Palestinians and Iraq War

The article by Tarbush was full of loose associations and faulty logic. According to Tarbush, the Iraqi-Kuwaiti and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts are “organically linked” because Iraqis and Palestinians share a “history, language, religion, and aspirations.” Gee, I hope that Bermuda and Australia never invade their neighbors, since we’d be obliged to act as cheerleaders for these former British colonies whose language is English and which are predominantly Protestant (they have significant smatterings of Catholics, Muslims and Jews, too).

The tragic error of the Palestinians was once again to rally behind an Arab leader perceived as capable of destroying Israel. World opinion had been turning in favor of the Palestinians as a result of their unjust, second-class treatment by the Israeli government. Given enough time, threats of reduced aid from the U.S. and other nations would have pressured Israel to improve conditions for the Palestinians, and possibly could have catalyzed the formation of a Palestinian nation on the West Bank. The quietly won gains of the intifada have been gambled away; hasn’t history taught them anything? It’s hard to support a people who gleefully buy key chains and T-shirts festooned with the likeness of Scud missiles.

JAMES SPERBER

San Juan Capistrano