The Players

Submitted by David Mitchell (United States), Jun 25, 2002 at 16:39

I understood the President's words differently when he said that the "Palestinian people" have "been treated as pawns". Does he not mean that the players are Arafat and the governments of the neighboring Arab countries, as they use the Palestinian "plight" as justification for their hatred of Israel?

Likewise, when he called the current condition of both sides "untenable", I don't see that all blame for the Palestinians' troubles was laid on Israel. Bush went on to demand reforms throughout Palestinian society.

"To see the error of this statement, change it to 'It is untenable for American citizens to live in terror. It is untenable for Afghans to live in squalor and occupation.'"

That is not so different from what we said -- as we dismantled the government of Afghanistan.

However, to stop disagreeing with Mr. Pipes' commentary, I am not at all certain that many Palestinians would support leaders favorable to Israel's existence.

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