Talking With Enemies

Posted on May 21, 2008 by fooser

Both Israel and Syria confirmed in the last days that they were holding peace talks, the first official confirmation since failed negotiations in 2000. They are doing it through Turkish mediators, and both expressed they do it in good faith. I guess Israel is now a bunch of softies and Jimmy Carter / Barack Obama ignorant liberals. Talking with people you have problems with, who would do such a thing? 

Filed under: Politics

« Who’s Not Ready for Primetime? Economic ignorance at every turn »

4 Responses to “Talking With Enemies”

  1. Mike O, on May 21st, 2008 at 11:18 am Said:

    Those peace talks are- again- not being held by the heads of state; and only after Israel blew the crap out of their nuclear facility. Is that the model you wish to follow, fooser?

  2. jslef, on May 21st, 2008 at 2:41 pm Said:

    Israel is not the model to follow for peace talks, but I think fooser’s point is important. Obama’s readiness to speak to Iran is not a fault but a virtue. His desire to expand the use of diplomacy is also wise. McCain calls it signs of Barack’s inexperience, but judging from our experience in Iraq, our military is significantly less effective at controlling the population of an entire country than we thought. Learning from that, and seeking means to achieve political ends other than force is a good thing.

  3. Lamont B Dumont, on May 23rd, 2008 at 5:29 am Said:

    Wait a minute, Uncle Dick told me that unless you strictly observe the following foreign policy model, you are just a little wussy:
    1 - Identify the guy you don’t like.
    2 - Punch him in the nose.
    3 - Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you achieve World Peace.

    I mean, it’s much more important to compensate for your insecurities than to treat people honorably, right?

  4. DaveNate, on May 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 am Said:

    Talking = Stating your desires/demands/grievances and attempting to understand your adversaries.

    Negotiating = Bargaining so that some of their desires can be met in exchange for some of your own, as a more favorable economical and humanitarian option to armed conflict.

    Appeasing = Making a lousy deal at the bargaining table. i.e. Giving concessions without procondition.

    Is America that stupid that it doesn’t understand the difference between these three distinct activities?

Leave a Reply