Irrational Optimism

Thomas Friedman is at it again. As is often the case, he starts off with promise, noting that Israelis and Palestinians are both enjoying the current period of calm as reflected by the "boom" in both their stock markets. But then he gets a little heady, arguing that this tiny crack in the iron wall of Middle East pessimism is enough to revive the peace process. Actually, withdrawal from Gaza and the construction of a security barrier in the West Bank are the most emphatic symbols that the peace process is dead, that no one in Israel anticipates anything resembling a peace settlement in the near future and are thus prepared to act unilaterally to strengthen their security posture.

Then Friedman goes positively wacko with this outrageous speculation:

Will the U.N. confirm the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as it did from Lebanon, creating an internationally recognized border that will also constitute what a Haaretz essayist, Ari Shavit, calls "an invisible wall of international legitimacy"? (Even terrorists today are deterred by the legality of the Israel-Lebanon border.)

The answer to that question is easy: No. The U.N. will do no such thing. And terrorists are deterred by the legality of the border? This is wrong on so many counts I don't know where to start. Well, yes I do. How about with the fact that Hezbollah terrorists infiltrated the 'border' just last week and have done so consistently for years? Or with the fact that the U.N. itself doesn't even consider the Israel-Lebanon line a border, but in fact adheres scrupulously to its legal definition as a line of withdrawal, or more colloquially as the Blue Line, after the imbeciles in blue helmets that supposedly keep the peace up there. Or how about the fact that terrorists don't recognize the legality of anything - that's what makes them terrorists!! They don't respect the Geneva Conventions, which are the most widely adhered to international treaties in history, but they respect the integrity of an arbitrary line drawn by a feckless international organization? Puh-leeze.