"The defensive might we have must be improved and become tremendously powerful and create a situation in which no one will dare to realize the ability to harm us. And if they do dare, we will exact a full price, so that they, too, will not survive.
Arad also claims that there is no Palestinian leadership - only a constellation of factions and interests - and that Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas is a weakling. Not a hint from him, of course, about how Israel has done all it could, from day 1, to prevent any strong leader from emerging among the Palestinians. When legitimate leaders or parties have emerged (Yasser Arafat, Hamas - which was elected democratically to power in 2006), Israel (with US acquiescence or support) destroys them, or tries to. Instead, the Israeli latch onto pliable characters like Abbas, stage a series of dog-and-pony show conferences and photo-ops with him in public, treat him like a shmuck behind closed doors, and then point to the lack of a "partner" for peace when his own people stop buying into him as their leader because the Israelis have rendered him ineffectual.
Obama's a smart guy - and he tends to have smart guys around him, even if they are guys like Dennis Ross and Rahm Emanuel. I hope he sees through this nonsense.
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