Reply #65: My reply

[Toronto Ron]

1) Thanks for the history lesson re Begin-Sadat :eyes:

2) I said (predicted) Israel would withdraw from most of the West Bank within 5 years, not part of the current move. I am an optimist. Even the Likud (at least half of it) recognizes the inevitability.

3) There is plenty of reason for Syria to have killed Hariri. His return to power was imminent, and was no friend of the Syrian occupation. According to every analysis I've read, Assad the younger is not a competent dictator. He fails to understand the nuances and subtleties of the region's geopolitics, a criticism one could not have levelled on his father (no matter what one thought of him). Or did you not realize that Hafez has been dead for a few years, and that his son Bashar now rules Syria?

4) Regarding Israel being "paranoid": Check the history books on whether Iraq & Syria have ever attacked Israel. Check the daily rhetoric from Iran. Et cetera.

5) Israel does not benefit from unrest in Lebanon per se. Sure, they benefit if Syria is out, which would make life difficult for Hezbollah. Israel would be the main beneficiary of quiet and stability in the middle east. It has a developed knowledge-based economy, and would like nothing more than to divert money away from its massive defense budget.