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Pertinent analysis, wishful conclusion

Reader comment on item: Arafat's Failure May Offer Seeds of Hope

Submitted by Victor Tordjman (United States), May 7, 2002 at 01:27

Dear Daniel Pipes,
While I understand your wish and need to kindle hope in your readers' hearts, and while I approve of every word written up to :
... "I predict," I respectfully doubt your conclusion, this time around. You wrote [and I have added my emphasis in caps]:
" I predict that this round of the Palestinian war on Israel, ... will collapse fairly soon ... I also predict that the Palestinians will at that time find themselves adrift, with a strategy proven wrong, an economy near collapse and a sundered leadership.
" Ironically, this time of darkness and misery, IF UNDERSTOOD properly [my emphasis added] by a NEW Palestinian leadership [my emphasis added] and HANDLED CORRECTLY BY THE OUTSIDE WORLD [my emphasis added], could have very positive implications.
" Ultimately, only Palestinian acceptance of the existence of Israel will resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. This means that IF THE PALESTINIANS CAN LEARN the right lesson [my emphasis added] from their failure, they will give up on their ... dream of eliminating Israel ...
" IF THEY DO , then this terrible moment will one day be seen as having within it the seeds of a better future."

That makes for a lot of "IFS." You , more than anyone else , know at heart how unlikely it is that these "IFS" could disappear suddenly. No way ! Not with an Arab Jew-hatred whipped up for at least 35 years (during Arafat's reign) and running at an all-time
high. And as for the outside world's "handling," we've seen the results so far !

Sorry, dear Daniel, but the prediction stuff, ever since the Destruction of the Second Temple, - so it is said- has been left to you- know-who !

Victor Tordjman, Herzlia (Israel)
Submitting....

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Reader comments (26) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
What is the world thinking????? [43 words]MassimoNov 14, 2005 14:0928366
To commenter Mirko Badul [49 words]LeslieDec 9, 2002 20:104500
Time will tell [43 words]A. NimmerSep 26, 2002 07:512654
After Likud vote, lets take another look at it. [571 words]Jay BeaMay 14, 2002 20:50361
The Shadow of the Palestinian National Charter [133 words]Eva GoldmanMay 9, 2002 18:09326
Time for Arafat to Go [39 words]Robert SpitalnickMay 9, 2002 16:44324
No reason to give Palestinians a state [105 words]Jay BeaMay 9, 2002 10:26317
Understand Arafat's Goal [18 words]Greg OfieshMay 9, 2002 00:07309
Compromising on Terror will bring annihilation of the West [157 words]R. CrockettMay 8, 2002 16:55307
The UN and Israel [60 words]William J. SturmMay 8, 2002 08:47305
Misunderstood Nature of Palestinian War [176 words]Donald VogelMay 8, 2002 01:06303
Credible Punditry, capitalist style [300 words]Barry GottesmanMay 7, 2002 13:28254
No Historical Reconcilliation Until Arafat is Out [465 words]Natalie HassmanMay 7, 2002 05:39244
Seeds of hope [19 words]Muhammad SiddiquiMay 7, 2002 03:11242
So what's the next move? [251 words]Sally VeeMay 7, 2002 02:30241
Relinquish the Right of Return [216 words]Ron FinkelMay 7, 2002 02:28240
Pertinent analysis, wishful conclusion [285 words]Victor TordjmanMay 7, 2002 01:27239
Action Pays Off! [236 words]William J. SturmMay 7, 2002 00:26238
The Peace Process Fantasy [154 words]Lawrence KammMay 6, 2002 20:35236
Liars Never Win! [588 words]Les LiebermanMay 6, 2002 20:20235
Counterproductive Arafat [53 words]Aram PaquinMay 6, 2002 17:55233
Seeds of hope? [457 words]Yehudit HirschMay 6, 2002 17:43232
Seeds of Hope Will Turn Out to be Pits [165 words]Steven HessMay 6, 2002 17:35231
Call it the 'Oslo War' [106 words]Elisa SilvermanMay 6, 2002 17:08230
Suicide bombings will lead to total defeat [126 words]Mirko BodulMay 6, 2002 16:56229
Americans & Brits aren't jailers any more [170 words]Don MintzMay 6, 2002 16:55228

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