To be clear, @LTCPeterLerner doesn't say Trump plan for Israel-Palestine is screw the Palestinians. He interprets the strategy as transactional, business-style hardball. Generous, but I understand why he'd write it
Regardless, he and I agree on the main point: It's a bad strategy
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Who could possibly believe the problem with Israel-Palestine is the Palestinians have it too easy? That somehow making their lives a little worse will cause them to drop their long-held positions and do whatever Trump, Kushner, Netanyahu, etc. want?
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At the core of this misguided Israel-Palestine strategy is a common misconception about foreign aid--that it's a favor to others, and if they get our money they have to do whatever we want. But foreign aid isn't a favor. It's a way to advance our interests without using force.
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In the West Bank, American foreign aid aims to advance two American interests: 1) Politics/Security: Strengthen economy and institutions to keep the most radical elements at bay 2) Humanitarian: Alleviate suffering of innocents caught up in the conflict. It's done that (somewhat)
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Obviously, aid to the Palestinian Authority hasn't solved Israel-Palestine. It hasn't eliminated Hamas. But it wasn't supposed to. Advocates of removing the aid compare the status quo to their ideal. Instead, they should look at the action's likely effects. Things can get worse.
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I make these criticisms of the Trump administration's screw-the-Palestinians strategy even though I'm very skeptical of the two-state solution. See article
https://arcdigital.media/the-two-state-solution-is-a-farce-6bd27b32722f …Show this thread -
Perhaps a silver lining of Trump-Kushner approach to Israel-Palestine is it advances a one-state solution (whether intentionally or not). If the conflict's going to end, it'll probably be one state, either Greater Israel or a united Israel-Palestine with full citizenship for all.
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But in the near- to -medium term, the Trump-Kushner screw-the-Palestinians strategy is counterproductive for American interests, Israeli security, and the lives of ordinary Palestinians. (Knew I couldn't hold back entirely. <Sigh>. Back to writing syllabi). (END)
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End of conversation
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The primary goal of putting Kushner in charge of middle east was to get funding for 666. Screwing over the brown people in Palestine is just a bonus. I know it's more complicated than that...but I don't think my abstract is inaccurate.
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