"One can properly dispute everyone of your comments since my comments were based on fact."

Factoids. Each one can be questioned for accuracy.


" As to the last comment of yours--about political winds. Gee--no other nation ever does that except the U S and Israel. Surely not the Arab nations.   Which goes back to my original comment re: peace can only come through good will or intentions on all sides---and that goes anywhere in the world. It does not mean caving in as that kindly gent from Britain did when he met the kindly Mr. Hitler."

It is not analogous. We know the intentions of many of the Islamic leaders. We must talk to them and not dismiss them entirely as criminals. The Chamberlain analogy is an old saw but not applicable to today. "Caving in" is the language of the war-mongers. It's posturing and chest-beating. The truth is that some Americans and Israelis don't know much about the Islamic cultures and how to deal with them. They prefer to demonize them. They are not Hitler. Some are fanatical and some are more rational. They come in many different sects and persuasions. FDR was far more prudent about entering the Second World War then either Bush or Ohmert is today. You don't see that kind of leadership now. Old solutions do not apply today.

" As to Jimmy Carter---one of the most idealistic people to enter the national stage in ages. Sadly his administration failed because he was, surely, no politician."

Yes and someday the American people will wake up to the fact that they don't need
just another politician to sell them a bill of goods. There is nothing wrong with being
idealistic and as for the failure of his adminstration, it was more the failure of the American public not to appreciate the value of this man. Instead they opted for demagoguery. BTW, in measuring IQ's, Carter came out above many other US presidents.
It's just that many Americans have allowed themselves to succumb to stupidity.

" He was and is an idealist. His later years have proved that and also proved that he gets more results now than the later batch of presidents. "

And as a result, he is the best hope for the Mid-East politically now. When he was in office, he did good works but was sabotaged by Republican forces in whose interests
lie an interminable Mid-East conflict which is good for war business. Reagan bullied his way into the public arena through a disingenuous personality that put poor people on the street, paved the way for an economic collapse in the US. And yet many feel that his Adminstration was successful compared to Carter's. So much for success.

Fortunately in Israel today there are enlightened voices that unfortunately are being suppressed. Uri Avnery in particular. Other enlightened journalists are Dahr Jamail,
Noam Chomsky, and Juan Cole. They have more knowledge about the Mid-East problems than the leading "pundits" of the day.