From my American cousin who is stationed in Iraq comes this little tidbit: Iraqis are proudly brandishing purple fingers these days, since everyone who votes gets their finger stamped to avoid election fraud. According to the Wall Street Journal more than the “expected” 57% turned out, though the Sunni minority participated less.
Meanwhile in Israel, there is movement to turn over West Bank towns to the PA, coordination between Israelis and PA security forces is increasing in anticipation of the Gaza disengagement.
There is, in other words, reason to be just a little hopeful. I don't think these developments will slow down the terrorists much in the short term, but they pave the way for alternatives in the collective Arab mind. Both Israel and the US must manage a delicate balance between maintaining security on the one hand, and granting self-determination on the other. The terrorists will be hell-bent on destrying that balance by provoking an overreaction one way (e.g., hasty American withdrawals from Beirut and Mogadishu) or the other (e.g., massive bombing campaigns in the Sunni triangle). It's time to get smart, people. Sent wirelessly from my Blackberry.
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