Further Bewildered
I am becoming rapidly convinced that either I'm a fool or I can see and the rest of the world wears bifocals. Check out this Slate "Breakfast Table" with Chris Matthews and Maggie Carlson. Matthews isn't convinced that we should attack Iraq and points to the Wash. Post report that we're plum out of materials. Can't wait for the defense hawks to argue for yet even more defense funding because of it. Matthews makes some interesting points that strike me as tremendously short-sighted (or rather short-minded) given out recent history in prosecuting military action that (we were told) would turn the world (Arab or otherwise) against us. I do not discount his point entirely because it is important to keep in mind that we must wage a propaganda war at the same time (and in between) any military action.

Later in the "talk" Matthews pens, "[t]o get through this, Israel needs to find something a strategic majority of the Palestinians wants bad enough to go for peace." Again I ask why it is that Israel must be the one to bend over backwards to appease terrorists? If, in rejecting the offers from Barak, the Palestinians did not see a reason to oust Arafat before, why are people convinced that some other proposal will cause either the populace or Arafat himself to take action? In my opinion, Sharon's falling numbers are not because he has failed to make peace with Arafat, but because he has failed to take decisive action (violent or otherwise) to deal with the Palestinians. For some reason (or perhaps because I have yet to be properly shown the reasons) people are blind to an even-handed analysis of the facts. Soldiering on in the Lewis book trying to untangle what happened over there and I've flipped through some of Edward Said's books and I think I'll start with "The Palestinian Question" but I am wary of his (or anyone's) justifications for one side or the other given his proximity to the conflict. Nonetheless, he is the one who brought the issue of Palestine to America and needs to be given his due measure.
- posted by levinson @ 2/25/2002 05:42:00 PM