Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 05, 2008, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k Page 4 v new Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 vol 136 no 324 b 4 Winnipeg free press sunday october 5, 2008 Winnipeg repress. Com Winnipeg free press editorial Board members Are Margo Goodhand Gerald flood Catherine Mitchell Tom Oleson Dave Obrien cartoonist Dale Cummings six month View from the West Archive available online at Winnipeg repress. Com � 2008 Winnipeg free press a division of up Canadian newspapers limited partnership published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg Manitoba r2x 3b6, pm 697 7000 Bob Cox / publisher Margo Goodhand / editor submissions to the View from the West Are Welcome. Contact comment editor Gerald flood 697 7269 Gerald. Flood free press. My. Ca p rime minister Ehud Olmert was Well aware that he resembled the generals who join a peace movement As soon As they retire. I have not come Here to justify my actions Over the past 35 years he said. For a Large portion of that period i was unwilling to look reality in the Eye. Olmert who has resigned but will stay in office until a new government is formed or an election is called gave a valedictory interview to the newspaper Edioth Ahro Noth on sept. 29, and said something that no previous israeli prime minister has said. He declared that if Israel wants peace it must withdraw from almost All the lands it occupied in 1967. Unfortunately its probably too late. Not Only is it a bit late for Olmert to Tell the israeli Public this harsh truth since he is leaving Power now. Its also too late for israelis to act on his advice even if they accepted it because the situation has changed. That Isnit of Mertys own View. What he says is we have an Opportunity that is limited in time in which we can perhaps reach a historic Deal in our relations with the palestinians and another historic step in our relations with Syria. In both cases the decision we must reach is a decision that we have been refusing to accept for the past four decades. If Israel wants peace with Syria he says it must give Back All of the Golan Heights. If it wants peace with the palestinians we must. Withdraw from almost All of the occupied territories if not All of them. We will maintain control of a certain percentage of the territories where the big jewish settlements rebut we will have to give the palestinians a commensurate percentage of our land because without this there will be no peace. Not Only that but Olmert now says that Israel must let go of predominantly Arab East Jerusalem which the palestinian authority wants As the capital of its future state. A special creative solution would get around the question of sovereignty Over the disputed sacred Sites in the old City. If Israel had been willing to make such a peace Deal in the 1990s, it could have worked but the Only israeli Leader of that Era who might eventually have offered such terms to the arabs was Yitzhak Rabin. Since Rabin was murdered by a right Wing jewish extremist in 1995, no other israeli prime minister has been willing to go so far including Olmert during his two and a half years in Power. But the new reality which Olmert does not acknowledge is that no israeli Leader will be free to make that Deal in the next five or ten years. It is the right Deal to make in israelis own Long term interests but Only if the Arab partners can guarantee that Israel will get permanent peace in return for giving Back the land. They cannot guarantee that because they dont even know if they will survive. Consider Syria. The old dictator died in 2000 after a Mere 30 years in Power and his son still rules there eight years later but the country is much less stable than it used to be. Many elements in syrian society have been sharply radicalized by the american invasion of Iraq and the flood of refugees from there. Nobody knows if Syria is heading for a revolution but the possibility certainly exists. If there were a revolution in Syria the winners would almost certainly be islamist who reject any peace with Israel. So what israeli Leader in the next five or ten years could sell the Public on a peace that returned the Golan Heights to syrian control a few Days of violence in Damascus could turn that peace into a Nightmare that sees a hostile syrian army Back on the Heights that Overlook Northern Israel. In the Case of the palestinians the islamist of Hamas Are already in control of the Gaza strip and there is no single palestinian authority for Israel to make a peace Deal with. The notion of an israeli palestinian peace settlement in the current circumstances is purely a fantasy that is maintained to indulge the Bush administration. Even Egypt whose peace treaty with Israel is almost 30 years old is not a reliable partner any More. If there were to be a truly free election in the next five years the Muslim brotherhood would probably form the next government and they have already said that their first act would be to hold a referendum on the egyptian israeli peace treaty. It would probably be rejected by the voters. So even if israeli voters were willing to listen to Ehud Olmert in principle they would not dare to act on his advice now. Perhaps in time the likelihood of islamist regimes coming to Power in israelis Neighbours will shrink. Perhaps there will then be a majority of israeli voters who Are willing to Back the kind of Deal that Ehud Olmert has just outlined. But not this year not this decade and probably not this generation. Gwynne Dyer is a London based Independent journalist whose articles Are published in 45 countries. Gwynne Dyer Olmert sees the Light too late for peace i n less than two years Gen. David Petraeus has become the most admired american general of recent times. His Success in overseeing americans military surge in Iraq reversing the country is descent into a sectarian Bloodbath has earned him Praise from both contenders in americans presidential race. He is a great general in the View of John Mccain and has done a Brilliant Job according to Barack Obama. Given his intelligence ambition and deft handling of the Media the general is talked of As a possible future president. First though he has some More soldiering to do. As he has left Iraq to take Over Central command later this month presiding Over operations from Egypt to Afghanistan his views will do much to shape the course of the War on terror under the next president. He faces a persistent question can his iraqi Success be replicated in Afghanistan As Security has improved in Iraq it has worsened in Afghanistan. And As the surge of forces comes to an end in Iraq there Are Calls for a similar one in Afghanistan. In its dying Days the Bush administration has ordered a full review of policy in Afghanistan. Gen. Petraeus took part in lengthy High level meetings in London and Paris last month and in August he brainstormed with pakistanis top brass on an american aircraft Carrier in the Indian Ocean. He says his tactics in Iraq cannot simply be transposed to Afghanistan. Indeed there Are big differences Iraq is far Richer has a greater density of both american and local forces its command is More unified and insurgents enjoy nothing like the Cross Border Safe havens that the Taliban has in pakistanis tribal Belt. The scale of any surge in Afghanistan will depend on the Speed of withdrawal from Iraq. A brigade originally destined for Iraq Early next year will be diverted to Afghanistan. But commanders in Afghanistan have asked for three More brigades on top of that. Having built his reputation in Iraq Gen. Petraeus will resist a big withdrawal from the country that risks endangering his hard won achievements. The Progress in Iraq he says is still fragile and reversible he will probably want to keep a substantial american presence there at least until late 2010. In Afghanistan for now the americans Are trying to make better use of the troops they have. Gen. David Mckiernan the nato commander is in the process of being double hatted As commander of americans separate and More muscular operation enduring Freedom. He will also oversee the training of afghan forces. This should ensure greater Unity of command though some american special forces whose actions have at times caused controversy Over the death of civilians will continue to operate separately. Nato is still plagued by the reluctance of Many allies to join the fight and the inability of others to bring More resources. The dutch and canadians Are expected to Stop fighting in the next two years. America has belatedly decided to support the expansion of the afghan army from 80,000 to 130,000 still far smaller than iraqis. Allies that do not Supply troops or equipment will be asked for Money trainers and advisers for the afghan army. In Iraq the surges Success was not just due to extra forces. Political changes were crucial especially the decision by sunni tribes to switch sides and the cease fire declared by the biggest shiite militia the Mahdi army. For Gen. Petraeus this virtuous Circle was not a matter of Luck but sustained by a transformation in military doctrine that he developed when he ran the a mys think tank at fort Leavenworth published in a new counterinsurgency manual in december 2006 and implemented when he took command in Iraq soon after. Soldiers were told their priority was not just to find and kill terrorists but to protect and win Over the civilians. Gen. Petrae uses thinking on counter insurgency is distilled in 25 Pithy maxims the latest version of which was issued in july. It tells subordinates that the iraqi people Are the decisive terrain and that soldiers must live among them and patrol on foot you cant commute to this fight. Force alone cannot succeed we cannot kill our Way out of this Endeavor. Instead insurgents must gradually be crushed from All directions military intelligence politics development the Media and much More. He Calls this the Anaconda strategy. Quoting Seneca the younger he says Luck is what happens when preparation meets Opportunity. Much of this thinking has been tried by american forces in Afghanistan but a shortage of resources poor coordination and unrest in Pakistan have helped Send Afghanistan on a downward spiral. Noting the recent fighting by pakistanis army in the Basaur tribal Region Gen. Petraeus has expressed his belief perhaps just a Hope that the country is leaders Are ready to Deal with violent militants As a mortal threat to Pakistan itself not just to Afghanistan. He has also let it be known that he sees Promise in trying to woo reconcilable afghan tribes As he did with the Awakening of sunni tribes in Iraq. But Success in Afghanistan is Uncertain and could take Many years. The general has probably yet to work out a strategy for his new area. But his own principles conclude with a warning. Never forget that what works in an area today May not work there tomorrow and that what works in one area May not work in another. The economist Petraeus focuses his sights on Afghanistan give me Liberty and give me death i looked death in the face. All right i did not. I glimpsed him in a crowd. Ive been diagnosed with cancer of a very treatable kind. Ism told i have a 95 per cent Chance of survival. Come to think of it As a drinking smoking saturated fat hound my Chance of survival has been improved by cancer. I still cursed god As we All do when we get bad news and pain. Not even the most Faith impaired among us shouts Damn quantum mechanics Damn organic chemistry Damn chaos and coincidence i believe in god. God created the world. Obviously pain had to be included in gods plan. Otherwise wed never learn that our actions have consequences. Our Cave person ancestors finding fire warm would conclude that Curling up to sleep in the Middle of the flames would be even warmer. Cave bears would Dine on roast ancestor and wed never get any bad news and pain because we be Here. But god sir in your manner of teaching us about lifers consequential nature Isnit death a bit. Us. Extreme pedagogically speaking i know the lesson that were studying is difficult. But dying is More Homework than i was counting on. Also it kind of messes up my vacation planning. Can we talk after class maybe if i did something for extra credit Why cant death if we must have it be always glorious As in the Iliad ? of course death continues to be so sometimes with heroes in fal Lujah and Kandahar. But nowadays death More often comes drooling on the toilet seat in the nursing Home or bleeding under the crushed roof of a teen driven Sun or breathless in a deluxe hotel suite filled with empty drug bottles and a minor Public figure whose celebrity expiration Date has passed. I have of All the inglorious things a malignant Hemo Rhoid. What color Bracelet does one Wear for that and where does one Wear it and what slogan is apropos perhaps that slogan can be sewn in needlepoint around the ruffle on a cover for my embarrassing Little doughnut buttocks Pillow. Furthermore i am a logical sensible pragmatic Republican and my diagnosis came just weeks after Teddy Ken Nedys. That he should have cancer of the brain and i should have cancer of the ass. Well ill say a Rosary for him and Hope he has a laugh at me. After All what would i do ask god for a More dignified cancer pancreatic liver lung which brings me to the nature of my prayers. They Are like most prayers from most people abject self pleadings. However i cant be the Only person who feels like a Jerk saying please cure me god. Ism under insured. I have three Little children. And i have three dogs two of which will miss me. And my wife will cry and mourn and be inconsolable and have to get a Job. P. S. Our mortgage is subprime. God knows this stuff. Hers god. Hers Al knowing. What am i telling him really gosh you sure Are a Good god. Good you own it. Plus you re infinitely Wise infinitely merciful but. Look everybody makes mistakes. A Little cancer of the behind its not a big mistake. Not something thatus going on your personal record. Theress no reason it cant be Well. Reversed is there no doubt death is one of those mysterious ways in which god famously works. Except on consideration death Isnit mysterious. Do we really want everyone to be around forever ism thinking about my own family specifically a certain Stepfather i had As a kid. Sayonara you s. O. B. Napoleon was doubtless a great Man in his time at least the French think so. But do we want even Napoleon extant in perpetuity do we want him always escaping from Island exiles raising fanatically Loyal troops of soldiers invading Russia and burning Moscow Well at the moment considering Putin it al., maybe we do want that. But Century after Century it would get old. And what with Genghis Khan coming from the other direction All the time and Alexander the great clashing with a Persia that is developing nuclear weapons and roman legions destabilizing already precarious israeli palestinian relations things would be a mess. Then theress the matter of our debt to death for life As we know it. I believe in god. I also believe in evolution. If death we rent around to finalize the darwinian process wed All still be amoebas. Wed eat by surrounding pizzas with our belly flab and have sex by lying on Railroad tracks waiting for a train to split us into significant others. I consider evolution to be More than a scientific theory. I think its a Call to god. God created a free universe. He could have created any kind of universe he wanted. But a universe without Freedom would have been Static and meaningless the taxpayer funded Art i Public places universe. Rather god created a universe full of cosmic Watchm jiggers and subatomic who sits free to interact. And interact they did becoming matter and organic matter and organic matter that replicated itself and life. And that life was completely free As amoral As my cancer cells. Life forms could exercise Freedom to an idiotic extent growing uncontrolled thoughtless and greedy to the Point that they killed the source of their own fool existence. But with the help of death matter began to learn right from wrong How to save itself and its ilk How to nurture How to love or anyway How to build a Facebook pageant How to know god and his rules. Death is so important that god visited death upon his own son thereby helping us learn right from wrong Well enough that we May escape death forever and live eternally in gods Grace. Although this option is not usually open to reporters ism not promising that the Pope will Back me up about All of the above. But its the Best i can do by my poor lights about the subject of mortality and free will. Thus the next time i glimpse death. Well ism not going Over and introducing myself. Ism not giving the grim reaper fist Days. But ill remind myself to try at least to thank god for death. And then ill thank god with All my heart for whiskey. P. J. Orourke is a correspondent for the weekly Standard and the Atlantic. A longer version of this article is in search Magazine search Magazine. Org by p. J. Orourke new com p. J. Orourke no doubt death is one of those mysterious ways in which god famously works. Except on consideration death Isnit mysterious. A 04_ oct 05 08_ Grey. Ind b4 10/ 4/ 08 5 50 12 pm ;