SOME GOOD QUESTIONS – ANSWERS (good, I hope) TO FOLLOW

Got this email this morning, and I think it very clearly sets up a dialog on some of the issues I worry about. Today is chore day, plus I’ve promised to take Tenacious G (the SO) shooting, and this asks good enough questions that I want to think about answers. So here’s the letter, and later today I’ll intersperse some responses. I hope the writer answers, and we’ll play out a couple of rounds here in public.
Thanks to him for reading, for responding by setting out his positions, and for doing so in way that encourages mutual respect.

Armedliberal –
New to your blog. Certainly interesting material.
Re: “FEAR” I’m afraid you haven’t made your point as crystally clear as you might have wanted to. I still have a question.
Actually I hadn’t seen the “Arab genocide” jokes before I read them on your site, although I’m not surprised that they exist. Thanks, I guess, for having the guts to make them known. They are not as widespread as you may have thought.
A. You say, “And here’s my fear. I don’t want to be a part of a society that eradicated another culture; I don’t want to commit genocide.”
Fair enough.
B. You then go on:
“I don’t want to be put in a position where genocide is either a reasonable option, or where my fellow citizens are so enraged that they are willing to commit it, and my opposition will be washed away in a tide of rage.
I want a calm, prosperous Middle East, and believe that the Palestinian Arabs who have been royally screwed by everyone…by the Europeans and Americans who established Israel without planning or compensation; by their leaders who have led them into several suicidal wars; by the leaders of the other Arab states who use them as cheap labor, exploit them economically, and exploit them politically…deserve decent lives.
They won’t get them following the path they are on.”

My question to you is whether your A position is strong enough that you will continue to fight for a peaceful Middle East, even if SOME Arabs continue to “follow the path they are on.” Or is B is cop-out that will allow you to say “I told you so, but it’s not my fault” after your fear in A is realized? Are you opposing genocide or making excuses for it?
For it’s no secret that the hawkish position must almost inevitably lead, if not to genocide, to a situation where no Arab nation is allowed to exist as a sovereign entity. Expelling the Palestinians from Israel cannot be accomplished without destroying any force determined to resist it. Iraq and Iran will both have to go, along with Syria and probably Jordan too, as independent entities, followed by the Saudis too. The wealth that comes from oil will not be permitted to stay in Arab hands.
Yes, yes, if only all Palestinians would adopt Gandhian non-violence strategies. It would be a wise move. I hope they do it. Maybe Jesse Jackson can convince them of that. Until that happens, however, we must continue to live in the real world.
I think the right position is still that America must use its power to force peace. The Israelis bear a significant piece of responsibility for the current situation and they couldn’t do what they do without the uncritical aid check from the United States.
Do you believe that the 2000 peace plan was generous? (The tactical question of whether the Palestinians should have accepted it is a different question). What can Arafat actually do to stop the violence now that the Palestian Authority has had all of its authority taken away? If he stopped talking out of both sides of his mouth would anyone notice? Or care? Isn’t the demand for all terrorist acts to cease before talks begin a call for unconditional surrender? Aren’t the Israelis acting as allies of the extremists by giving them what they want at the expense of whatever moderates are out there?
In short I am not willing to say that the behavior of the Palestinians must change without making a similar demand on the Israelis.
Do we disagree?
[name witheld pending author’s OK]

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