North Korea and Iran: Will Any Lessons Be Learned? - Gerald M. Steinberg
A credible threat of an international coalition prepared to use force will make the Iranian leadership pause and reconsider the risks. It may also lead to internal pressures inside Iran, where the general public might understand the risks of becoming targets of military attacks by an international force. The U.S. will still have to lead - there is no alternative on the horizon.
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs/Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
Negotiating in the Bazaar - Moshe Sharon
In the Mideastern bazaar, diplomacy agreements are kept not because they are signed but because they are imposed. In the bazaar, the most important rule is that if the vendor knows about your desire to purchase a certain merchandise, he will put its price up.
The merchandise in question is "peace," and the Arabs give the impression that they possess this merchandise - and inflate its price - when the truth is they have never had it. In the bazaar only the stupid buyer pays for something he has yet to see.
Israel should stop talking about "peace." From now on, Israel should make a decision to create a new state of affairs, one that will compel the Arab side to ask for peace - and pay for it in real terms. For, unlike the Arabs, Israel has this merchandise for sale. What will lead them to pay? If they conclude that Israel is so strong they cannot destroy it.
Here are Ten Rules for Negotiations in the Middle Eastern bazaar [see full article].
The writer, professor of Islamic History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was previously the prime minister's adviser on Arab affairs to Menachem Begin.
(Jerusalem Post)
1 comment:
A credible threat by an international coalition force would surely accomplish many things in this world, but we have not seen such a coalition since 1990. We will not likely see one now, and America is in no position to lead without such a mandate, and is in a weak position to lead even if such a coalition existed. Once again, you makes your choices and you pays your bill. This is why only fools rush in, like we did in Iraq. Even kids understand that when the Principal's away at a conference the bullies can make their move. You'd better understand where the real threats come from because Iraq turned out to be one long conference.
As for Israel appearing strong, it is a new world, and in that world, short of a nuclear strike, it is hard to make a dent in terrorist networks, even when they are grouped in one nation like Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel came out the worse for that, and America is bogged down in Iraq qith much less international credibility. Whether we like it or not, and arm chair warriors like our current American administration, that did not see the need to fight when their generation went to war, but have no blurriness of vision for the nation's youth today, don't like it---but it is the age of diplomacy, at least until new techniques in battle that have yet to be developed much less proven, come to the fore.
Post a Comment