Friday, August 19, 2005
The Hammer of the Cabbage
Charles Krauthammer makes some sense about the unilateral concession that withdrawal from Gaza represents. Money quote:
The Gaza withdrawal is not the beginning but the end. Apart from perhaps some evacuations of outlying settlements on the West Bank, it is the end of the concession road for Israel. And it is the beginning of the new era of self-sufficiency and separation in which Israel ensures its security not by concessions, but by fortification, barrier creation, realism and patient waiting.
Waiting for the first-ever genuine Palestinian concessions. Waiting for the Palestinians to honor the promises -- to recognize Israel and renounce terrorism -- they solemnly made at Oslo and brazenly betrayed. That's the next step. Without it, nothing happens.
Here's our official reaction from Secretary of State Rice:
Everyone empathizes with what the Israelis are facing," she said in an interview with The New York Times. But, she added, "It cannot be Gaza only."
...
According to the Times, Rice said that while the withdrawal would take several weeks, Israel must take further steps soon afterward, including loosening travel restrictions in the West Bank and withdrawing from more Palestinian cities.
That doesn't sound good. The Israelis make this historic, heart-wrenching concession and we want more? I'm with Krauthammer. This is the end of Israeli concessions until Palestinian leadership becomes sane, responsible and peaceful. The ball is 100% in their court.
I also say: "Never give up the Golan" (more on that later) and "There is a Palestinian state, it's called the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan" but the Palestinians wore out their welcome (to put it nicely) and King Hussein kicked them out in "Black" September, 1970 with the loss of about 1,100 Palestinian lives (some estimates go as high as 10,000). But I'm just a quiet Catholic boy who reads a lot of history, what do I know?
The Gaza withdrawal is not the beginning but the end. Apart from perhaps some evacuations of outlying settlements on the West Bank, it is the end of the concession road for Israel. And it is the beginning of the new era of self-sufficiency and separation in which Israel ensures its security not by concessions, but by fortification, barrier creation, realism and patient waiting.
Waiting for the first-ever genuine Palestinian concessions. Waiting for the Palestinians to honor the promises -- to recognize Israel and renounce terrorism -- they solemnly made at Oslo and brazenly betrayed. That's the next step. Without it, nothing happens.
Here's our official reaction from Secretary of State Rice:
Everyone empathizes with what the Israelis are facing," she said in an interview with The New York Times. But, she added, "It cannot be Gaza only."
...
According to the Times, Rice said that while the withdrawal would take several weeks, Israel must take further steps soon afterward, including loosening travel restrictions in the West Bank and withdrawing from more Palestinian cities.
That doesn't sound good. The Israelis make this historic, heart-wrenching concession and we want more? I'm with Krauthammer. This is the end of Israeli concessions until Palestinian leadership becomes sane, responsible and peaceful. The ball is 100% in their court.
I also say: "Never give up the Golan" (more on that later) and "There is a Palestinian state, it's called the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan" but the Palestinians wore out their welcome (to put it nicely) and King Hussein kicked them out in "Black" September, 1970 with the loss of about 1,100 Palestinian lives (some estimates go as high as 10,000). But I'm just a quiet Catholic boy who reads a lot of history, what do I know?
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 6:56 AM 
