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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: maceng2 who wrote (14566)	12/23/2001 6:46:21 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Respond to of 281500

Interesting, I hadn't thought of comparing Palestinian tactics to the French Foreign Legion. Anyone who screws with them gets the FFL in their face. No matter how many are killed and wounded, no French families suffer, and the Nation is not turned into turmoil on that point. They are officered by French citizens though, and it is regarded as a big honor to lead the Foreign Legion. My father, who was born and raised in France, always considered the FFL such a stroke of genius that he always wondered why all the democracies didn't imitate it. You always have a bunch of fierce, well-trained troops you can send into action at a moment's notice with no political cost. Pure genius. Looks to me the Palestinians are working a similar line. In that casualties are seen as "effective casualties". They serve a purpose of some sort. Yes, exactly. The goal is either to force an Israeli withdrawal, or, failing that, to get Kosovo-style international monitors forced on the Israelis. To do that, you must represent yourself as innocent oppressed victims, a viewpoint that the Europeans seemed very willing to buy without too many questions asked, at least until recently. That is why I call Palestinian tactics "shoot'n'whine". The overall goal is to get land for no peace, land that does not cost any essential compromise of the Palestinian goal, which is Palestine from the river to the sea. While I hope that there are many Palestinians who would be willing to compromise for peace, I am very sure that today's rulers in PA territory are not among them.