Monthly Archives: December 2004

"Perhaps it is just a fairy tale to believe, along with The Beatles, “you have to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time” because “it can’t get much worse.” Unfortunately, it could get worse -- a lot worse."

"Democracy isn’t something that can be exercised one day every four years; it calls for collective action on an ongoing basis, hopefully informed by the need to change a system."

"Israel has no reason whatsoever to make it easier for the Syrian dictatorship to extricate itself from a difficult international constellation."

"The Syrians calculate that a resumption of talks with Israel will help relieve the pressure from the US and open the way for potential deals on Iraq and Lebanon. That does not mean that Syria is interested in the process rather than the peace--an accusation that was sometimes leveled at the late Syrian president, Hafez al-Assad."

"Most Israeli maps don’t even acknowledge the existence of the “occupied territories,” which are now a days reclassified as “disputed territories.” Few identify the West Bank, Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem as being Palestinian or Palestine."