Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[langostino]

strategic goals of such a state of war?

Manipulation. Centerpiece of demagoguery.

In the Saudi "kingdom", outside the gates of the palaces of the Royal family, an unconscionably large portion of the population lives in poverty. How to keep the people from rising up and taking their frustrations out on the Royal family? Create a "hate target" via diversionary demagoguery. Which is also why the Saudi Royals permit charity telethons on national television to fund Palestinians and themselves "donate".

Ditto for the corrupt PLO and Arafat with his hundreds of millions siphoned off from "his people". They are a profit machine for him. Whip them up and then cash them in. While he stacks up the hundreds of millions, they suffer. A settlement wouldn't just bring peace, it would open the door to a massive and rapid improvement of the fortunes of "his people". Yet he stands in the way and denies them this opportunity and leaves them in deep poverty, focused on demogogically whipped up hatred. For their good? Or his own?

As of a year ago, the World Bank had 60% of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza below the poverty line of $2/day, having tripled between 2000 and 2003.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20095849~menuPK:34463~pagePK:34370~piPK:...

We have eminent domain in this country and it works well. Why? Because the secret when taking land away from people is that they get well compensated and not left to suffer in squalor.

Take the 60% of Palestinians living on $2/day and give them some modest prosperity and you are miles down the road to peace. But is peace and prosperity really in the interest of the Saudi royals? Or Arafat? Or any of the other demagogues?