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A Pre-emptive Statement?

Reader comment on item: Reflections on Hosni Mubarak's Resignation

Submitted by Ron Thompson (United States), Feb 13, 2011 at 15:36

In a very fluid but potentially hopeful situation, many people are legitimately worried whether the forces that gain power in Egypt will sensibly concern themsleves with the domestic political and economic well-being of Egypt, or turn to the utopian violence of Islam and (ignoring that domestic self-interest) focus on attacking the only well-functioning society in their region.

Wouldn't it be interesting if just for once the United States or some (unlikely) government voice in Europe, while actively encouraging and applauding every step in the direction of democracy and indepenedent civil institutions in Egypt, at the first sign of a turn in the direction of unappeaseable Islam, came out with a strong pre-emptive statement that the Palestinians, through their own and other Arab and Moslem leaders, are 95% responsible for the predicament they are in.

That is, instead of pretending the Israelis and Palestinans are equally rational and responsible entities with "both sides" engaged in a genuine "peace process", and passively waiting for some sign of credible reasonableness from either the PLO or Hamas, what if for once we seized the initiative and made the above statement - which should have made at the very latest after the 2000 initative of Clinton AND Barak was torpedoed by Arafat.

Granted, this would be shocking, not least to all those in the West who share the profound delusion that 'both sides' bear equal failure for the emergence of a genuine peace. But since the odds are extremely, one might say overwhelmingly high, that nothing about the otherwise potentially hopeful events (i.e. domestically for the Egyptians) offers any sign of a change in popular attitudes toward Israel, why not, JUST ONCE, take the initiative. And, while offering all possible encouragement for peaceful and democratic change, preempt what will certainly happen in Egypt's foreign policy toward Israel. Such a stand might also reinforce the likely feeling of the Egyptian military, which probably wants to continue to enjoy its perks and to receive largesse from the US (the cutoff of which could be quietly threatened if a wave of Islamist anti-Israel feeling is stirred up).

Alas, it is undoubtedly too much to hope that such a bold stroke is remotely likely. But the tragedy is that by failing to change the terms of discussion at this moment of great fluidity, we will be complicit when it becomes obvious that Peace is as far away as ever with regard to the self-maintained predicament of the Palestinians, and the Security of Israel may well have become more endangered and more expensive than at any time since 1979.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (28) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Reconquest of Al-Aqsa (read Jerusalem) [58 words]MumkinFeb 22, 2011 14:11182887
3Will Egypt pass on to Islamists [102 words]B.N.GururajFeb 16, 2011 22:48182759
1Will Egypt/Tunisia/Libya slip into islamist's hand. [101 words]GopiFeb 28, 2011 02:06182759
No se engaƱe [79 words]CachiloFeb 16, 2011 08:46182740
EL GUADALETE ALARGA SU CAUCE [337 words]TOPOSTEO DESDE MI BAHIAFeb 16, 2011 03:58182732
Greater Arabia [61 words]morris wiseFeb 15, 2011 10:39182701
How much is too much police brutality? [28 words]powzonFeb 14, 2011 13:54182664
1I feel sorry for Mubarak. [150 words]batya daganFeb 13, 2011 22:02182640
2Barak and Mubarak [37 words]Seamus Dafydd Dives MacNemiFeb 14, 2011 20:32182640
1Mideast Democracy? [233 words]J Randall PeacherFeb 13, 2011 19:15182637
No to Mubarak and the Muslim Brotherhood also. [91 words]Ric Ben-SafedFeb 14, 2011 08:06182637
Not Roosevelt's, but Kissinger's [24 words]BrunoFeb 13, 2011 17:06182633
Mubarak's army? [54 words]Andy B.Feb 13, 2011 16:18182632
3A Pre-emptive Statement? [429 words]Ron ThompsonFeb 13, 2011 15:36182631
3Egypt Will Now Become another Iran. Thank you, US media and Hussein Obama [236 words]Kurt SteinerFeb 13, 2011 07:47182613
2Nothing changed in Egypt [148 words]yonatan silvermanFeb 13, 2011 07:32182610
1Arab racism in mainstream Arab world: The 200 Arab (sexually) attackers on Lara Logan - example [295 words]LorenaFeb 16, 2011 22:30182610
7Thank you [162 words]NadiaFeb 12, 2011 18:24182583
from Michael in Egypt [241 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
M M PrinceFeb 12, 2011 18:17182582
8Middle East issues for Christians and Jews [186 words]Bishop Gabrielle CroftsFeb 12, 2011 13:17182579
8Plus ca change [304 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 12, 2011 08:01182576
A linguistic question [71 words]MotkeFeb 14, 2011 08:29182576
4The term yen3al/yel3an deeno [307 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 15, 2011 07:44182576
No Longer Mubarak's Egypt - But Who's in the Shadow? [884 words]M. ToveyFeb 23, 2011 16:26182576
2What would really happen in Egypt [1044 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 27, 2011 17:30182576
Where are the Ptolemy's when Egypt Needs Them? [337 words]M. ToveyFeb 28, 2011 12:45182576
1What is this fight about? [40 words]TedFeb 12, 2011 02:55182567
Request [56 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Progressive EdFeb 12, 2011 01:30182566

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