[SJackson]

Arafat and his Fatah were *also* a terrorist group. So the Palies had a choice between terrorist group A that sometimes warred against Israel and terrorist group B that always warred against Israel.

Exactly. And virtually the entire palestinian population voted for war. They differed only on tactics.

[MineralMan]

"Exactly. And virtually the entire palestinian population voted for war. They differed only on tactics.
"

That's the trouble when you have elections. People don't always vote the way you expect. Democratic forms of government only work when the people voting value freedom and peace. Establishing democratic forms of government in the Middle East is always going to be problematic.

We've had elections in Afghanistan and Iraq. They were successful only because we have troops there. Once the troops are gone, I can almost guarantee that both countries will revert to hard-core Islamist dictatorships. Our mission, I fear, is doomed to failure shortly after we're gone.

[timsbella]

Thanks for the post. One can only look on and shake their heads.