Egypt's role in a Gaza withdrawal goes far beyond that of messenger between Sharon and the Palestinians. Egypt, which ruled Gaza until the 1967 Middle East war, has agreed to guarantee security there after the Israelis leave, which, according to Sharon's plan, would be by the end of 2005.
Under the Egyptian proposal, Israel would promise to halt all military strikes, including raids and targeted killings, once the Egyptian advisers get to Gaza. Egypt, in turn, would guarantee that Palestinians halt attacks on Israelis from Gaza, according to officials close to the negotiations.
The good news is: Liberals' anti-war hysteria seems to have run its course. I base this conclusion on Al Gore's lunatic anti-war speech last week. Gore always comes out swinging just as an issue is about to go south. He's the stereotypical white guy always clapping on the wrong beat. Gore switched from being a pro-defense Democrat to a lefty peacenik – just before the 9-11 attack. He grew a beard – just in time for an attack on the nation by fundamentalist Muslims. He endorsed Howard Dean – just as the orange-capped Deaniacs were punching themselves out. Gore even went out and got really fat – just before America officially gave up carbs. This guy is always leaping into the mosh pit at the precise moment the crowd parts. Mark my words: Now that good old Al has come lunging in, the anti-war movement is dead.
The Bremer commission's recommendations are just as dramatic as their dire warnings. Not only does the commission propose keeping tabs on all 500,000 foreign students in the U.S., but the commission would also give the military primary law-enforcement responsibility over presumed terrorist incidents on American soil.
Some Sites I Read