OxBlog

# Posted 11:37 PM by Ariel David Adesnik

OOPS: On ABC This Week, George Will pointed out the following from last year's State of the Union address:

And because democracies respect their own people and their neighbors, the advance of freedom will lead to peace. (Applause.)...

The beginnings of reform and democracy in the Palestinian territories are now showing the power of freedom to break old patterns of violence and failure. Tomorrow morning, Secretary of State Rice departs on a trip that will take her to Israel and the West Bank for meetings with Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas. She will discuss with them how we and our friends can help the Palestinian people end terror and build the institutions of a peaceful, independent, democratic state. To promote this democracy, I will ask Congress for $350 million to support Palestinian political, economic, and security reforms. The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace, is within reach -- and America will help them achieve that goal. (Applause.)

I might've been almost that optimistic last year. I wanted to believe that Abu Mazen could actually control Fatah and turn it into a reputable party. So much for that idea.

But I have no regrets about the recent elections. It has brought an end to pleasant illusions about what the Palestinian people want. Almost everyone on this week's talk shows -- Bush, Hagel and Obama -- tried to present the Hamas victory as a protest against Fatah's corruption and incompetence.

I agree with George Will. Not by a long shot. Fatah recognized Israel and the West Bank and Gaza are still a mess. Here in America, we might recognize Arafat's intifada as the ultimate cause of the Palestinian's misery when peace could've been had for a moderate price.

But the most plausible interpretation of the vote is that Palestinians have rejected the incompetent "doves" of Fatah and want to give the hawks in Fatah their chance.

And I still don't regret the election? No, not at all. The hatred has become too deep for a negotiated settlement. The Palestinians must have a hard-line government and learn for themselves that terror cannot defeat Israel. When they are ready -- five, ten, twenty years from now -- they will elect a government with a mandate for peace.

And in the meantime, the eyes of the Arab world are on the West Bank and Gaza. They have seen yet another Arab people expressing their will in free and fair elections. They will begin to ask: When is it my turn?

By the way, let me just say how much I like George Will. I may not like much of what he says, especially his realist approach to Iraq, but he is a class act. Week in and week out, he brings more careful thinking, civility, and useful information to the ABC Sunday-morning round-table than any of the other participants.

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Comments:

I had no idea Will went to Oxford. When was he there? What did he study? Political philosophy?

I will admit, however, that I am slightly more forgiving of Stephanopoulos because he's a fellow Oxonian.

# posted by

Ariel David Adesnik : 10:07 AM

Will's civility informs the rest of the panel as well. The tone of the discussion is reasonable and seems more bipartisan as a result. Contrast Chris Matthew's show when David Brooks isn't on.

# posted by

Anonymous : 11:39 AM

Ick. I still have a distaste for Will, not simpkly because I often disagree with him, but because I have a hard time seeing him as a class act. He was really a little _too_ close to Reagan at the same time as he was writing a column (the New Republic had an analogous ethical problem during the Clinton administration I thought).

# posted by

Sanjay : 8:31 PM