John:

You may be right. I am just telling you what I know from both Paletinians and other Arabs that I know both here in Canada and in their own countries.

One thing that would really help would be to get other Arab countries involved in the peace process. I know that Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter got the Egyptians involved and it didn't work but I still feel that the Palestinians would listen more to the Saudis, Egyptians and Iraquis (shriek! delete that last country) than the Americans.

I think the Arabs get off so easy when it comes to sorting our Arab conflicts. They sat on their backsides while the Muslims in Croatia were getting creamed. They left it to the US and the rest of us to stop the genocide. They could have helped stop the first Gulf War but they didn't.

From what I can see both the Israelis and the Palestinians are getting awfully tired of their conflicts. It looks like Ariel Sharon will be able to withdraw from Gaza without getting kicked out of the Knesset. The fanatics on the Palestinian side probably don't have the support of the average Palestinian but they have a voice because the return ot their lands has been so slow.

I think if we got more of the Arab countries involved that they might have some influence on the fanatics as well and get the Israelis to withdraw the rest of the way and still feel secure.

I think we have to keep trying. It is our only hope. Tom Ridge, Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft are not going to solve this for us.