Bush gets it right, sort of

Whatever we may think of President G.W. Bush, at times his straightforwardness and stubborness are a virtue. Speaking to Israel's Knesset, he linked the desire of many politicians to see dialogue with terrorists and hostile nutjob leaders to the delusion of appeasement that plagued the 20th century. CNN reports this, focusing on his major slip that involved mentioning the Nazi buildup and invasion of Europe. The notion of argument losers mentioning Nazism should have come to the President's attention during his eight years in office. It apparently didn't.

Talking to terrorists is appeasement, whatever Barack Obama or Jimmy Carter might think. Talking to Hezbollah, Hamas and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not make them come to their senses for they lack such an attribute in the first place. Negotiating involves two parties in full possession of common sense and willing to come to an agreement. As the aforementioned organizations and leaders lack both, no agreement can be reached. They can be controlled and kept in check at the table only until their firepower is overwhelmingly outnumbered and they haven't got a place to hide. To paraphrase a notorious expression, they will only accept offers they can't refuse.

I once saw hope in Hamas' electoral success, a hope for change. With the responsibility of government, the armed group would need to learn statecraft and open up civilized talks with Israel. Those hopes were shattered as rockets kept pouring into Israeli land. Ahmadinejad was hopeless from day one. America's true vowed enemies seem to lack the ability to learn and reason beyond the language of fire and blood. You'd need armed bodyguards at the negotiation table itself!