tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494384.post115323691758846181..comments2024-03-04T04:09:01.839-06:00Comments on And Doctor Biobrain's Response Is...: Offensive DiplomacyDoctor Biobrainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01641661532899934766noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494384.post-1153248598179342032006-07-18T13:49:00.000-05:002006-07-18T13:49:00.000-05:00I don't think you're being fair. As you quoted, Is...I don't think you're being fair. As you quoted, Israel is demanding a guarantee of disarmament, not prior disarmament. It's also not asking for the guarantee as a precondition, but rather as a trade: peace in exchange for disarmament. This is not an unusual demand. We demanded it of Japan, for example. <BR/><BR/>Most importantly, you ignore the difference between Lebanon and Hezbollah. Israel's position is that Lebanon's government has de facto supported Hezbollah and/or has violated its treaty with Israel merely by condoning Hezbollah's military activity, either of which is casus belli against Lebanon itself. But it is not demanding that Lebanon itself disarm, it is demanding that Lebanon disarm Hezbollah -- and presumably, like last time around, Israel would be willing to put up with some delay, and with a mere good faith effort. A timetable could perhaps be worked out, or Lebanon could propose a plan to apply for international assistance in disarming Hezbollah (which IIRC some EU nations have indicated they might be willing to give). <BR/><BR/>So the request is not for anything unusual, suicidal, impossible, or even infeasible. Just damned unpleasant. <BR/><BR/>Similarly, Israel didn't demand that the Palestinians disarm. The exact opposite is true: Israel armed the Palestinian "police" forces with military-grade weapons as part of the Oslo agreement. Israel has demanded that the Palestinians disarm their terrorists. If the Palestinians are ever serious about peace (i.e. ever find an Israeli land offer acceptable), then of course they're going to have to do that. Israel has also IIRC demanded that the Palestinians disarm of offensive weaponry like artillery and tanks -- this is a more unusual demand, but after decades of war, and with no defensible border between the countries, and considering that Israel is the only likely military enemy and that Israel would be in huge trouble with the rest of the world if it reneged on such a treaty, it's not crazy talk.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com