It is a fair assumption that anyone who makes it to a leadership position in the respective governments of the free world must surely have a reasonable level of intelligence. Certainly, we would expect these leaders and their advisers to be highly sophisticated in international politics and global affairs; after all, that is their job. Given that we accept this to be the case, why is it that the leaders of the free world never seem to learn from their past mistakes?
In a monumental error on the part of the leaders of Israel and the West, the terrorist Yasser Arafat was recalled from exile in Tunisia and installed as the leader of the Palestinians living in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. From the moment he was given power, Arafat led his people on a downward path to degradation and damnation. Now, the terrorist is dead.
With the terror master finally out of the way, one would think that the leaders of the free world would grasp the opportunity to undo the terrible damage he and his gang of thugs have caused. Unfortunately, however, the highly intelligent leaders of the free world seem to all have a peculiar type of mental disease that appears whenever they engage in the politics of Israel-Arab relations. This disease causes them to arm Israel's enemies, while attempting to place inhibitors on Israel defending itself, believing that this will somehow lead to peace.
In the latest manifestation of this mental malady, the highly intelligent leaders of the West have given a ringing endorsement to the leadership aspirations of another Palestinian terrorist mastermind. The new would be Palestinian leader, who intends to head up the very same gang of thugs formerly led by Arafat, financed the Munich Olympics massacre of Israeli athletes. This terrorist, however, wears a suit instead of military fatigues and a headdress. Somehow, this, combined with the fact that he is to be democratically elected, is supposedly going to lead to a new age of Palestinian enlightenment and peaceful coexistence with Israel. (Saddam Hussein also wore a suit.)
Never mind that the new leader-to-be will be elected in exactly the same way as Arafat was - by a populace that is fed a constant diet of hate propaganda through a tightly controlled press, TV and education system. This new leader is now openly touting the fact that he intends to follow the same course as his predecessor and he rides on the shoulders of the same gun-toting thugs that underpinned Arafat's power. The free world can have as many observers as it likes at the elections. The Palestinian populace has already indicated that its two most revered leaders are a terrorist murderer currently rotting in an Israeli jail and a man who was a central figure behind one of Europe's most horrific terrorist incidents.
What is it about the leaders of the West that causes them to continually ignore recent history when it comes to the Israel-Arab conflict? They are surely intelligent people. Why, then, don't they act like all intelligent people and learn their lesson after all the water that has passed under the bridge in this conflict? Surely, they must realise that if the Palestinian Arabs are ever to have even a slight hope of setting foot on the road to peace, the thugs must first be disarmed, the press be freed, the education system reformed, the Islamists silenced. Is it possible that, as in the days of Pharaoh in ancient Egypt, G-d has clouded their minds? Whatever the reason, the lesson remains unlearned and the world, as always, will suffer the consequences.
In a monumental error on the part of the leaders of Israel and the West, the terrorist Yasser Arafat was recalled from exile in Tunisia and installed as the leader of the Palestinians living in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. From the moment he was given power, Arafat led his people on a downward path to degradation and damnation. Now, the terrorist is dead.
With the terror master finally out of the way, one would think that the leaders of the free world would grasp the opportunity to undo the terrible damage he and his gang of thugs have caused. Unfortunately, however, the highly intelligent leaders of the free world seem to all have a peculiar type of mental disease that appears whenever they engage in the politics of Israel-Arab relations. This disease causes them to arm Israel's enemies, while attempting to place inhibitors on Israel defending itself, believing that this will somehow lead to peace.
In the latest manifestation of this mental malady, the highly intelligent leaders of the West have given a ringing endorsement to the leadership aspirations of another Palestinian terrorist mastermind. The new would be Palestinian leader, who intends to head up the very same gang of thugs formerly led by Arafat, financed the Munich Olympics massacre of Israeli athletes. This terrorist, however, wears a suit instead of military fatigues and a headdress. Somehow, this, combined with the fact that he is to be democratically elected, is supposedly going to lead to a new age of Palestinian enlightenment and peaceful coexistence with Israel. (Saddam Hussein also wore a suit.)
Never mind that the new leader-to-be will be elected in exactly the same way as Arafat was - by a populace that is fed a constant diet of hate propaganda through a tightly controlled press, TV and education system. This new leader is now openly touting the fact that he intends to follow the same course as his predecessor and he rides on the shoulders of the same gun-toting thugs that underpinned Arafat's power. The free world can have as many observers as it likes at the elections. The Palestinian populace has already indicated that its two most revered leaders are a terrorist murderer currently rotting in an Israeli jail and a man who was a central figure behind one of Europe's most horrific terrorist incidents.
What is it about the leaders of the West that causes them to continually ignore recent history when it comes to the Israel-Arab conflict? They are surely intelligent people. Why, then, don't they act like all intelligent people and learn their lesson after all the water that has passed under the bridge in this conflict? Surely, they must realise that if the Palestinian Arabs are ever to have even a slight hope of setting foot on the road to peace, the thugs must first be disarmed, the press be freed, the education system reformed, the Islamists silenced. Is it possible that, as in the days of Pharaoh in ancient Egypt, G-d has clouded their minds? Whatever the reason, the lesson remains unlearned and the world, as always, will suffer the consequences.