israelis agree with the pull out.
If most of his own party stops backing him, that's a huge problem.
>Bush embraces the Dems all the time.......it means squat.
Difference is, a lot of the Israeli left is embracing him as well.
>I really don't believe Israel has any attention of vacating the WB. Gaza is the throwaway to placate the Palestinians.....and Gaza is the throwaway because its of little value to anyone but the settlers. The WB has much more value for Israel.
I don't think the Israelis are going to vacate the WB under the Likud, either, but I'm holding out hope, and also, even if Sharon doesn't do it, the possiblity has really been brought to the forefront of people's minds in Israel, as far as I've heard. A Labor regime (which will likely happen within the next couple of years) may now be able to get away with giving quite a bit. And, regardless, the Gaza pullout is the best gesture (relatively speaking) that either side has made in five years.
>Why would he? Most Palestinians believe that it is Hamas that keeps the pressure on Israel to consider their freedom.
Because of all that Hamas represents...
>I don't see that he has a choice.
You may be right, and that's really our fault. The U.S. could give him a choice by guaranteeing his security if he's willing to dismantle them.
>While I don't think that's smart, I don't agree with your definition of the term. I think most Arabs mean that term to suggest an expansionist attitude on the part of Israel.
Then you haven't followed the context much.
>You are worried about something he wrote 50 years ago. What about Sharon saying just three years ago that the Palestinians will never be free?
Early '80s, but I guess that's neither here nor there. And, yes, I can see your point here. I just haven't seen a single sign that Abbas is better than Arafat since taking over, and I've seen a couple of very small signs that Sharon's behaving a bit better.
>My worry is that Bush is taking a page from Sharon's book and we are headed down the same path that is Israel's. The neocons seem overly impressed with Sharon and IMO the religious fundamentalists give Israel too much importance in regards to its position as keeper of Christian artifacts.
Could be. The irony here is that Sharon isn't even a religious fanatic like Bush is, though I guess most of the other big neocons like Rummy aren't either.
-Z |
