Maggie's Farm

"..no realistic political solution to the problems in Israel/Palestine."

Roger Berkowitz makes some good observations in his article. He says that war has lost it's power to resolve conflict or settle issues. He illustrates the irony that in an age of "total" war, some conflicts are insoluble. Roger certainly could not have picked a better example than the Arab / Israeli conflict to make his point.

I appreciate Roger's frustration and I am sure it is shared by nearly everyone. Roger is correct that many contemporary conflicts simmer and bubble for decades interspersed with high intensity bursts. Roger also appears to understand that strong countervailing political and military influences keep a lid on them, letting them fester and stew in their toxic juices. It is an unpleasant and tragic reality.

But, Roger is incorrect about one thing, this is nothing new. And, in time, the dogs of war will slip their bonds. Total war has been said to be unthinkable before and those claims have been followed by another total war. He should not lose hope, war is as dependable as volcanoes and earthquakes.

For some, the history of armed conflict appears as a distinct timeline with a start point and an end point. But, history does not really happen that way. Especially war. Big wars do not spring from the ground overnight. WW1 did not begin with an assasination and WW2 did not start at Pearl Harbor. Those are just dates of convenience. Years, decades and centuries of dispute and argument precede them. It takes a lot of hard work and preparation to build up to a major conflict. Plus, lots of very bad stuff happens in war and people can usually think of better ways to spend a quiet evening at home.

I would also dispute Roger's suggestion that a more robust conflict would lead to a final resolution. Even complete victory is only a temporary condition.

So yeah, the long lasting semi-wars are unsatisfying. Most of us would like it done and over fast. Like a visit to the dentist. So we can get back to doing better things.

I am in favor of the 'doing better things' philosophy. That is why I would pay the Arabs in Gaza to move into some nice condos someplace far away. Maybe a nice beach in Angola or Zimbabwe? I hear the weather is nice, the girls are subservient and the cows and sheep are pretty.

I basically agree with hattip and phil g. It's a big game and money is subsidizing bad things. Not much new about that.

But, even though it would take some great leadership sklills and lots of money, I would encourage the game players to turn relocation into a nice fat, long term welfare program. Maybe trade some of those everlasting war concessions we control in Asia into a relocation program for the Arabs? A crafty leader should be able to extract money for such an endeavor. And there are plenty of tropical locations around the world where the leaders would be happy to plug into such a rich gravy train.

Or, Israel could just bulldoze Gaza into the sea. About a thousand D9 dozers should do the trick.