“Why the N. Ireland comparison doesn’t fit”
So we do not confuse analogies with evidence, which can lead to disastrous and dangerous policies, we should take a moment and digest this very insightful article.
From the THE JERUSALEM POST:
Analysis: Why the N. Ireland comparison doesn’t fit
By: Herb Keinon
On the day that the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee called for a reassessment of Britain’s Mideast policy, including dialogue with Hamas and Hizbullah, the Labor Party chairman of the committee, Mike Gapes, once again drew comparisons between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the troubles in Northern Ireland.
Saying that the lessons of Northern Ireland, where the Irish Republican Army moved away from terrorism and into political dialogue with Britain, should be applied to the Middle East, Gapes said: “I think from experience in Northern Ireland, you know that sometimes you have to engage with people in a diplomatic way, sometimes quietly.”
Ah, would that it were so. Would that Hamas would have proven itself to be a latter-day IRA. Indeed, were that true, Hamas would be willing to renounce violence and decommission its arms, as the IRA did.
The difference between the two situations is enormous.
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