CIA predicts Israel's downfall

[gazmac]

According to respected international lawyer Franklin Lamb a recent CIA report gives the Israeli state 20 years before it collapses. Apparently members of the US Senate Intelligence Committee have seen the report which argues that a two-state solution is no longer realistic and that a one-state solution is the only viable democratic option. It predicts:

"an inexorable movement away from a two-state to a one-state solution, as the most viable model based on democratic principles of full equality that sheds the looming specter of colonial Apartheid while allowing for the return of the 1947/1948 and 1967 refugees. The latter being the precondition for sustainable peace in the region."

[faceless]

that would be great if it came true, but I think there are far too many hardcore zionist extremists for them just to accept the change. I'd worry that they would then become the 'terrorists' and we start all over again.

[VivaGalloway]

I don't think Israelis can live in peace with anyone other than Israelis.

[gazmac]

They fail to see how their inhuman action builds hatred against them:

In response to the breakdown of the prisoner exchange deal Israel is openly saying that it intends to 'worsen prisoner conditions' as a way of pressuring Hamas.

http://gazasolidarity.blogspot.com/2009/03/israel-to-worsen-hamas-prsioners.html

[major.tom]

I'm not old enough to have known much about Apartheid South Africa before the fall of Apartheid, but I'd imagine it was as difficult to see that ever changing right up to the point where it finally did as Israel/Palestine is today. The same can be said for the fall of the Berlin wall. So history has a way of surprising us; sometimes great events unfold despite all the odds being stacked against them and contrary to our own expectations.

That said, while I'm ever hopeful that both sides come to their senses soon and find a way to live together in peace, I have trouble picturing it occurring in the near future. Which is sad because there's probably a far smaller gap between Israelis and Palestinians than there was between blacks and whites in S.A.

[faceless]

Interesting point major - when I think of people like that Eugene Terreblanche and how his dream of an Aryan nation fell flat on its face in South Africa, it gives some hope.

But Terreblanche was never more than just a loudmouthed maniac who never had to fight so dirtily as these extreme Israeli settlers do every day. They seem more mental than him, sadly.

I would have thought you were more than old enough to remember before about 1990 though...

[VivaGalloway]

I can't ever see an embargo against Israel the same way that South Africa was embargoed. Nor can I see a reason why the West would turn against Israel.

[major.tom]

The one good thing about politicians (who seem to be the most stalwart defenders of Israel in the west) is that when it's politically expedient, they will change with the times. (Or at least in whatever direction they think will get them more votes.) The day Hillary Clinton (for example) receives widespread ridicule for defending today's Apartheid state will be the day she moderates her views. People have the power to sway their representatives; how much power is down to the numbers.

I was alive and kicking in the 80's but was not very aware of world events, including Israel / Palestine. Once I learned the history, it became crystal clear which was the side of justice.

The thing about fanatics is that they're easy to spot. And Israel's "settlers" are only a minority -- albeit one that enjoys a disproportionately high level of support including military bodyguards on the state's tab. If average Israeli's ever manage to rein them in, the tension (and bloodshed) would decrease, perhaps opening the door for cooler heads to prevail.

One can only hope...