Questioning Krauthammer

The Big Trunk over at Power Line has dared to ask questions about Charles Krauthammer's support of Sharon's disengagement + fence policy. Krauthammer's position is indeed misguided and The Big Trunk touches on a few of the questions that could and should be raised. I have already linked to an important article at the Jewish World Review which is a must read for anyone who really wants to know the truth about "disengagement."

In a later post The Big Trunk quotes from "several thoughtful messages" that he had received in response to his column. The first was an anonymous post which was absolutely ridiculous and full of factual errors(see UPDATE 2 on that post where a correction is made). This first response also repeats something which has been proven over the years as totally false:

"It is oversimplification to say he is falling back to a defensible perimeter. He is creating and defining it as we speak. He will allow for the creation of a Palestinian nation state precisely because, when it is created, it will be an entity against which one can wage conventional war. By explicitly creating its borders, Sharon is ensuring Israel's ability to defeat it in the event Palestine chooses to wage war."

This is what Rabin and Peres told us would be true if we gave them autonomy! “"If they dare to shoot rockets at us, we'’ll show them who is boss”", the Israeli public was told. Yeah, right. What's more, if we, G-d forbid have to deal with a sovereign state, military actions are going to be much more problematic.

The next "thoughtful" response posted is from Carol Herman, who reveals incredible ignorance about the Israelis living in Gaza:

"The 8,000 civilians in Gaza are not holding back the tides of terrorism. They're just a costly interference. Using up taxpayer money, to sport small enclaves, where, surprise to no one, the settler's(sic) HATE the IDF! (Settler's(sic) don't join the army. Most get the "gift" of a religious pass. And, the real problem is that Israel has yet to figure out how to separate church from state, effectively.)"

The truth is that these settlers are very productive, and are not a burden. What's more, they serve in the army, many of them in the most elite units. They "hate" the IDF so much that they set up a pre-military academy in Atzmona. This is not only ignorance, this is libel.

The third response is from Greg Rich. He claims that the lack of accountability is a product of the Israeli political system. This is partly true. Another important factor is the failure of the Israeli MSM, dominated by secular leftists, to do their job. They are the ones who have given those responsible for the Oslo fiasco a free pass.

In short, the original article was more thoughtful than the responses.

Update: Power Line readers weigh in on Carol Herman's remarks.