A New Peace Push

Good God, I must have just imagined that Israel has been carving up the occupied territories, savaging the civilian population of Gaza, and degrading Palestinians for decades-- while doing it all with the political coverage and military/economic support of the United States. Linda Gradstein helped clear up my mistaken views. Here's what I learned on NPR today about Sec. of State Rice's trip to Israel.

From Gradstein:

• "...it hardly seems the right time for a new peace push…but Secretary Rice said that’s exactly why she came."

• "...her presence was a way of showing Israelis and Palestinians that the US is ready and willing to help both sides if they decide they want to renew negociations."

From Israeli "analyst" Gerald Steinberg:

• "...the United States doesn't like the idea of releasing terrorists to obtain freedom of kidnapped, or of hostages..." (The "terrorists" he's referring to are thousands of Palestinian prisoners being held illegally in Israeli jails.)

And finally from Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mark Regev:

• "...we [Israel] have no interest whatsoever of living next to a failed society, a failed state; on the contrary—we'd like to see the Palestinians enjoy economic prosperity and political stability."

Yes, and Dick Cheney is a kindly old man with a heart of gold, George Bush is an honest fellow who has risen to power through his own merits and hard work, and Ariel Sharon was a "man of peace"....