Bowden and Biden are words closely related…and more obviously!

They some free-thought for a change.

Defense is NOT genocide.

Oh dear. Peter’s previous article argued that we can end wars by strengthening UN peacekeeping. Here he says that Hamas would accept a two-state solution if Israel withdraws from the West Bank, supporting this fanciful claim with a link to an article reporting that the Palestinian Authority (which is emphatically not Hamas) would be willing to consider a two-state solution.

Seriously?

Hamas’s reason to exist is to destroy the state of Israel, and it is willing to inflict enormous suffering on the Palestinian people in order to achieve that aim. I support a two-state solution, but the key element has to be that the two states recognise each other and their respective rights to exist. Hamas never will.

Alon Ben-Meir’s OLO articles on this are far more coherent and better informed.

In a sense everyone is trapped by the Mideast because of oil and the Suez Canal, both critical logistic assets. It's a two level problem- one at the Global and one at the Mideast level. The Mideast problem can't be solved without solving the Global problem. The Gaza/ Israel context has specific issues. There is some cross over between the local issues and the Global players. For example- Israeli lobbyists in Washington. In a sense the Global problem exists because of the conflict between the West and Marxism.

There is probably groups in the Mideast that don't want the Global problem to be solved because of their specific interest.

The West needs to find alternatives, or partial alternatives, to oil and the Suez Canal.

#The West needs to find alternatives, or partial alternatives, to oil and the Suez Canal#

Or simply move two major US military bases, one to Lebanon and another to Israel, and stand guard over the Suez Canal: This moment would be a prime time to make the move for numerous reasons.

And this, for guessing the future under Trump: (Tablet Magazine).

## Sean
8h
Edited

"..approved the cease-fire deal.."

I've been cautiously optimistic about Trump ever since his step into GOP politics.. Because after all, Trump has been a registered NY dem for most of his life.. And his good friends Musk and Rogan (and other powerful CEOs)? Both are dems, each voting for Biden and Obama twice.

And now Trump doesn't have to run again.. I guess we'll get to see true colors soon; the "cease-fire deal" doesn't bode well, unfortunately…##

My guess is, the WOKE has simply side stepped to the right.

To Diver Dan- I'm sure you have good reason for suggesting the US Suez/ Oil garrison strategy. But as you probably know Britain almost broke in the attempt to address the Suez Crisis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis

CM

Totally different circumstances. The current problem is with Iran and its terrorist proxies. The only opposition is from Israel, which has a low priority on protecting international shipping through the Suez Canal. The US is shirking it’s responsibility currently.

Two bases at Irans doorstep would subdue not only Iran, but facilitate peace in the region by their presence, and would directly assist Egypt to reestablish its finances from lost revenue and take the heat of the need it has to align with Turkey, which is developing badly for the US and Israel.

Diver Dan- I like your analysis. China would probably take it personally. And I'm not sure about the money, perhaps they could come to an agreement with Egypt from the increased Suez revenue, to cover the cost of the US presence. Egypt is still suffering from the failed Arab Spring.

Just dreaming for a moment...

This is interesting...

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/03/china-developing-giant-magnetic-launcher-for-hypersonic-space-planes.html
http://asiatimes.com/2024/03/china-building-giant-hypersonic-railgun-for-space-launches/
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3255351/nasas-dream-comes-true-china-plans-build-giant-rail-gun-launch-hypersonic-planes-space
http://futurism.com/the-byte/china-giant-rail-gun-astronauts-space

It's somewhat problematic to build your foreign relations policy around in development technology. However maybe something like a giant railgun could provide a glider based electrical transport system (maybe with some thrusting capabilities), that could reduce reliance on Oil and Suez. One technology to solve two problems, an elegant solution if feasible, and there is some question of that. You could launch the gliders from the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean either high enough to pass above national territories or over friendly ones, and the path could be changed based on changing circumstances, and it would be faster than the Suez Canal. Not sure if it would be cheaper than Oil, but there would be some economies of scale.

As I said it's a dream...

We can’t scoff at the future eg Jules Verne and Dick Tracy. But I prefer to deal with the present; the future is unpredictable the further out you go in time.

Dealing with the future now has crippled the West industrially, with its mad rush away from oil.
Knee-Jerking panic currently on display with leftist fantasies a world stripped of technology and non use of available fossil fuels to save the planet, is that, panic.
The political fools in power, heading the West over a cliff, are bad people.

Here is another unspoken truth: Not only are Politicians in the West devoid of ideas, they are bone lazy.
The damage by terrorists to Suez Canal trade, by blocking the access between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea with random attacks on this shipping rout, has (instead of dealing with the problem), been absorbed by inflation to be blamed on whatever else can be conveniently thrown under the bus as excuse.

The leftist fools lack the fundamental ability to identify the enemy.

Diver Dan- "The leftist fools lack the fundamental ability to identify the enemy."

A- I think the Woke Marxist's (leftist's) identify our enemy very well, they created the enemy, and nurtured the enemy over many years, and now the enemy is here.

I find this whole Jews vs Islam problem very depressing.
When we hear about people being killed and hostages being taken.
Then moslems in Gaza being killed and the terrorists "negotiating".
There is no negotiating just a one sided swap.
It is most depressing because if you look far enough into it there is
no possible solution.
I cannot understand why western politicians keep on and on about a two state solution.
It is just impossible.
When the Arab armies conquered Mesopotainer in the 7th century, which
included Israel their religion in the Koran states that land conquered
by moslams remains Islamic land forever.
I am frightened that the Islamic armies will get hold of Pakistani Nukes.

Also moslams are banned from giving or selling land to non-moslems.
Different kings, emperors, caliphs etc keep expelling the Jews and they
keep coming back. Were the Ottomans the last ones ?
Iran and its hanger ons are the current ones with the same idea.
The Koran and Islam is the source of the problem.
It requires the faithful to make war on the Jews.
It requires the faithful to convert the Jews to Islam or kill them.
The Koran seems to imply that the Jews are too evil to convert.

It would be a solution if they just fought it out but we do get
involved because the Moslems wage war in a brutal way with greater
numbers.
Also they have no compunction in attacking others if insulted or if
the others support the Jews or worse insult Mohammad.

Just to finish off, what if the Islamists got hold of Pakistani nukes ?

Dear Bezza,

The majority of Arabs and Muslims are presently improving their relationship with Israel. Warm relationship already exist between Israel and the Gulf states and a peace treaty between Israel and Saudi Arabia is on the cards. Syria's new regime is also seeking peace - Hamas and other Muslim terrorist groups are now a minority.

And Iranians are not Arab anyway.

The Quran can be read in different ways, depending on what one wants to gain from it. Whatever is written there, Muslim Arabs have been selling land to Jews all along, provided they are paid above market value.

A stolen nuke or two do not end the world.
Yes, standard sized nukes kill 10,000's each, but millions remain.
The casualties in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were larger because the homes there were made of paper.

Hmmm, Yuyutsu, how do you read "Kill Them" two different ways ?

Dear Bezza,

The Bible too says "Kill Them", referring to the Amalekites, to homosexuals, to witches and more.

Now when a Jew wishes to kill someone, they often first declare them to be an Amalekite. The historical tribe of Amalek was either completely extinguished (as most Rabbis believe), or else we all must have some Amalekite blood in our veins, but whether or not Amalekites are still considered to exist and who they would be today, is subject to whims and politics.

When a Christian wishes to kill a woman, they can simply call her a witch, the latest public cases being in Salem, 1693. Actually, some of the murdered there were men, despite the Bible speaking only of female witches. Well, one could always claim that a given man is a woman that uses witchcraft to look like a man...

The Bible says: "If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." [Leviticus 20,13],
but when the Rabbis decided that they don't really want to kill homosexuals any more, they re-read that verse saying, "Actually, lying with a male as one would with a woman is anatomically impossible, thus this verse never applies in practice".

So regarding the Quran, who are the Jews today?
Modern historians realise that the "Jews" of the 7th-century are not the same people as the Jews today, neither ethnically nor by their religion. Then also, did the Quran speak only of specific Jews in specific contexts?

The bottom line is, in real life people just do what they like and if they need the support of scripture, then they will always be able to twist what they read accordingly - Where there's a will, there's a way!

The two-state solution has been offered time and time again, but always rejected by the Palestinians, even when Israel was prepared to accept just 20% of the territory.

Dear WhiteMouse,

«The two-state solution has been offered time and time again, but always rejected by the Palestinians»

There are no "Palestinians" and the local Arabs there don't want a state of their own - they want to be part of Greater Syria again, from which they were separated post World-War-I.

«even when Israel was prepared to accept just 20% of the territory.»

Lucky for Israel, because what if they accepted and Israel would have had to keep this 20% forever?

For Israel to heal itself, it must forsake this whole cursed territory which it occupies since 1967, not just 80%, the whole 100%, and it need not ask for permission to do so from those idiotic so-called "Palestinians", just leave, then whatever these "Palestinians" and the fanatic Messianic Jewish settlers that live there subsequently do to each other, whatever pain they inflict on each other over there, will no longer be any of its business.

Trump has made a suggestion. He says that Gaza is a demolition site and
should be totally destroyed and the population moved to new housing to
be built in Jordan and Egypt. He offered to take part in the house
building where they could live in peace.
It will be interesting if those countries accept the idea but I doubt
Hamas will accept it.