History Isn't on the Palestinians' Side

Opinion Journal ^ | 04/02/2002 | VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

[Pokey78]

For all the efforts of our contemporary theorists to harness and sometimes refashion history, the facts of the past belong to no one--and won't go away. Those who conjure it up often discover to their dismay that they themselves are subject to its brutal laws of truth. The Palestinians are fast learning of history's ironies and unintended reminders, as they seek to invoke the past to convince Americans of the righteousness of their present plight.

[Goldsters]

Excellent post. Thank you =]

[capitan_refugio]

It's just a thumbnail sketch of the last 54 years, but I hope I got to the point.

[The Great Satan]

There is no difference between the what the PLO is doing to Israel and what the Saudi suicide bombers did to us on 9/11.

And, in all probability, the sponsor is the same -- Saddam Hussein.

[crystalk]

The article at head is excellent, and if it REALLY covered the history adequately, would leave far less sympathy for the Pallies today, than it does as written.

[monkeyshine]

bump!

[M.K. Borders]

...history, rightly or wrongly, is not kind to states that repeatedly attack their neighbors--and lose.
This is all anyone need know about the "Middle East Situation"

Great read, Good post.

[dennisw]

Victor Davis Hansen is always very good. I have a book of his where he writes very well of General George Patton. A great account of Patton's WW2 exploits and his mentality. What a giant Patton was!

PINGING!

[sheik yerbouty]

Don't hold your breathe..

[Valin]

Bump for the flavor of the month. If you go to amazon.com and look for his latest, Carnage and Culture, you can get some excerpts from the book. I highly recomend this book, good stuff.

[tcostell]

Not just the palestinians, but Arab culture on the whole has been in decline for a minimum of 100 years (actually it's more like 700). And if you ask me any culture where someone could strap explosives onto their own child and ask them to blow themselves to bits, should be in decline.
This conflict isn't about oil, or the holy land, it's about a conflict between a culture that places the individual above all else (in theory anyway) and a culture which thinks the individual is nothing, and all should surrender to the "will" of Allah. One culture is as successful as any has ever been, and the other is falling into ruin. you decide how this will eventually play out.

[white trash redneck]

BTTT. Nice article.

[RnMomof7]

Excellent ping..the dumb reporter on Fox news ,(that told a caller who objected to the term "occupied territories" we could not be bothered with historical context or we would be there all day) ,should read this...

He exibited just pathetic ignorance, typical of the press

[Light Speed]

This is an excellent article..thanks.
Today rumblings of retaliation were heard from Iran and Iraq.
Comments of joining together..to create an oil boycott.
This mentallity of revenge..[Badaahl] is part of Islams psychy..with Israel displaying power and finding sympathy from America..the anger builds in Mosques around the world.
They will try to get even with America and Israel..punish us..because we will not submit to their power..their will.
The war on terrorism is infact, just a war of wills.
Eventually their threats will recieve a response they will never arrise from..its hard to keep fighting when you become atomized!

[Lent]

Good article.

[backhoe]

Locator bump... ISP's been dead since last nite....

[tictoc]

I would really like to see an objective chronology of events since 1948. I realize that objectivity is hard to come by in this situation, but I would like to know who was where when, including maps. Also, what about the role the US has played in always supporting Israel? Are we the heavy in the background, allowing Israel to do whatever it wants, as the Arabs claim? Everyone already seems to have taken sides in this conflict and each side gives completely different narratives of the events. I want what Sargeant Friday always used to request, "Just the facts, Ma'am."

I have yet to find a 5 minute primer that manages to be both objective and concise. It was only last year that I began to immerse myself in the history of Middle East and I am learning more every day.

You might start with this timeline from the Israeli Foreign Ministry and explore some of the links there, then move on to the PLO website and read what they have to say.

One very astute observer of the Middle East is Daniel Pipes. His suggested reading list on Islam alone is worth the visit, and he maintains a vast archive with book reviews, articles and interview transcripts. For an opposing point of view, visit the Washington Report on Middle-East Affairs, a highly articulate pro-Palestinian web site.

The editorials and news reports that get posted to FreeRepublic will only get you so far in learning about Israel and its conflict with the Arab world.

In the end, it's up to you and your judgment.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Palestinian spokesmen decry asymmetrical casualty figures, as if history has ever accorded moral capital to any belligerents that suffered the greater losses in war. Again, ask imperial Japan or Nazi Germany whether the ghosts of millions of their dead today carry moral weight when their governments once sought war against their neighbors. Deliberately trying to blow apart civilians will never be seen as the moral equivalent of noncombatants dying as a result of the street fighting in the West Bank.

Less than two years ago, Yasser Arafat was offered almost all of the West Bank and would now be the unquestioned strongman of his own tribal fiefdom had he taken such a generous Israeli offer. His own scheming and the intifada--not Israeli extremism--brought back to him his old nemesis, Ariel Sharon. Again, the problem for the Palestinians is not that Americans are ignorant of the historical complexities of the Middle East, but that we know them only too well.

Excellent article. Thanks Dennis.

[Pining_4_TX]

Thank you both very much for the info!

[Goldsters]

FYI, Sean Hannity was encouraging everyone to read this article today.