Fixing the Middle East: Bill Clinton
Back in late 2000 and early 2001 my belief was that the single best hope for resolving the problems in the Middle East would have been for incoming President Bush to appoint outgoing President Clinton as a long-term special envoy to the Middle East. As it turned out, that would have been a silly thing to do because the Neoconservatives and the rest of the so-called Pro-Israel Lobby had other plans. But now, with those plans in shambles, my old idea suddenly once again regains its original appeal. There is no other person on the face of the planet who has Clinton's potential for making a serious dent in the layers of problems in the Middle East.
Sure, President Bush would have to share the credit for solving some of the problems in the Middle East, but better that the problems get solved on his watch and he get some of the credit than to blamed forever in the history books for these and the many problems to come on his watch.
I don't have any real hope that my concept will be implemented, but at least we can know that the situation in the Middle East is not truly hopeless.
This next year will be a very interesting time.
posted by Jack Krupansky @ 9:20 PM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
A typically naive and patronizing opinion. I guess you must think that all the arabs are "dumb arabs". Some are not. Some arabs might be aware of the fact that both Mr and Mrs Clinton are staunch members of "The Israel Lobby of America". How else would such an unprincipled couple have gotten where they are today. Only Bush II has been more pro-zionist than B.Clinton among American Presidents. Not to worry, Senator Hillary will out-zionist them both when she becomes President in 2008. In any case the "Final Solution" will not come out of the USA, Americans are just beginners getting their asses burnt in the "Old Middle East". There is a Spanish saying which says: "Mas sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo." The old ME has been around a long time. In any case events there now are beyond politics. The only reliable guides to events in the M.E.now are the Torah, the Talmud, the New Testament, the Koran and the Hadith. Read them and you shall find ALL the answers.
Actually, I half-share your concern about Hillary, but I believe that much of her "support" for Israel is merely due to "political expediency" to gain the financial and political support of the Pro-Israel community rather than a heartfelt sympathy for all things Israel. And, although Bill has shown similar sympathies, he is somewhat less committed to Israel. He will certainly protect Israel's interests, but not to the exclusion of regional interests.
I'm not sure what aspect of my post was "patronizing". Th point of sending Bill Clinton to the ME is not to con "arabs" into anything, but act as a skilled negotiator. There is an adage that holds that the only successful negotiation is one in which both (all) parties give up something that they hold very dear. That means that Israel -- and the U.S. -- will have to concede some things they hold important even as the other nations of the region do the same.
Who knows, it may take another generation or two to achieve a peaceful "settlement" in the ME. Bible stories are indeed popular today, but I strongly suspect their popularity will wane dramatically as the small children of today grow up and reject the dogma that damaged their parents and grandparents lives. Although there is some useful truth in Bible stories, for the most part they are cautionary tales of how *not* to live your life or govern a people or a region.
-- Jack Krupansky
If you go to a mafia for help payback is "expected" at sometime.....or else. The
'or else' in this case would be Hillary's bid for the Oval Office. She will need a little help from her 'friends'. And hubby had better not blow it. She stuck with him when he needed her. The 'friends' have a clear idea of what they want back home, sooooo hubby, if given the chance will have to tow the Noziist line or else Hill's chances become ZIP. Regarding the Holy Books, I'm surprised by your easy under estimation of the ENORMOUS, even TRANSENDENTAL hold of the Abrahamic Revelations on its followers over millenia. Assuming we survive the next generation what makes you think that that Vice-like Grip of Abrahamic Faith will be loosened. Bad times have always tended to strengthen it!
Once again I half-agree with your assessment of Hillary's "plight", but I don't completely concur. That said, many members of Congress are even more deeply commited to the cause of Israel and antagonistic towards "arabs" and Muslims than even Hillary.
As far as scripture, one of the eternal difficulties of life is grappling with how much of past "truth" will be carried into the future and how much can be left behind as "old baggage". Each generation has the fresh opportunity of clinging to its own "truths", creating new "truths" and even resurrecting old "truths." And, not every member of any given generation shares the same "truths."
As an optimist, I have every confidence that we will survive and thrive for many, many generations to come. Progress and destruction are not as linear and predictable as some would claim or hope.
The Middle East has a bright future for the long term, provided that we can resist the Neoconservative urge to try to turn it into something resembling, say, Orange County, California.
The best we can do is to consistently challenge the status quo, and then wait and watch as a new equilibrium emerges. And then keep challenging the status quo as a normal course of life.
-- Jack Krupansky
"That said, many members of Congress are even more deeply commited to the cause of Israel and antagonistic towards "arabs" and Muslims than even Hillary."
So be it say I. My question is where are the people who are committed to the cause of the United States of America? If they exist they are the only ones who may be able to stop the scandalous spectacle of of men and women willing to endanger the great 200+ year old National project for a little cash or the need to 'get it off' somewhere in the shadows. As a student of history, I must say the US strikes me as being in the throes of terminal decadence. And that's bad for the whole world not just for the jews.
One person's terminal decadence is another person's call to arms. Terminal gloom will only inspire more intensive efforts to find solutions.
Maybe I simply grew up at a time when "snatching victory from the jaws of defeat" was considered a way of life. Sure, we keep "jumping the track", but somehow me always manage to find our way back, eventually.
There is some amount of truth to the old adage that Americans can always be expected to do the right thing, but only after they have exhausted all other options.
Welcome to America!
-- Jack Krupansky
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