Debunking the linkage meme
Greg Scolbete debunks the linkage meme (the notion that 'peace' between Israel and the 'Palestinians' will influence Arab governments to do what the West wants them to do, e.g. to oppose Iranian nuclear weapons). This strikes me as eerily similar to neoconservative promises of "regional transformation" following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Just as those proved to be bunk, I think it's safe to assume that any "echo effect" caused by resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute will be similarly insignificant. We should have learned by now that individual societies have their own grievances and their own dynamics and that basing U.S. policy on sweeping predictions about how they'll react to changes in other countries is a recipe for trouble.Indeed.
Rather than pin our hopes on radical historical pivot points, I'd argue that it would be better to dial back - just a little! - the idea that we need to "remake parts of the world" to be secure. We also need to be thinking quite seriously about what happens when these talks fail - as they almost certainly will.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:59 AM
1 Comments:
No one has explained exactly what is wrong with the status quo.
Change is far worse than leaving things as they are and the kind of change the Obama Administration wants to see has not a prayer to heaven of ever happening.
"Linkage" is going to bring about more bloodshed and chaos to the Middle East.
Let's see the last of it!
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