Soccer Dad

Getting to "no" you

via memeorandum

The New York Times reports that Obama sends special envoy to Mideast

Mr. Obama reined in expectations for Mr. Mitchell's maiden trip, saying it was intended mainly as a listening and learning exercise. But Mr. Mitchell will also work with the Egyptians, Israelis and Palestinians to fortify the truce in Gaza, which has held for more than a week.

It kinds of reminds me of the Secretary of State's "listening tours." But what is he likely to hear from the Palestinians. My guess is "no." So does Josef Joffee:

But is peace possible? The real message of Gaza may be a bloody and cruel testimony to intractability. How shall we count the ways? Annapolis, Wye, Taba, Camp David, Oslo . . . all the way back to 1947 when the Arabs refused the original two-state solution. Looking at this tale of doom, the proverbial visitor from Mars would ask in all innocence: "Could it be that the Palestinians actually don't want two states?"

No, not if we listen to what Palestinian leaders say and write, especially in Arabic and with no CNN team around. It's one state from the "river to the sea," and the blood-curdling oratory is not just anti-Israel, it is eliminationist anti-Semitic echoing Hitler and Himmler. This is not hyperbole. Just read the daily compilation in English on www.memri.org and recoil in horror. But let's be statesmanlike about this ("you know, the flowery language of the Arabs") and look at the strategic games both sides play. Double-statehood is not the first prize in this game, alas.

Crossposted on Yourish.