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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/23/AR2006012301256.html
The Palestinians' Crisis of Leadership
(Washington Post) Aaron David Miller - The Palestinians deserve a large share of the responsibility for their tragic predicament. Their leaders have failed to outline a coherent strategy, to devise effective tactics, or to condition their public for compromise. Instead, a political culture of grievance and avoidance of responsibility has been the Palestinians' operating software. Armed struggle as a tactic has been a disaster. While Hamas boasts (with some justification) that it was the gun that forced the Israelis out of the Gaza Strip, the gun has also wreaked havoc on the Palestinian society and image. Suicide terrorism has not only alienated Israel and America but also pushed them closer together. And without Israel and America, a Palestinian state will be stillborn.