The Middle East Cease-Fire Feels Ephemeral

[Wonder]

snip http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/03/opinion/03SUN3.html?ex=1060488000&en=0e1ad44d5f60f269&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

Both sides are playing a double game, talking about compromise while giving away little. Like a fine summer vacation, the hudna feels as if it should go on forever. It may even be extended if there is enough progress in the coming weeks. But the negotiations, brokered by the Bush administration, require great strides, and none are in sight. Provocations and recriminations will likely lead to more death. And then the soft nights by the summer sea will seem like nothing short of a dream.

[Darranar]

1. Thanks for posting this, Wonder!

This article sums up my opinion perfectly.

[Gimel]

2. The Hudna...

...is an attempt by the terror groups to hijack the Road Map. They declare a cease-fire (temporary) and get everyone thinking they are in control and on the side of peace. Then they can circumvent the step one of the road map which calls for DISMANTLING the terrorist groups.

Of course means time out for regrouping and rearming. Does that sound like dismantling? what about those hiding out with Arafat? They demand a safe passage and freedom from arrest. I thought they were glad to sacrifice their, blow themselves up, etc,(or is that just the lives of the young and gullible?)

[vierundzwanzig]

3. I completely disagree.

This whole article is yet another attempt at 'balancing' the situation. There is nothing balanced about it. There is a huge prison camp called Palestine. People are desparately trying to turn it into something liveable. They have been robbed of all options. They turn on their guards.

There is no balance. The true terrorists are the guards.

Sharon plays the old game of 'incite a little attack' and 'retaliate by taking it all'. It's not well-balanced. It is an evil game with fire in the Mid-East, notorious attempts to drain the life out of whoever has not yet been holed up for the last year or so due to curfew.

I hate the balanced news. If there was a discussion about whether the earth was flat or round they'd for sure quote a scientiest but also a nutcase that makes a point for a flat earth. And then they call it balanced reporting (or an editorial as in this case).

[Wonder]

4. ditto