Posted on 07/07/2010 5:11:55 PM PDT by ventanax5
Reuben and Shimon are placed into a small room with a suitcase containing $100,000 of cash. The owner of the suitcase offers them the following: "I'll give you all the money in the suitcase, but only on the condition that you negotiate and reach an amicable agreement on its division. That’s the only way I will give you the money. " Reuben, who is a rational person, appreciates the golden opportunity presented to him and turns to Shimon with the obvious suggestion: "Come, you take half the amount, I'll take the other half, and each of us will go away with $50,000." To his surprise, Shimon, with a serious look on his face and a determined voice says: "Listen, I do not know what your intentions are with the money, but I'm not leaving this room with less than $90,000. Take it or leave it. I’m fully prepared to go home with nothing." Reuben can not believe his ears. What happened to Shimon? he thinks to himself. Why should he get 90%, and I only 10%? He decides to try to talk to Shimon. "Come, be reasonable," he pleads. "We're both in this together, and we both want the money. Come let’s share the amount equally and we’ll both come out ahead.”
(Excerpt) Read more at aish.com ...
I think they need to stop negotiating and use force to push Palestinians off their land. Do that in a major way for several years, and perhaps the Palestinians would agree to a new round of negotiations.
Robert Aumann may think this is a game but I would tell the Palestinians not to come to the conference unless they are willing to accept the fact they are alive as a blessing from God. Expect any more and you are expecting too much. Expect that Israel will surrender the Golan and you are expecting too much. Don’t come with false hopes.
That $100,000 in the breifcase that the Jew and the Arab are dickering over... that came from whom, exactly?
Oh... it came from ME???
So, let me get this right... I lose $100k, the Arab gets $90k and the Isreali gets $10k? So no matter what, I am in last place in a game that I am not allowed to refuse to participate in?
GTFO.
Did you read the article? It explicitly states that a demonstrated willingness to walk away is a sound strategy for "repeated games" such as periodic arms talks. Reagan's work at Rekjavik is a great validation of that.
Reagan did seem to agree with the game theorists in that he wanted to share missile defense technology with the Soviets so they could build a defense system of their own at the same time as the US.
That’s why it behooves one to be armed before, during, and after negotiations. :’) Thanks ventanax5.
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