Replies

Do you have a fence around your house? If so, why? Looks?

As a matter of fact, no. I don't have a fence around my house. And even if I did, it wouldn't do much to dissuade intruders who want to break in bad enough.

Of course, you are referring to the security fence, right? Well, let's run with your analogy:

Let's say you were in the midst of a legal dispute with your neighbor about your property line. In the midst of the dispute -- before the lawsuit gets settled or goes to trial -- you decide you are going to erect a fence around your property. Can you do that?

No, you can't. Why? Because you don't know where your property begins and the other guy's ends. That is the nature of the dispute. You could spend a lot of money erecting a fence that you will have to tear down later, after the property line is established legally, which would be dumb and a waste of money. Get the drift?

Now, let's suppose that you were concerned because your neightbor is a homicidal maniac. So, you think your fence will protect you. Guess what? It won't. A homicidal maniac will find his way around, over or under your fence if he wants to kill you bad enough.

Still not convinced? Okay. You could cheat yourself. Say you build your fence, and in order not to jeapordize the trial, you try to be modest. When you build your fence, you make sure that it is well within the boundaries of your property. Well, guess what? You've just screwed yourself out of YOUR property on the other side of the fence. That's why the right wing Israelis are against the security fence.

The security fence is not a clear cut case. It is not cut and dry. Condi is right to second guess Sharon on this.