Pipes is right

Submitted by Ben Shniper (United States), Aug 8, 2002 at 20:44

Israel is indeed winning its difficult war. There is little the Palestinians can do. They don't have the ability to launch major offensives or major attacks anymore, and they are running low on food, money, and amunition. Although they are a loose confederation now, they are fracturing and weakening. Arafat is losing power in slow motion. The European Union, while still doggedly supporting Palestinian "rights" and denying Palestinian responsibilities, has done little to increase its support of the PA despite the increasing pressure from Israel and America. Although they are not yet being helpful, they are losing their will and buckling under. They can't logically support a people whose only defining characteristic is a brutal and inhumane war against a Jewish nation for too long. The Arab world is low on money to fund the intifadah further, and it takes a PR hit for doing so now.

Finally, the Palestinian terrorist supports of Iran and Iraq are facing strong internal opposition. Without these two key supports, Palestinians can't continue their war. With the collapse of the Taliban, the Iranian people are looking for change. And the Americans are correctly afraid of leaving Sadam in power for too much longer. Israel must keep it up. Israel must fix its economy. Israel must win this war. The rest of the middle East, and indeed the whole world, is counting on it.

-Ben

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".