[Preechr]

Well, of course he can. That's why we call it rhetoric.

I do agree that the level of condemnation directed at Israel by the media and the UN is ridiculous, but I also admit that Israel does actually deserve special recognition as the only modern, Western Democracy that is involved in the sort of occupation/conflict it has maintained for the last 20 or so years... and I'm really only counting the period of time since the intifada began.

It's a unique situation all around, and it deserves special attention. I think it's sad that the anti-Israeli factions have such a developed and time-tested series of arguments they can apply to condemn Israel's every move while the pro-Israel factions seem to operate on a system based much more in something like faith than anything resembling moral rectitude.

Yes, I know how much they have bent over to end the conflict, but I am also a little less willing to give Israel a lot of leeway for the kind of abstract and uninformed public debate we enjoy here in the states. They have a mandatory service requirement and a pretty much militarized lifestyle. Maybe this conflict has dragged on just a little longer than it ever should have, and maybe Israel, being the bigger man by far, should have warmed up to the idea of peace and true freedom in a more fruitful way something more like 20 years ago... The level of organization and spirit of nationalistic unity was there, though what was missing, in my opinion of course, was a healthier measure of respect for the rights of the Palestinian people... the castoffs of the Arab world... for the rest of you, their version of our Mexican Illegals, basically.

By working harder to win them over, the Israelis could have made everything much easier. It would have been possible, but they chose a more arrogant or maybe old-fashioned, more colonialistic path, again, in my opinion and with all due respect. I fully admit I am just an arm-chair quarterback here, and that the best I can do is only most likely gonna insult the hell out of anyone that's actually directly involved in this on either side.

This has gone way past any sort of discussion of Jimmy Carter's idiocy and hypocrisy, but I think dismissing anyone's attempt to shine a more honest and thoughtful light on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict... even if it's Jimmy Carter's and it's ill-intentioned... shouldn't be so quickly discarded as unbearable before it's completely milked for any honest and positive debate it might inspire.