[lbo-talk] Re "One Palestine, Complete"

[Chuck Grimes]

...while the British had obvious strategic interests in the MIDDLE
EAST, there was little rational reason for them to be in Palestine,
per se. They could have just left it alone and it wouldn't have
threatened their other holdings.  Just a crappy piece of real estate,
empire wise. Mike Lark

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I gotta disagree. Look at map. There is a reason every empire starting
back to Ur and the Hittites (including the Jews from Egypt) conquered
Palestine and Lebanon. It is the landing zone and bridge, the cross
roads between North Africa, Europe and the Middle East... and later
critical to keeping control of the Suez canal. European geo-political
access to everything between the Mediterranean and Persia goes through
Lebanon and Palestine.

Or you can look at it in the negative. If you don't keep control
Lebanon and Palestine, you have serious military and strategic
difficulties getting around who ever does.

In this strategic sense the Israelis are idiots. If they could get
beyond their horrid little war with the Palestinians and unite with
equality and citizenship for all, etc, etc, both of them could become
rich beyond their dreams by re-negociating Euro trade access to the
rest of the Middle East. The Euros could milk the Islamic world to
their hearts content, and the Israelis and Palestinians would get rich
taking their cut just for being in the right place...

Chuck Grimes