Wait a minute, did I say European Union? Do you know how many trees have been cut down to publish studies about the European Defense Initiative - the E.U.'s quest to build a military force independent of NATO and America? Whole forests have been devoted to studies of E.D.I. So I was thinking: What does E.D.I. stand for today, if not for sending 500 E.U. soldiers to Iraq for a long weekend so that Iraqis might begin to create the first real bottom-up democracy in the Arab League?

Thomas, have you heard about the Oil for Food scam. All sorts of EU types were implicated in the corruption of the program that was meant to help the Iraqi people. Many of those people in France and Germany are not very happy to have lost their meal ticket. Iraq was their personal piggy bank and America put an end to it. They don't want freedom for the Iraqis, they wanted their money, while the people starved and were subjugated.

Wait a minute, did I say Arab League? The Arab League has been sniping at the U.S. from the minute it toppled Saddam's tyranny, constantly barking that the Iraqi government there was not representative. Well now we're trying to help elect one that would be the most representative in the Arab world, and what is the Arab League doing? Virtually nothing. Why couldn't it offer to send some Arab and Muslim soldiers to protect polling places in the Sunni towns of Iraq?

Remember nearly 3 years ago Thomas spent lots of ink proclaiming a "Saudi Peace Initiative?" Why does he think that Crown Prince Abdullah conned him? It was to avoid an American invasion of Iraq. The leaders of the Arab world don't much want to cede or share power. American success in Iraq would be an example to their own citizenry. He shouldn't be so surprised that the Arab League isn't helping. After all, he helped them a few years try to distract the Americans. Finally we get to the end:

The situation in Iraq is a microcosm of what is going on in the whole Middle East today. Everywhere you turn, the debate is over but the fight is not - because determined minorities are determined to thwart the will of majorities, and the majorities are too weak or divided to push back. The vast majority of Israelis want to get out of Gaza, but a determined, potentially violent, fanatical Jewish minority has been holding them back. Among the Palestinians, the debate is over, but the fight is not. Most Palestinians clearly want an end to the conflict with Israel and a chance to live a normal life, but a determined minority from Hamas has been resisting. Most NATO countries (I hope) would prefer a decent outcome in Iraq, but a determined minority, more worried about an American success than an Iraqi failure, is holding NATO back.

Of course when discussing Israel and the Palestinians, Thomas is all wrong. "[P]otentially violent fanatical Jewish minority? The Jews of Gaza are more likely to be the victims of violence than to cause it. And is someone like Datya Yitzhaki a fanatic? Or is she reacting the way normal person would act when faced with eviction. Nor is there any proof that uprooting her and the thousands of other Jews from Gaza will lead to peace. The withdrawal from Lebanon didn't make Israel saffer, it just redrew the battle lines to Israel's disadvantage. And is Hamas really the minority? Mahmoud Abbas just visited Syria to coordinate positions with Baby Dictator Assad and the leaders of Hamas. That's hardly a sign that Abbas is a moderate. And it appears that he went willingly. Let's not overstate the moderation of the Palestinian leadership. Crossposted on Israpundit and Doubting Thomas.