A reader writes:
THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS! Right on the money. I am with you all the way. And of course Rahm said that. That was probably a sanitized version of what he really said. And any sane person would say the same thing.
Another:
The White House may be sick of Israel and Palestinians. But you know what? Obama and Rahm fucked this up royally (and I’m an Obama supporter). They went into office with good will on both sides, then without adequate planning made a politically impossible demand on Israel – a 100% settlement freeze, including Jerusalem and natural growth, contradicting written assurances from prior administrations. Do you have any conception how difficult a total settlement freeze would be to achieve for a newly elected Likud led government? Would such a policy have been sensible? Probably.
So, too, would renewal of the ban on semi-automatic weapons. What are the chances of getting that through Congress even with Democratic super majority? How about during a Republican administration? Middle East progress could have been achieved last year, but it would have taken subtlety, and careful planning, not the amateur hour stuff characterized by the pathetic approach to the Saudis. The result of all this has been that Abbas’s feet have been cut out from under him and Bibi is the most popular PM in years (and I’m not a Bibi supporter).
But if a total settlement freeze was essential to restarting the peace process and it is a sensible idea and it is simply impossible under the current Israeli government, then what do we do? At some point, it seems to me, we have to impose a settlement or walk away. Being dragged into their drama, which is what they live for, is a mug's game for a free people with other concerns and interests. The sooner we can do that the better. But it requires a serious non-carbon energy policy – and the Congress in the US will never be able to deliver that. So we're back to stalemate. And a deepening tension between the West and Islam, exacerbated by one of the US's closest allies that refuses to budge an inch.
This will have to change at some point.
The Dish 