Concerning your "Symposium On the Strip" Here is a copy of a letter I sent to The Jerusalem Post recently

Submitted by Ted Kraminer (Israel), Jun 30, 2006 at 02:04

Sir:

In reaction to Saul Singer's "Malaise" article ((June 21-06) in which he quotes Pipes, a dose of reality is in order.

As long as oil continues to be the ultimate commodity, the Arab nations will remain the dominant unchecked force striving for world domination. The Arabs recognize it and are emboldened by it.

The West, while many times more powerful than its Middle Eastern adversaries, has decided for the time being at least not to react to threats; even to its very existence. Containment is the watchword rather than Victory as world markets teeter at the very consideration of oil price instability. This leaves Western leaders hard-pressed to arrive at a solution that would leave their economies unscathed by confrontation.

Unless and until the threat becomes immediate and of greater potential than the rising price of oil, we can expect much of the same passivity that has characterized Western strategy of late.

Sincerely,
Ted Kraminer
Jerusalem

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