TURN THE FURY INWARDS :

The Palestinian Death Knell (NY Times, 6/20/02)

While President Bush reworks drafts of a new Mideast plan, his agenda is being yanked from under him by delusional young Palestinians. For the second day in a row, Jerusalem yesterday witnessed the numbing routine of suicide bombing. And for the second day in a row, Mr. Bush's spokesmen said he was forced to delay his speech.

It makes sense for him to wait now, since the impact of the address would be lost amid the funerals, rage and retaliation. But the fact that the president delayed until this month to prepare to act has facilitated the ongoing descent into killing and the mutual infliction of pain.

I'm afraid I need help with this one. Why, after twenty years of banal rhetoric about not giving in to terrorism and not negotiating with terrorists, is everyone now saying that we should give the radical Palestinians exactly what they want, which is no Palestinian State? Why don't the US and Israel shove statehood down their murderous throats and let them have at one another, which seems to be what they fear most? Isn't every day that goes by without our unilaterally imposing a state a victory for the terrorists? Isn't the timing, immediately after an attack that was meant to prevent the President's announcement, actually perfect? Posted by Orrin Judd at June 20, 2002 12:25 PM