In Foreign Policyland, there are tons of problems and opportunities that are chomping at the bit for 44 and the super powered League of Rivals.Perhaps the most enduring of these must solve issues is one that seems invulnerble - the seemingly always on battle about Little Satan and Palestine's two bits - the Strip and West Bank.
Ancient avatars of the corrupt cult of stability, Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski ritualize a rescue for the always just out of reach fakebelieve concept of the "2 State Solution".
"The major elements of an agreement are well known. A key element in any new initiative would be for the US president to declare publicly what, in the view of this country, the basic parameters of a fair and enduring peace ought to be.
These should contain four principal elements:
1967 borders, with minor, reciprocal and agreed-upon modifications;
compensation in lieu of the right of return for Palestinian refugees;
Jerusalem as real home to two capitals;
and a non-militarized Palestinian state. "
This is significant. And a problem.
Despite Oslo, Madrid, Sharm al Sheik, Roadmaps, quartets, duets, Pyramidland and Saudi Iniatives the fact remains the entire raison d'etre' has been twisted nearly beyond repair.
Consider: The 2 State solution is based on a deadly incorrect belief.
Way back in 1993, Great Satan and Little Satan first recog'd the Palestine Liberation Organization as the single legit representative of Palestinians and the Satans' view of the underlying cause of the Little Satan-Palestinian confrontation totally xformed.
Meaning?
Before that unhappy time, world view was divy'd up roughly into two outlooks.
For cats like Arab League, Collectivist Union time Russia and impotent Europa any conflict was not a refusal of the Arab world generally or the Palestinians specifically to accept Little Satan's right to exist, but Palestinian statelessness itself.
Great Satan and Little Satan both believed (and subsequent events seem to bear this out) that the casus belli for rowdiness in the ME was that nearly 350 million Arabs in the world steadfastly refused to recog the state of Little Satan, her right to exist, her battlefield victories or could even say the name "Israel" out loud.
UN Sec Reso #242, pretty much condenses into 2 deals for any “just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
1st Little Satan should split the hood of embarrassing defeats for the Arab World - hard won turf sweetly acquired by desperate counter attacks that established Little Satan's military prowess - essentially and specifically the 6 Day War real estate booty.
2nd - Arab states must accept Little Satan's right to exist.
While Resolution 242 was kinda iffy about the extent of future Little Satan unassing territorial A.O. (areas of operation/occupation) withdrawals, the language on the 2nd part of the deal of a future Middle Eastern peace is quite sexplicit.
“termination of all claims of states of belligerency and
respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized borders free from threats or acts of force.”
Over the years, commitment to the Palestinians have become increasingly explicit and increasingly urgent.
Both Satans'seem to look at the fast creation of a magical Nakbah free nation state of Palestine regardless of the Palestinians’ unwillingness to accept Little Satan's right to exist as the primary aim of their Palestinian policies.
Hip and haunch with calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state seem to actually increase in direct proportion to the radicalization of Palestinian society.
The more radical Palestinian society becomes, the more intense the hot wicked desire to grant it sovereign statehood.
Sovereign statehood and Palestinians have never really seemed to hook up. Like their Arab brethern, Palestinians have consistently sour mouthed that Little Satan's property posse that 'occupied' precious Palestinian turf with an amazing immodestly, lack of restraint and blitzkrieg tactics is the main problem.
Fair enough - though it seems there are two different definitions for what exactly is the concept of occupation.
First glance, seems that only the lands the Palestinians claim are limited to Judea, Samaria and the sections of Jerusalem Little Satan conquered fair and square way back in the "Sgt Pepper - All You Need Is Love " summer in the 6 Day War, the Palestinians have never accepted this claim.
In fact, both symbolically and politically, the Palestinian Authority asserts that the areas under the so-called “occupation” include all of Little Satan.
General Scowcroft and Dr Brzezinski fail to mention any of this.
A renewed acknowledgement that Little Satan's battlefield gains way back in 1967 are not the raison de etre'of the conflict with the Palestinians. Rather, Palestinian and wider Arab rejection of Israel’s right to exist is the cause.
The reform and stabilization of Palestinian society depends on reorienting Palestinian society. Since the Palestinians themselves have never made the attainment of statehood their primary aim, whether a Palestinian state will ever get birthed is a weak guess.
It is totally clear that there is no chance that any Palestinian state that is a terrorist fiefdom at war with Little Satan will ever be established without reorientation, reformation and stabilization of Palestinian society first.
Celebrated recent arrival to the Dead Poets Society Nizar Qabbani's lustful demented lamented designs on Little Satan is an example:
"They left in our hands a can of sardines named Gaza, A dried bone
called Jericho An inn called Palestine, without a roof and without pillars. They left us a body without bones and a hand without fingers.
They granted us a homeland smaller than a grain of wheat. A
homeland we swallow without water like pills of aspirin!!"
Basing more polices RE: Palestine around mythic narratives of Little Satan's hedonistic appropriations for the Arab World's problems is retarded and are based on incorrect conclusions.
So far, the redux'd land for peace has not only totally failed to resolve the problem - it has made it worse. Everywhere Little Satan splits - intolerant (and currently Iranian fed and funded) rocket rich rejectionists tend to move in like HAMAS in the Strip and Hiz'B'Allah beyond Lebanon's 'Blue Line'.
High time to reassess, redress and stress that Little Satan ain't the problem.
Palestinian and Arab rejection of Little Satan's right to exist is.
Art - "2 State Illusion"
I've got a perfect 2 state solution for the PalArabs. They can have Michigan and New Jersey. Then they can lob rockets all day at the US. Let's see how fast they would last then.
ReplyDelete"High time to reassess, redress and stress that Little Satan ain't the problem.
ReplyDeletePalestinian and Arab rejection of Little Satan's right to exist is."
Agreed, Courtney. And there is no resolution to this conflict without a 2-state solution. Everything else is wishful fancy.
The Palestians are not going to stop warring on Israel until they have a homeland. There will be plenty of folks, you are correct, who are going to want to war regardless. But Israel needs a partner to root these folks out. This is not a problem Israel will be able to solve alone. She wants to. She wants to believe it's possible.
But it just can never happen.
That, among many other reasons, was why I thought Netanyahu was right and Sharon was wrong that a unilateral pull-out of settlements would be a genuine path to peace (not to mention the property rights of Israeli Jews who had moved into settlements, no matter how provocative such moves were and no matter how stupid it would have been to stay without the covery of an Israeli military that was pulling out whether settlers were ready or not).
The fundamental issue is not what Israel must do alone to finally end this ugliness. That is a total dead-end. Palestinians will never accept an Israeli imposed solution, anymore than Tibetans will ever accept a Chinese imposed solution. The self-determination claims involved are real whether parties want to recognize them or not.
The fundamental issue for Israel is how she can build up and support a more honest peace partner in a Palestinian state for Palestinians and build support for efforts to root out terrorists and Islamists from their midst. Both will take time and patience.
But every other solution only increases the political oxygen for these maniacs, it doesn't remove it.
It's not fair, Courtney. But it is the only way out. Everything else is deadly illusion. That's why the conversation always comes back, here. Because nowhere else leads anywhere real.
Israelis and Palestinians have both given as well as they have taken. It is time to put this ugliness behind us. It can only happen with a 2-state solution and with commitment from genuine peace partners. It is possible only if both parties are willing to commit themselves to peace in principle, for real.
But, if they don't, there is no Israeli-imposed solution, here. There is only more tragedy and bloodshed. We've had quite enough of that, I think. But it is the only alternative to a more genuine peace.
The sentiments "a unilateral pull-out of settlements would NOT be a genuine path to peace" and "no matter how stupid it would have been to stay without the COVER of an Israeli military" were missing from that comment because I am a hopeless mental defective without the sense that my momma gave me.
ReplyDeleteHi Ben,
ReplyDeleteCurrently - until Palestinian Society is reformed - the 2 state solution is indeed a 2 state illusion.
That's why we got to work at it, Courtney:).
ReplyDeleteIt'll happen. You know why?
Because the alternative is more of the same. And eventually most people will get tired of this.
Once people see enough past their bullshit. And they will.
it mist suck to a palestinian . . . despised by the rest of the Arab world, used like cheap pawns to to keep pressure on Israel, economic and political losers and only good at killing each other with Hamas vs Hisbolah killing teams having at it every day.
ReplyDeleteAt least now they have some nice restaurants, a brand spanking new olympic swimming pool and some tourist business in Gaza.
So as long as the UN still doles out the welfare checks, life as slum dwellers will go on because palestinians accept their own bottom dweller status.
There hasn't been peace in the middle east since it was named Judea, or if you prefer Jewdea