To: JohnM who wrote (7871 ) 9/14/2003 1:58:23 AM From: Nadine Carroll Read Replies (2) | Respond to It is the same narrative, Nadine, the one that places all the blame on the Palestinians, fails to acknowledge the settlements as contributory, and assumes force and fear will solve the problem Especially settlements, 80% of which have already been offered to be dismantled (as c2 says, in negotiations you can always get again anything that has already been offered).That was their tactical decision. Settlements did not make them do it, and to keep saying so is to regard them as some kind of helpless automaton. The talks didn't even break down over settlements, for crying out loud, they broke down over "right of return."Unfortunately, this is not an answer to the NYT editorial, as you say, but very much part of the problem It takes two to tango. If Hamas reacts as Chodoff thinks they react, the NYT solution will only make things ten times worse. Hamas' stated ideology and past history all lean to Chodoff's side of the argument. In response, you have offered no argument whatsover except to call his argument "part of the problem". It's not. It's a diagnosis. A diagnosis is never part of the problem, if it's correct. If you think the diagnosis is incorrect, then it's up to you to say why and how.
