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To: jim black who wrote (9208)	9/14/2001 3:49:58 PM
From: Bob Duncan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

"I was for and maintain a position for our becoming Arab oil independent. I do not regret giving the people of Israel a home after what they suffered during the Holocaust..." Think hard about this. Is the restoration of the temple of Isreal worth the destruction of the World Trade Center. Is it worth Western Civilization? Arabs have been oppressed by the western world for years. A new country was created in their homeland to restore a kingdom that existed 3,000 years prior. Think hard about that. Ask yourself this, if you essentially were told you can stay somewhere if you want, but you will be 2nd class people living in tents, because the "wise" western world has decided to take you land and give it to another group, what would you do. Would you not hate the west that did this? I have no doubt that Arabs in general want self government in Palistine, period. I am not taking there side, just saying that is what you are working with. Do you think dropping a few more bombs on them in their homelands will change this attitude? Complex times, complex questions, and it will not be solved for a long time.

To: jim black who wrote (9208)	9/14/2001 5:16:25 PM
From: KyrosL	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 74559

Jim, I disagree. If we help solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem and if we stop the bombing of Iraq by following the advise of some of our European allies, we will go far toward defeating the terrorists. The solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem is rather simple: the West Bank must be returned to the Palestinians in its entirety. The Israeli settlements, which are considered both by the UN and our government illegal must go. A generous monetary compensation must be given to the Palestinian refugees that left Israel during the Arab-Israeli wars of the 40s. An iron-clad guarantee of Israeli security must be given by the US with US troops permanently (or until both sides think they are not needed) stationed possibly on some of the land that currently contains Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Generous economic help must be given to both Israel and the Palestinians at least until their standard of living is high enough to have a very high incentive to preserve the peace. This will remove much of the fuel that is feeding the terrorist fires. The cost of all this will be shared by us our European allies and Japan. The costs to America of the above actions is TRIVIAL compared to the cost that awaits us if we continue on our present course of "hands off the Middle East + hunt and kill terrorists." On Iraq, do what the French tell us to do -- they used to have a colonial empire in these parts and Northern Africa. Stop the stupid bombing. It strengthens Saddam instead of weakening him. By solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saddam loses his main appeal to the rest of the Arab world. And so do the rest of the terrorists, who lose their main weapons of recruitment: Palestinians and Iraq. On the Taliban, pour money and any other help needed to the Northern Coalition which is still fighting the Taliban (the other day they staged a spectacular bombardment of Kabul) and still controls a piece of Afghanistan. They are much more liberal in their treatment of women, and are not Islamist fanatics. Part of the Northern Coalition was the old "Communist" regime in Afghanistan, whose treatment of women was pretty good. It would be ironic to now support elements formerly allied with the old Soviet Union, but I guess in retrospect they were the lesser of two evils. The above actions, while on the surface politically unpalatable, will result in much less suffering for all involved, including us. Kyros