sometime back during the american involvement in kosovo, i remember saying to philip: "what the hell are muslims doing in that country? what the hell is going on there?" & his very simple reply: " your ignorance is a perfect example of why americans really should refrain from even having opinions about these kinds of conflicts." it made sense to me at the time & makes more sense now but this on-going cluster-fuck in gaza has really passed the "having opinions" point. from what i've read & heard most israelis(which does NOT include american jews) believe in the two-state solution & want it put into effect. ditto most of the palestinian people. of course, over 70% of the american people want out of iraq & you see where that's gotten them.
i think there were several episodes of "star trek" where the enterprise crew got themselves mixed up in a centuries old conflict between two opposing races/tribes. inevitably, after much bloodshed & usually ONE particularly senseless death(most of the time, a child or woman), the bloodthirsty crazies come to their senses & realize that things AS THEY ARE must end. of course, this is fiction & usually written by someone w/no experience of either war or the kind of conflict described.
the piece at this link(entitled "the pornography of horror") was written about gaza by someone who's fully invested there. what continues to strike me is the disconnect between the people & their leaders. that's an old story too but one that shouldn't get buried beneath the emotions of the moment. my only real opinion here is that when the leaders refuse to do the people's will, it's time for a change.
http://www.signandsight.com/features/1813.html
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