Bugging Out

Remember how Nixon was the only one who could go to China? Ariel Sharon may be inching closer to becoming Israel’s Nixon. His government is on the brink of collapse because of his plan to evacuate settlers from the Gaza and parts of the West Bank. I don’t agree with the context of the pullout; I’d rather see it as part of a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. But this is probably the best we can hope for given the current political climate in Israel. My brother was in Israel back in 2000, just before the last major peace push at Camp David. He said that most people seemed prepared for a comprehensive peace agreement and that there wasn’t much interest in holding on to the territories. And then everything went to hell, at least in part because of Arafat’s inability to put the interests of his people ahead of his own neck. In the end, the political result may be the same. Israel will leave most (but not all) of the territories and a de facto Palestinian state will emerge. It remains unclear exactly how the Palestinians will govern themselves. Basic services, like trash collection and police force, will have to be quickly established by the Palestinian Authority for it to retain whatever scraps of credibility it has left. Otherwise, a group like Hamas, which has already outshined the Authority in its ability to provide social services to those living in Gaza, will seize the opportunity to make a power grab in the territories. And a Palestinian state dominated by Hamas does not fill me with a warm, fuzzy feeling.
Boy, it’s fun to give opinions about stuff I’m barely qualified to talk about. Tomorrow, stem cells.