Conflict mediation and the dangreous cycle
Reader comment on item: Is the road map still relevant?

Submitted by Asaf Golan (United States), Jan 19, 2007 at 07:47

When I was in college I took a class in conflict mediation. We learned about relationships and how they all exist someplace between harmony and total war. Then at some point 'nafal li ha'asimon' and I said, "So we never bother to resolve conflicts. We only delay the war," to which the embarrased professor said yes.

In that case the Ibn Husseini-Wizeman agreement, Camp David, Oslo Accords, Oslo II, Wye, Roadmap, Geneva initiative, and all the other agreements are nothing more than delaying tactic on the part of well wishers or something-to-do on the part of the machiavellian diplomats who need something to show for their salaries.

The dangerous part is the initial steps to be taken (with the exception of the Ibn Husseini-Wizeman Agreement) in these agreements usually happen in an effort to gain Arab governement support. These are the only things that ever get implemented.

The next phase, such as fighting terror never happen and a new initiative is brought forward "to break the deadlock," again with initial steps to appease Arab govenments to insure their lukewarm support. Israel needs to grow a backbone.

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