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

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (49885)	10/7/2002 1:13:56 AM
From: Eashoa' M'sheekha	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

>>Well, I give a FAR larger benefit of a doubt to Israelis, if only because they are a democratic society, with many diverse opposition groups, including an voting Arab sector making up 20% of the total population.<< Agreed. >>I don't see what excuse the authoritarian and totalitarian Arab (and Iran) regimes in the region have for not pursuing peace. If Egypt can manage it, so can they (if they have the desire).<< Agreed. >>KC.. those who perceive the authoritarian regimes in the region as truly having a desire for peace are deluding themselves. It is in their interest to continue elevating the level of tension with Israel, using Arafat as their pawn (which he does in exchange for more money from them so sustain his own powerbase).<< This is the theory, but is not necessarily Historically accurate for all regions under all circumstances. >>Then Israel's talk of a peace process when the violence stops and a Palestinian State is all Bull$hit? Hardly... Remember... Israel conquered JORDANIAN property because King Hussein foolishly sought to use it to attack them in 1967 (despite Israel's pleas for Jordan to stay out of the fight).........................etc..... And even then, Jordan didn't sign a peace treaty with Israel until 1994.<<< They have to begin looking ahead Hawk, not continually looking in the rear view mirror.There is just too much carnage on the ME highway to think it is the only road to follow. This is Nadine’s thinking as well.There is an awful lot of distrust and anger left over from decades of death and destruction, but there has to be a solution with a desire on both sides to commit to a peace process.I thought the offer from the Arab League was a good starting point, but it was dismissed outright as a non-starter with no real attempt to progress from there. >>So we have to remember that there has been a change of power on the West Bank and Gaza... And the Israelis have had to deal with new power brokers, namely Arafat and the PA. And that hasn't worked. So if it requires reshaping the Palestinian power structure in order to identify some more moderate elements.. people who can make a promise and keep it, then maybe the violence will end.<< Arafat has proven to be too hell bent on no compromise beyond the UN resolutions.This is his position apparently and he has to come to the realization that compromise WILL be necessary, otherwise he gets removed from the picture.Sharon has to also be prepared to bargain fairly, with none of this “ we offered them 95% “ etc..etc.. we hear, because the devil was in the details of that one. >>After all,.. let's face some facts here... the primary goal of the Palestinian father and mother is to feed their children and have employment. And Arafat really hasn't done a great job at providing either. And they will never get away from the fact that they rely upon Israel for their jobs. You don't see many Palestinians commuting into Jordan, now do you??<< Their prosperity is somewhat linked at this point,but Israel is certainly the economic driving force. >>Once again, in sum... Israel is a democracy.. None of it's neighboring nations can realistically make such a claim (though Jordan is moving well in this direction).<< Let’s hope the Palestinians have an opportunity to experience the advantages of an open-democratic society. >>So let's recognize that when authoritarian governments don't opt for peace, it's because they are trying to distract their people from their own repression and economic corruption.<< You talkin about the Republicans here? Heh heh heh KC