Certainly, unless the PLO moves
to democracy, or some democratic system is put in place in their areas, I
don't see peace happening

And it would have to go hand-in-hand with some sort of
Marshall-type plan for reconstruction.

Perhaps Israel
should sweep him away, withdraw the settlements, impose democracy and
reconstruction on the Palestinian areas

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply.

I don't really understand the "blowback" question. The big "blowback"
effect in the middle of the 20th Century was the Allies (US and France and
Britain, esp.) decision not to support the Spanish Republic against
Fascism... cost them dear when World War II came. The Soviets paid for the
Hitler-Stalin pact, since it moved the Nazis much closer to Russia. After
the war, the US recruitment of Nazi and Japanese scientists and spies
(Operation Paperclip) didn't have big blowback effects as far as I know.
We didn't suffer from Fascist blowback until the 1970s when Chilean secret
police murdered Letelier and a US researcher (Ronnie Moffet I think her
name was) in DC. And there was the whole drug-trade thing, fostered by the
CIA and eventually to become a major scourage in our cities... first Heroin
from the Vietnam War and then Crack from the US terrorism against
Nicaragua.

On the question of the similarities between US policy to Japan post-WWII
and possible Israeli policy toward the Palestinians I don't know how it
would work. Perhaps it would make sense. Certainly, unless the PLO moves
to democracy, or some democratic system is put in place in their areas, I
don't see peace happening, but I don't know if Israel can impose it. Maybe
the EU? And it would have to go hand-in-hand with some sort of
Marshall-type plan for reconstruction. And Israel must give up the
settlements, by and large. I don't see that happening soon.

The whole cycle now is that the two groups that don't want peace are in
control of the peace process. The right in Israel can assasinate
terrorists and expected terrorists and kill scores of innocents (by
"accident", but they are still just as dead) and the Islamist extremists
can suicide bomb and murder civilians and that justifies more Israeli
retaliations and on and on. Chicken or the egg? Who care?. Israel
pretends that their attacks will force peace but who believes that? At
least Hamas and Islamic Jihad don't claim to be killing for peace. Arafat
is a sick joke now, without power to make peace or war. Perhaps Israel
should sweep him away, withdraw the settlements, impose democracy and
reconstruction on the Palestinian areas, and use police, not military
methods, to deal with the terrorists attacks that will no doubt continue.
I know, sounds impossible, but what is the sense in giving Hamas and
Islamic Jihad veto power over peace if they merely do what they want to do
anyway, kill civilians?

My deepest sympathy to all those who don't contribute to, but are trapped
in this cycle of violence (and I believe it is the majority on both sides).

Feel free to post this if you wish.... Chris

‏² http://techst02.technion.ac.il/~sheket/stance/sail.h...