The election is over and Arafat is dead so perhaps we can be level-headed, for a change, about president Bill Clinton's legacy concerning Israel and the Palestinians.
My question: Who was "better" for Israel? George W. Bush or Bill Clinton
I propose answering this simple question using a simple formula. I propose that the president who caused fewer Jews to be murdered was the better president concerning Israel.
Using the information helpfully provided here, I've compiled a spreadsheet (available on request) and summed the number of victims of each attack.
The results:
Between 1994 and 2000: 167 Israelis were killed by terrorists
Between 2001 and 2004: 557 Israelis were killed by terrorists
For those of you who prefer poetry to math, that's about 5 times the number of deaths, in half the time.
My theory is that so long as Clinton made available a diplomatic channel the Arab street was quiet. The masses saw that they had a chance, via negotiations, (kept alive by Clinton) and the violence lessened. The moment the negotiations seemed to have reached a dead end (Camp David) the violence erupted again. It was virtually instantaneous. Later Bush isolated Arafat, eliminating any chance of a deal, and the violence got worse and worse
So to recap: When Clinton pushed Israel and Palestine to talk to one another, and insisted that diplomacy was an option, the violence abated. When Bush twiddled his thumbs and spouted nonsense about how resolute he was Jews died, and in obscene numbers.
The Bush-policy the right adores made it clear that negotiations were finished and Jews died, like night follows day.
Disclaimer: Of course there are many variables, and all sorts of ways to sift the data, but like the president, dovbear is a simple man, and this is a simple answer. Clinton's policy kept the hope of negotiations alive, and Jews enjoyed a relative calm. Bush's policy was a policy of no negotiations and Jewish bodies were stacked like cordwood.
UPDATE: (I don't endorse this comment's attack on MoChassid so I edited it (again, insulting the other j-bloggers is my shtick. Get your own.) but he deserves to be read:
MoChasid... You call this rediculous? Admitted its not state department level analysis, but the guy cares that Jews are dying, and he thinks Clinton did more to stop it than Bush did. Why can't you appreicate his love of Jews, and leave it at that? Is your Clinton hatred making it impossible for you to appreciate a guy who loves Jews and wants tham alive, rather than dead?
Yes, I also think Clinton-hatred, and Arab-hatred and other hatreds makes it hard to think about this rationally. I also admit: I didn't do the issue justice in the brief post. But I don't think its at all clear that Bush was good for Israel.
Mench: Fair analysis. I don't claim to be infalliable.
ReplyDeleteMoC: Are you annoyed because I didn't call Arafat a terrorist murderer? Because, otherwise, I don't see how you said anything different from what I said. (For the record: I agree that Arafat was a terrorist murderer)
When the negotiations ended the violence began. So long as Clinton was able to keep them at the table, there was no violence. Bush didn't even try to bring the parties back to the table. He made it clear that there would be no more negotiations. He just sat and watched while the Jews and Palestenians killed each other.
I don't think that you can easily qualify this one way or another. One could argue that Clinton pushed too hard at Camp David and that he created the landscape for this environment.
ReplyDeleteHad he been less concerned about his legacy and paid more attention to the reality of the situation we might not be in the position we are now.
It was very clear that Arafat had done little to nothing to prepare his folks for what was offered at Camp David. His arm was twisted so he resumed doing what he did best.
I don't disagree twith you Jack. But something about the numbers appeals to me.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete(whhops, I may have deleted this by mistake)
ReplyDeleteMoChassid said...
so, as long Israel kept giving up stuff in return for nothing, Arafat only killed a few Jews. But when he didn't get every single thing thing he wanted, including the right of return, he started killing more of us.
Yeah, that's a great legacy for Clinton.
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And what's Bush's legacy? He twiddled his thumbs while Jews died.
Don't minimize Jewish lives. If some action from the most powerful person in the world could have saved even one life, Bush should be made to eat his twiddling thumbs.
MoChasid - when did you become an absolute jerk? You call this rediculous? Admitted its not state department level analysis, but the guy cares that Jews are dying, and he thinks Clinton did more to stop it than Bush did. Why can't you appreicate his love of Jews, and leave it at that? Is your Clinton hatred making it impossible for you to appreciate a guy who loves Jews and wants tham alive, rather than dead?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you have to be an absolute snit??
I am curious, can you define "snit." I have heard about people throwing a snit or a snit fit, but have never heard someone called a snit.
ReplyDeleteA snit is a state of annoyance. Perhaps he meant the Mochassid's cold-heartedness created a snit? Or maybe he meant to call the Mo'ster a git, which is british slang for a contemptable person?
ReplyDelete