Clueless
This report from the BBC let's us know that finally the EU members want to take a crack at "solving" the Israeli / Palestiniane conflict. Just the title made me look:
Spain unveils Mid-East peace plan
Spain, Italy and France are to launch a new Middle East peace initiative, Spain's prime minister has said.
"Peace between Israel and the Palestinians means to a large extent peace on the international scene," Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said.
He said a plan would be put to an EU summit in December and he hoped it would be backed by the UK and Germany.
Now, I've been known to say that the only people who have a monopoly on good ideas are those people who have good ideas. Yet, I have to wonder what good idea, what NEW idea, is going to come out of this.
First, isn't Spain the country that when the Islamofascists blew up their trains and people, kick the old government out because it's Prime Minister, Jose Maria Azner was standing firm in Iraq in fighting there. Yet, the Spanish people caved into the continued threat and elected the current Leftist government whose first act was to cut and run out of Iraq. They retreated in the face of terrorism.
Now, can anyone tell me what new thing that someone that has already shown cowardice in front of the enemy (and make no mistake - Hamas, Fatah, and Hezbollah are no more than 3 different groups of Islamofacists) is going to bring to the table?
Already, I see one large false belief - that "solving" the Israeli / Palistinian "problem" will create a larger sense of peace in the world. This I reject on two accounts. The first is that this is a problem that mere diplomacy can solve. It is not a mere problem that continued talk (that has gone on for almost 60years) is going to solve? When are relatively intelligent people, political leaders, are going to admit that this is never going to happen? And when will they realize that Israel is just the first step? Why are they not looking around in
There are two outcomes that will solve this problem:
- The three above named groups give up their claim (and change their culture to reflect it) to wipe Israel off the map (I give this a zero probability)
- Israel wipes them out (again, a zero probability due to the PR success the Palestinians have had in demonizing Israel).
Wait! There's more! The actual components of the plan:
The proposal would include an immediate ceasefire and the formation of a Palestinian unity government.
The other three components of the plan would involve an exchange of prisoners, talks between Israel's prime minister and the Palestinian Authority president and an international mission in Gaza to monitor a ceasefire.
Can ANYONE tell me how many ceasefires that have already been? And can anyone tell me how many have been broken by the Palestinian side? Yeah, the ceasefire idea is a real winner...
Next - prisoner swap....let's see - a handful for.....THOUSANDS! Yeah, that will cool things down....force Israel to return thousands of militants back to where they will just be able to do again what they did to end up in jail. Tell me, will this help in break the cycle of violence (hint - the answer is not yes).
Next - will SOMEONE tell me WHY Olmert would want to sit down across from the leader of Fatah (and Hamas), the group that wishes all Jews dead and take Israel off the map? I'm just waiting for Olmert to say to the Spanish "hey, you're letting the head of Sudan tell you off (think Dafur genocide), now it is my turn!"
And, don't we have an international force already on Israel's northern border - that toothless group from the UN call UNIFIL. This would be useful ONLY if it is willing to apply the same rules and enforcement to the Palestinians as it will to the Israelis. Again, very slight possibility of working.
Mr Zapatero, currently playing host to French President Jacques Chirac, called for a major international conference on Middle East peace.
"We cannot remain impassive in the face of the horror that continues to unfold before our eyes," Mr Zapatero said.
"Violence has reached a level of deterioration that requires determined, urgent action by the international community."
Sure - so what is REALLY different, really new that hasn't already happened over the last 60 years?
For his part, Mr Chirac said the EU had to act in the face of "the increasingly dramatic situation".
"We are going to act jointly with the Spanish and Italian governments, with the co-operation of the EU... to try to initiate the indispensable moral and political reforms in the Middle East," he added.
Oh, this is rich....this is sheer pontificating (apologies to the Pope) on Chirac's part. Tell me, sir, you've already offered troops, then tried to back out of it; how serious about this are you?
Frankly, I'm just a little surprised by this - one, that Spain had the chutzpah to offer this (failing to recognize history), given that they've already been occupied in the past by Islamists (who are still steamed about getting tossed out). Give that, I would have thought they'd be a tad more realistic of the situation (well, now we're back to intelligence...and politicians).
Oh, and this. President Chirac - don't you think you already have a problem dealing with Islamists (pssst - they are already just outside Paris!).
