[Torie]

Have you ever posted what you think Israel's policy and America's policy should be regarding the Palestinian issue as currently presented? It is easy to kavetch (sp) from the sidelines. It is sometimes harder to come up with a constructive alternative policy that does not portend more problems than the existing one.

I asked the same question of Kudzu Flats. She took a pass. But I take you to be a more serious person than her, so I have some cautious hope you might post something worthy of serious comment.

Meanwhile Larry Elder had on his show a piece about some employee in the UCLA library that got suspended because he emailed to 20 coworkers in response to some email to him, that he considered Israel an apartheid state (unfortunately, while I was listening, that term was not more precisely defined). UCLA declared that "harrassment." I guess they have rather thin skins in Westwood.

[Illbay]

Have you ever posted what you think Israel's policy and America's policy should be regarding the Palestinian issue as currently presented?

Repeatedly.

We are not Israel, and have no right to dictate Israel's policies toward anyone. So that's my opinion about that.

Regarding the Palestinian issue: Our policy ought to be...that it isn't any of our business.

It isn't our business in East Timor, it isn't our business in Sri Lanka, it isn't our business in Northern Ireland, it isn't our business in Chiapas, Mexico, it isn't our business in the Phillipines. And it most CERTAINLY wasn't any of our business in "the former Yugoslavia."

In short, wherever U.S. interests aren't served in any way, shape or form, we don't need to be involved AT ALL.

Here's where we DO need to be involved: We need to skrag the Taliban, Osama's crew wherever they may be found, and Saddam's Iraq. THEY ARE OUR ENEMIES. Israel has nothing to do with it. If Israel benefits, well, how nice for them.

But already Netanyahu's the designated agitator to try to get the U.S. Congress (notice that's where Bibi went; he knows where AIPAC dollars have done the most good) to decide that it is the PLO that is the focus of world terrorism.

Well, sorry, Bibi, that's YOUR department. You couldn't even get your own people to listen to YOU instead of Clinton's sock-puppet Carville when you were up for reelection. Maybe you'd better stick to your own knitting.

The U.S. needs to focus on OUR interests, PERIOD. ANY and ALL people and organizations that directly threaten us, need to be hounded until they are kaput. But Israel's desires are IRRELEVANT.