1. yogineocon said:

Isn't this a kind way of saying that the Road Map/disengagement and elevation of terrorist supporting, chain-smoking Mazen was a horrific mistake by both the US and Sharon.

Conservative US spin is that Israel no longer viewed the Gaza area as worth the effort. Well, that is obviously not what Sharon ran on, so the voters of Israel had no say in this matter. But if they had a choice between Hamasistan and a continued prescence, does anyone really believe they would choose the current situation.

Plus, the Arafat charisma line is hard to swallow. Arafat was a congenital liar to everyone around him. Those that didn't buy his line were killed. Mazen, at least for now, does not appear to want to be like that. But, he is powerless since he campaigned on NOT disarming Hamas et.al. How is he going to garner Palestinian support for the inevitable bloodbath with his previous words?

2. Ted Belman said:

The Roadmap is designed to protect Israel from dealing with final status negotiations until the Pals abandon terror and incitement. This will not happen. Thus Israel has protected itself from further pressure and further plans. Meanwhile Israel can build the fence and enlarge the settlements. The West and the PA must focus now on making Gaza work. A tall order. In addition Egypt and the US have to worry about al Qaeda
implantging themselves in Gaza and Sinai.

Ultimately the two state solution will be abandoned as unworkable, not to be replaced by a bi-national state. I hope. The proper solution is to have a condominium in the Arab West Bank. The Arabs would be Jordinian citizens and Israel would have sovereignty to the Jordan River.

3. Ed D said:

Ted, you hit the facts right on the button. The final solution to MOST of the Middle East problems are: 1. Jordan must absorb the Pals as citizens of Jordan with the west providing economic solutions for a better community, 2. the Israeli border must be extended to the Jordan River for maximum protection.

4. Leonard said:

Arafat was the Palestinian Godfather and the founder of the Palestinian movement as we see it today.Unbelievable as it may sound he did have charisma appeal to the Palestinians the same way Hitler had a hypnotic appeal to the German people.He was an authoritarian figure and there is no one amongst the Palestinians who can take his place except a certain individual in an Israeli prison which if the Israeli's have any sense they will keep him there. Both Abbas and Mazen are associated in the minds of most Palestinians with the corrupt old guard - so their days are numbered.

5. t said:

In my book, Abbas is a persona non grata, after all wasn t he one of the perpetrators of 1973 Munich????