‘Madness’ of Middle East Actions and Reactions

Does Graham Fuller have a crystal ball that assures him of the opinions that he states as fact (“Bush Must See Past the Acts of Terror to the Root Causes,” Commentary, Jan. 29)? How can he say that “terrorism against Israelis will be applauded by virtually every Palestinian . . . until their sovereign state has been established”?

These Palestinians applaud terrorism now, they applauded it when the peace process seemed to be working, they applauded it when the Palestinian Authority was given every bit of sovereignty it has received and they applauded it against the United States on Sept. 11.

Are we truly to believe that it will end if they are granted their own country? If the Arab world’s only wish is for the Israeli borders to be redrawn back to the pre-1967 lines, why did it feel a need to stage an offensive in 1967 in the first place?

Dan Schochet

Stevenson Ranch

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Fuller’s sense of indignation is a very selective one. Happily he preaches the uselessness of force and violence when applied by Israel. He ignores how violence and terror from the Palestinian side helped get Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon elected in the first place.

Edward Reisman

Santa Monica

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Fuller aptly called the present Israeli-Palestinian situation a case of collective madness. The whole idea of fighting Hamas by blowing up Palestinian Authority police stations, offices and radio stations, killing policemen, putting Yasser Arafat under virtual house arrest, destroying people’s houses, humiliating them, all with a lot of “collateral damage,” and then expecting the PA to eradicate Hamas and other terrorists 100% is madness and a prime example of motivating people in the wrong direction.

One can guess that Hamas leaders thank God for Sharon because he brings them so many volunteers for the suicidal missions. As Fuller says, the result is more Israeli casualties. That Sharon, who is a simple-minded bully, follows this madness is not surprising. However, why the U.S. administration is supporting this madness is beyond comprehension.

Jerzy G. Relich

Huntington Beach