Submitted by John House, Feb 26, 2008 20:27

Joseph M Marshall's Hundred in the Hand reminds me of the conflict between Israel and its local allies and the loose confederation of organizations who oppose it. Both the conflict Marshall describes between the Lakota and the Long Knives, and the conflict between the Israelis and Hamas, Fatah and others are wars of attrition. The US Western conflicts ended when the native Americans had no more resources to fight. In the Middle East, a more dangerous resolution looms.

However, the basis of both conflicts were in different cultures and a different calculus for each of those cultures. While the hope of prosperity motivates Israel, another hope seems to endure among its adversaries. The loss of property of prosperity does not phase them.

I think all of the adversaries, Israeli and anti-Israeli, need to begin anew asking each other what is important and how they are motivated. The questions must be fearless, and the answers must be brutally honest among all the parties. Until you think as your adversary, you cannot negotiate. The Israeli conflict must be negotiated for everyone's sake.

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