Posted on 04/17/2002 6:40:35 AM PDT by Luis Gonzalez
There are thousands of articles posted in FR weekly, I miss some of them once in a while.
in other words, the victor always writes the history... unless you happen to live in america.
In the entire history of the world, NEVER has a negotiated peace resulted in a stable lasting peace.
Or phrased another way:
The ONLY way to insure a stable, lasting peace is for one party in a conflict to be so soundly defeated that they are forced to surrender UNCONDITIONALLY - no ceasefire to talk about it - UNCONDITIONALLY!
A recent example of the difference in a negotiated peace and an enforced peace can be found at the end of World War I and World War II. Even though the Kaiser and the Germans were soundly defeated at the end of World War I, the Germans were allowed some dignity. In fact, the surrender (armistice) was negotiated. The German delegates were essentially forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles some 7 months later, but the armistice itself was negotiated. Guess what? Although the Germans people felt defeated, their spirit had not been broken and as a result, their anger festered. 20 years later, that same ugly enemy reared his head. But at the end of World War II, both Germany and Japan were so soundly and thoroughly defeated that as a group, they were both a broken people. They were left with no choice but to surrendered UNCONDITIONALLY and essentially throw themselves upon our mercy. We have been at peace with both countries for more than 60 years and there is no reason to believe that condition will change.
If a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians is to ever be achieved, such a thorough defeat of one side in the conflict must occur. The defeated party must be so thoroughly routed that group/national pride will be replaced with complete resignation. That state does not have to be and should not be a permanent state. Both the Germans and the Japanese were a completely broken people at the end of World War II, but look at them today. Until the spirit of either the Israelis or the Palestinians is completely broken, a lasting peace will not be possible. Sure, it is possible that achieving such a defeat might possibly require one side decimating the population of the other side, but hopefully it would not take going that far. But, the key is to not stop until it is certain that the enemy spirit is completely broken, even if it does require decimating a large portion of the population. In fact, dropping the atomic bombs on Japan is said to have had the net effect of actually saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Failure of the stronger party in this conflict to finish the job, will only result in many more deaths in the long run, on both sides, over the years that follow.
Now, the only question is, "Which side is the stronger and capable of ending this conflict decisively?"
You guessed it.
Now all that we have to do is to get Dubya to back off and let Israel do what they have every right to do - protect themselves in their own country.
It does matter. Most groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, along with Arafat and many Arabic leaders consider "Palestine" to be historic Palestine, from the British seizure of land from the Ottomans, meaning that the land Israel is on (all of it, not just parts "occupied") is Palestine, and therefore the state of Israel in their view has no right to exist. Arafat met Arab leaders in Egypt in 1974 and formulated the "stages plan". First, get the Israelis out of disputed territory acquired in 1967. Then get the Israelis out of territory established in 1948, the Israeli war for Independence, ie, destroy Israel. They would be willing to live with the Jews as long as Jews lived in a state called Palestine under Islamic law. So, if you're an Israeli Jew, you have a lot to worry about a Palestinian state becoming a staging ground for attacks even worse than we're seeing now.
14. The P.L.O.'s Charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them. Actually it doesn't.Really?!
REMEMBER:
You're either with US,
or you're with the
TERRORISTS.:
It goes to the theme, that palestinians don't give a crap about the holiness of the place... they just want dead Jews... according to the author.
Ok..but Bush said Arafat wasn't a terrorist but ...I know he is a terrorist...so I can't be with Arafat but I can't be with Bush...
It was once so clear but now I'm confused. I must be the terrorist.
I saw this in the PLO charter sometime back. And it explains Yassir's true motivation.
Also, there was a palestinian state as part of the UN partition plan. and again through the efforts of Carville, Clinton and Barak. These plans were scuttled by the very Palestinians who claim to only want their own state and to live in peace.
And that means they must fish or cut bait. They have conquered their homeland many more times than they should have had to; they should just finish the damn job, fer cryin' out loud! The inherent concern the Jews have for morality is, in many ways, a major problem for them.
By the way, that principle is universal: if you don't have the means to uphold your "rights", then you have no rights at all.
Imal
Yes, for consumption by the West.
Arafat is not an Islamic fanatic.
He is a Marxist revolutionary - a murderer, a thug, a dictator.
He does not want "peace" with the Jewish state.
He wants it annihilated.
You have presented not a shred of empirical evidence otherwise.
Incorrect. 2 Samuel 5 explains how Jerusalem, and specifically the citadel of Zion, was a stronghold of the Jebusites - a Canaanite people. David conquered the city and made it his capital.
The archaeological record bears the Bible out on this one - Jerusalem was inhabited for centuries before 1000 B.C., the time most scholars assign to David's reign.
Imprecision hurts an otherwise impregnable case.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
