Well, I thought someone would have started this thread already, but I don't see it, so I'll try. There are two interesting developments in the news today. First, the IRA appears to be disarming unilaterally, in order to save the peace process and revive the coalition government. This has been contemplated for a while, but nobody was sure it would actually happen, and it seems that there was significant pressure applied by the US in order to make it happen. Second, the US is applying strong pressure on Israel to pull back from Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip; while Israel has not yet bowed to this pressure, it seems reasonably likely that they will do so.

It is fairly clear that US influence was applied in both cases due in large part to the need to resolve significant world conflicts that could undermine US efforts to prosecute the war in Afghanistan specifically, as well as the general position of the US with respect to terrorist actions worldwide. While I'm sure there is substantial disagreement among members of this forum about the particulars of both the Irish and Israeli/Palestinian conflicts, the general impetus seems to be towards communicating that the US will not tolerate violent governmental or non-governmental actions that either target civilians, or are too cavalier in their acceptance of civilian casualties.

It seems to me that these efforts bolster the moral authority of the US, and make US claims of a global war against terrorism more credible. Do others agree? Do folks feel that we are over-reaching in either the Irish or Israeli/Palestinian conflict, or doing long-term damage for the sake of short-term political expediency?

If you have followed other threads about the war in Afghanistan, you will know that I strongly support the current US actions there. I also believe that applying pressure on the IRA and Israeli governments to resolve those conflicts is the right thing to do. But I am interested in all viewpoints (if expressed politely and respectfully), so please let me know what you think.