(Jerusalem Post) Barry Rubin - Rahm Emanuel writes in a recent op-ed: "President Obama, like every student of the Middle East, understands that the shifting sands of demography in that volatile region are working against the two-state solution needed to end generations of bloodshed." I'm a student of the Middle East, and I think that's total nonsense. Why is the "demography" in the region against the two-state solution? Because there are more Palestinians? Who cares? That has absolutely zero political impact. Israel does not rule Gaza. Hamas does. Israel does not rule the people of the West Bank. Fatah does. That's been the basic situation now for 17 years. The failure to achieve peace is not based on borders or Jerusalem, but on the continued attempts by Muslims generally to wipe Israel off the map. Indeed, partly thanks to Obama's policies, they are more confident of doing so than they were 10 or 20 years ago. Finally, consider the logical fallacy of arguing that things are becoming worse, so Israel must rush into peace now. If things are going to be worse, why make concessions in exchange for a piece of paper that will be torn up, and that is guaranteed by people who can't be trusted?
2011-06-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive