Democratic Underground - Thank you. This is worthwhile

The logic of peace that had been formulated painstakingly (and painfully) as the substance of Palestinian-Israeli encounters and dialogue is currently being drowned by the din of war drums and the frenzied mutual infliction of pain over the last three years. Such tragic and unprecedented pervasive violence is not only eradicating previous achievements and agreements, but is also destroying the prospects of any future reconciliation. Its most alarming impact is on the perceptions and attitudes of both peoples, particularly in the regression towards the fallacies of the past and the stance of mutual negation emanating from the revival of deep-seated existential fears of survival.
Such fallacies and false assumptions must be boldly confronted and systematically deconstructed if there is any hope of extricating both sides from this lethal and self-perpetuating trap of mutual destruction.
The notion that a whole nation can be brought to its knees by the use of unbridled violence, or that the will of a people can be defeated by military means must be discarded once and for all. Armies may be able to defeat other armies, but the limits of power are most apparent when used against civilians and non-combatants. Along with that, the fallacy that there is or can be a military solution to the conflict must be completely and irrevocably discarded.
Conversely, the emergence of the bizarre concept of a "balance of terror" has reinforced the irrational and immoral killing of civilians and the victimisation of the innocent. The drive for revenge like the escalation of military brutality, has generated the most tragic and futile momentum for escalation and self-destruction. On both sides, the "no holds barred" mindset has taken over as a mindless, visceral, repetitive response with horrific ramifications. The erroneous assumption that greater pain and punishment, or the escalation of failed measures would somehow lead to "success" or the surrender of one side to the other is at the heart of the prevailing dynamic of death and devastation.

Dr. Ashrawi provides a cool assessment of a tragic situation. Hers is a voice of wisdom. The Middle East has too few such voices.

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