Soccer Dad

Peace or pieces

Braindrops argues that it doesn't really matter how vile Mahmoud Abbas or his government are. The fact that they're embracing democracy will eventually force the PA to become moderate in its dealings with Israel.

Dr. Abbas may have only the most nefarious plans for the sons of Isaac. If I read the situation correctly, though, that shouldn't matter, even if it's true. What he's being forced to do is to liberate his society. If this sociological experiment is successful, then the almost automatic redirection of aggressive impulses into more productive endeavours ensues. In addition to ultimately adding to the number of people looking for a cure for cancer, this implies a lessening of the influence of leaders with more malignant intentions.

Or, in a briefer sense, peace.

I'm not suggesting that this process will definitely work. (It seems to have cooled down the flames between England and France, which burned fairly brightly over the years.) My point is only to demonstrate why I think certain objections are less relevant than they appear.

On the face of it his argument seems quite reasonable. I'm assuming that it's adaptation of Sharansky's view of democracy and the pacifying effect it has on those countries that adopt a democratic form of government.
As hopeful as this sounds I still can't correlate it with other things that I read.
For example, It's Almost Supernatural reports that the PA will resume executions soon. I'm no death penalty abolitionist but this offends me. I suspect that many if not most of those now slated for death are mostly guilty of running afoul of a more powerful person in the PA's hierarchy than of doing anything wrong.
Or there's an article in the Times of London ( cited by Crossing the Rubicon2 )about the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" that reports:

For example, as recently as February 20, Ikrima Sabri, Mufti of Jerusalem, appeared on Al-Majd satellite TV to comment on the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister, and said: “Anyone who studies The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and specifically the Talmud will discover that one of the goals of these Protocols is to cause confusion in the world and to undermine security throughout the world.”

It might be democracy that will liberalize the PA to the point that it will no longer seek to destroy or displace Israel. But for now, the evidence suggests that the society the PA rules has not appreciably changed in the past three months. That makes concessions and even the search for a peace deal all the more risky.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Posted by SoccerDad at March 7, 2005 2:50 AM