News Flash: Peace breaks out in the Middle East!

Reminds me of the old joke "I went to a boxing match last night and a hockey game broke out."

Well, the Holy Land is at it again, all these peaceful, respectful, God-fearing people (don't believe me? Just ask them), are in the process of taking a break long enough to replenish their spit, bullets, missiles and martyrs.

It wasn't all that long ago that I was fairly ambivalent about sides in that never-ending skirmish. Then I read a book written by Natan Sharansky and my opinion changed dramatically. It was an eye opening event. For those not familiar with Mr. Sharansky, he was what we used to refer to, back in the Cold War days, as a "Peacenik." That means he had the balls to back up his ideals to when dealing with Moscow. Cost him a dozen or so years in a Siberian Gulag. In my eyes, he has street cred.

I purchased a copy of the book for my blog editor (does your blog and have an editor? Didn't think so!) because it was such an eye popping epiphany. It's based on a series of essays he wrote with one or more people, so it covers a wide range of topics. One section deals specifically with the Israeli - Palestinian issue (how's that for white-washing the word "war"?). And again, he speaks from first hand experience, he was part of the Israeli negotiating team at Wye River. For those who don't remember that event, it was the last time Yassar Arafat pretended to negotiate. He was right there at the table with him. And what he reports is important.

To sum it up, the negotiations were (and therefore most likely are) ludicrous. One issue the Israelis brought up was the stealing of Israeli automobiles and their transportation to chop-shops in Gaza and the West Bank. Arafat's reply was Israelis are doing, not Palestinians. Yeah. Right. Israelis are stealing their own cars, driving them over into hostile territory (Palestinian controlled land gives a whole new mean to the term hostile to Jews) and selling them to upright, honest used car dealers, then reporting them as stolen for the insurance money. Mr. Sharansky said it was at that point he realized negotiations with the PA (or for those of us old enough to remember - the PLO) were hopeless. They wouldn't even admit to the crime problem. Everything was the Jews fault.

He goes one step deeper into the behind the scenes action. As he states, at one point, the US State Department (Clinton Administration) had the Israeli negotiators in an arm-lock. They got Israel to agree to meet 93% of all of Arafat's demands. We're not talking about 50-50%, 48-52%, we're talking about giving into pretty much everything the Arafat wanted. And what did Arafat do? He walked away. That was his chance to actually earn the Nobel prize those drunken Swiss mistakenly gave him. He could have had the two state solution. Like George Washington, he could have gone down in history as the father of his country. The fact he bolted shouldn't be surprising, after all, if they could get along, they wouldn't still be negotiating. But "why" is an interesting question.

The answer is so simple I couldn't believe some one with my superior intelligence couldn't figure it out on my own. The Palestinians can't have peace, because it would destroy them. Let me clarify, the Palestinian leadership couldn't afford peace, because it would destroy them.

The PLO, PA, Hammas, Hezbolloh, Islamic Jihad, take your pick, are all organizations based upon violence. They need blood, carnage, chaos and conflict in order to remain in power. Should a permanent peace ever really break out, then there really isn't much of a need for these armed thugs hanging around, now would there? Also, if there were no Israeli or American bogeyman to scare the population to death, maybe they would just start to notice how crappy their lives are, how poor they are, how destroyed their land is, and just how much these crooks are stealing from them. They just might start thinking that "hey, this life sucks, I want a say in my own destiny, I want a say in my own government, heck I could do a better job than these guys myself. And just why do I have to beg Arafat for a job, and why do I have to beg Hammas for food for my kids?" When that point is reached, there will be peace. It will also be the end of the line for these armed crooks. And that, they do not wish to see.

No, a true, real, lasting peace in the Middle East will not come until these various Mafia "families" have lost their death grip on power, money and their people's future.

So don't hold your breath hoping this cease fire turns into a lasting peace, because it won't. It can't. The thugs will force their people to dance for the cameras, makes great publicity. They will continue to steal government money to make US and Israeli flags, ready to distribute and burn on a moment's notice. They will continue to crank out propaganda signs for fiery protests. And they will continue to stockpile guns, ammo, missiles and bombs. And when the time is right, they will do what they always do; provoke an action, then sit back and smile as the blood of innocents is spilled for their evil purposes. They will cry they are victims, and the wheel will continue another bloody spin.

Mr. Sharansky has a term for societies such as this, he calls them "fear based" society. And he knows one when he sees it. When you live in a fear based society, you have no idea who's on your side and who's on the ruler's side. And it's even more dangerous to try and find out. He speaks about an event when he was a teenager. One of his buddies snatched some vodka from their Dad's liquor cabinet. While the boys guzzled it down, one of them made a crack about the communists. There was a little nervous laughter, and the party moved on. A few weeks later, that friend disappeared in the night and no one ever mentioned him again.

That's the battle we (Israel, the US, western society) are up against. And until the people are free, there will be no peace.