[Sabramerican]

Sad and frightening that so few get it.

[Sabramerican]

Most of this is an interview. The questions were in bold type which did not get copied over.

[CBart95]

The most significant ommission in this wordy,preachy treatise is that Pipes has always dealt with the entire situation in terms of "TRUTH" and not in delusionary rationalizations and equivocations or other fabrications that seek to ignore reality...as this author appears to do with this over abundance of mere words.

[Convert from ECUSA]

Daniel Pipes gets it - ping!

[goldstategop]

I think Israel would have to be on the ropes for there to be a shift in the psychology of its leaders. Israel is simply tired of fighting. I mean over 50 years of being in a constant state of war can wear down a people's will. The enemy is relentless and is not giving up. The Palestinians are committed to Israel's destruction. What is open to question is Israel's resolve to overcome the fatalism that nothing can be done and act to win. At the end of the day, this is one conflict that will settled not by negotiations and signed agreements that are never kept but by which side wins. One side is going to win and impose its will on the other. That's what to going to happen and whether Israel survives will be determined by her ability to impose her will upon the Arabs first. If all the preceding could be summed up in a sentence, it would be: "Its the Victory, Stupid. Nothing Matters But Victory."

(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")

[mjolnir]

Thank you! This has to be one of the most informative interviews I've ever read. When Pipes makes this point

So, from an Arab point of view, what constitutes the imposition of will on an enemy? I understand this conflict between Israel and the Arabs to be defined by war goals. Israel's war goals consist of winning the acceptance of its Arab enemies, in particular that of the Palestinians. Acceptance means no longer using force - or other means, for that matter - to eliminate the Jewish state. The Arab war goals, conversely, are to eliminate the Jewish state. I see this as binary - as black and white. One side wins, one side loses. Compromise cannot take place. Oslo was a grand experiment in compromise, and it failed. In the end, one side imposes its will on the other.

it seems so obvious. Maybe Shelby Steele's analysis of how guilt governs American foriegn policy applies to Israel's relationship with the Palestinians as well., http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/525343/posts

One ray of hope is Pipes' information about Dubai. Pipes was absolutely correct to call the tsunami against the ports deal a populist backlash that had the effect of provoking Dubai's Sultan to move away from closer relations with the United States to satisfy his citizens' own populist backlash. It's good to see that the Sultan's still promoting principles the Arab world will need to accept to enter the 21st century. Many Arab nations are not ready for democracy-- they need to develop liberal institutions first.

[sunshine state]

bump!

[RodgerD]

Good post. We and our leaders need to keep our eye on the larger picture of Islam's "jihad" against Western Civ.