A while ago, on usenet, I made the statement that one of the objects behind our action in Iraq was Palastinian peace.
Conformation of this came up this morning:
BY JAMES TARANTO
Tuesday, July 1, 2003 3:27 p.m. EDT
We Told You So
Did we not say, back in March 2002, that the road to Middle East peace goes through Baghdad? At least one Palestinian official now agrees with us. The New York Times reports on the current “road map” and cease-fire between Israel and various terrorist groups:
The American defeat of Saddam Hussein played a central role, as Hamas sponsors in Syria and Iran came under new American pressure and Arab governments, including Saudi Arabia’s, moved to calm the region. “After Sept. 11, the Palestinian resistance lost its international support,” said Samir al-Mashharawi, a top official here of Mr. Abbas’s mainstream Fatah faction. “After the Iraq war, the Palestinian resistance lost its Arab support.”
There’s ample reason to be skeptical of the road map’s prospects for success, especially in the short term. But no one can deny that removing from power the most intransigent Arab dictator enhanced the prospects of eventually resolving the Israel-Arab dispute.
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