Another Doomed Peace Plan - Let Israel fight the war on terrorism.

National Review Online ^ | 6/26/02 | Mark R. Levin

[wcdukenfield]

In his speech on Monday, President Bush said, in part, that "Peace requires a new and different Palestinian leadership, so that a Palestinian state can be born. I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror. I call upon them to build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty."

In response to a reporter's question asking whether he was the leader Bush wanted replaced, Yasser Arafat said, "Definitely not." And why does this surprise anyone? Arafat has ruled over the Palestinian people for 35 years. He has defied and outlasted every American president since Lyndon Johnson. Arafat has violated every peace agreement, accord, and treaty he has ever signed. He won't voluntarily relinquish power — Palestinian state or no Palestinian state.

And for those who believe, or say they believe, that the Palestinian people want new and democratic leadership, they are dead wrong. Despite some rumblings about reforming the Palestinian Authority, Arafat has nothing to fear from an election. In fact, so sure is Arafat of his reelection that even before President Bush's speech, he promised to hold elections in early 2003.

Wednesday's Los Angeles Times underscores the point. It reports that in a poll conducted this month by the Jerusalem Media & Communications Center, 25 percent of those polled chose Arafat as the person they "trust the most." Sheik Ahmed Yassin, spiritual leader of the Islamic movement Hamas, was picked by 9 percent.

As for democracy and peace, the Times reports, in part: "Polls ... raise doubts about the suggestion by Bush that a silent majority of Palestinians, if given the chance to express itself honestly in free elections, would reject violence against Israeli targets. A survey published Sunday in the Palestinian newspaper Al Hayat al Jadida found that 60 percent of the respondents supported suicide bombings within Israel and a stunning 86 percent supported attacks against Israeli troops and settlers within the West Bank and Gaza Strip. And the respected Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research suggested that Arafat's Fatah political faction has bolstered its popularity because of suicide bombings and other attacks carried out since December by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed wing of the movement."

It's obvious that Arafat would win an election, and a Hamas candidate would come in second. Hamas and other terrorist groups would also have a strong presence in any legislative body. President Bush may well get his wish that the Palestinians hold open and free elections, but he won't like the outcome. Arafat and the other terrorist leaders will then claim to have a legitimate popular mandate. This is the consequence of failing to apply the Bush Doctrine against the Palestinian terrorists. The president is seeking a political solution in lieu of a military victory.

The folly of this approach became clear Tuesday when Secretary of State Colin Powell was asked by a reporter for National Public Radio whether the United States would accept Arafat as the Palestinian leader if he won the election. Powell said, in part: "We will see what they [the Palestinians] decide they want through these elections, and the United States will respect whatever they say as a people when these elections are held." " ... [W]e'll just have to see how that plays out. ... [W]e will deal with the circumstances as we find them."

Obviously, despite his best intentions, the president is not going to take effective steps to root out and defeat Palestinian terrorism. So, let Israel do what it must to enforce the Bush Doctrine, and President Bush should prepare for war with Iraq.

[harrowup]

The following link may help, even though reading Levin is beneath my dignity.

National Review

[pabianice]

The "Palestinians" are savages. It's that simple. To believe otherwise invites, certainly, disappointment, and also, most likely, death.

I've said it before. I'll say it again. Only after enough US citizens have been murdered by "Palestinians" and other Islamic savages will we get serious about putting an end to their terror.

[wcdukenfield]

Reading Levin is beneath your dignity? Sounds more like reading him is above your IQ. I have an idea, why don't you just read him until your lips get tired and go lie down?

[monkeywrench]

Excellent, as usual.

[harrowup]

Levin suffers from the same illness affecting Buckley today...mental insufficiency.

You, on the other hand, not only didn't understand what Levin was saying...or you deliberately changed the title to bait the hook.

Take your pick; you're worthless either way.

[doberville]

Do you really BELIEVE this dribble?

[wcdukenfield]

I would strongly suggest that you consider talcum powder to deal with that chaffing problem, instead of taking out on the rest of the world. It sounds very much that you barely a facial tick away from a deer rifle in a church steeple.

[wcdukenfield]

You're suggesting, as the liberals did for years with welfare and the ills facing America's inner cities, that all we need to do to resolve the mid-east problems is simple supply the Palestinians with affluence and they will join the civilized community of man. That's beyond illogical and has been disproven by the fact that economic issues are not what the Palestinians themselves have ever said they are fighting for. They want the jewish state eliminated, not better jobs and a higher standard of living.

[harrowup]

I can't suggest how you should ameliorate your personality defects, but I will insist that you not restructure titles of articles to suit your interpretation.

Levin consistently misconstrues anything that he doesn't understand and complex international relations are way out of his league.

As for you? Try harder not to be such an arrogant little twit.