[Human Events] Dore Gold - Much of the present critique of the Bush administration's Iraq policy focuses on the need to ratchet up U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East. Diplomats, politicians, and commentators have been proposing a new policy of increasing U.S. "engagement" based on the assumption that America's chief rival in the region - Iran - can act as a force for stability. At the same time, there is growing pressure on Bush to immediately revive Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, despite the Hamas' control of the Palestinian Authority, with full Iranian backing. By offering concessions like these, Western diplomats are making a colossal error that could have devastating consequences. As I explain in my new book, The Fight for Jerusalem, proposals to "engage" radical Islam and appease it with territorial concessions in Jerusalem and elsewhere will not lower the flames of militant Islamic rage, but will much more likely result in an explosion of new violence throughout the entire Middle East. Monday's suicide attack in Eilat, Israel, conducted by Islamic Jihad, which is directly controlled by Iranian intelligence, is just the latest example of Iran's plans for Israel's "security."
2007-01-30 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive