Never underestimate the ability of anyone in the Middle East to shoot themselves in the foot...

I don't pretend to have any solutions to the snakepit of political, social, and religious fights that are the hallmark of what we used to call "The Holy Land." But one thing that's certain is that the extremists on both sides - Arab/Palestinian and Jewish - will always do something incomprehensibly stupid in order to keep the pot boiling and make life miserable for the great mass of people in the region.

The Palestinians are upset that Israel occupies the West Bank and has carved it up into a series of noncontiguous enclaves that greatly complicate Palestinian life and set up an endless series of little embarassments every day. So how do they convince the Israelis that they can be safe and reliable neighbors willing to work together to build peaceful and prosperous neighboring states? By conducting suicide bombings of buses and restaurants. The Israelis, in their turn, crack down harder on the Palestinians, and the cycle continues.

The cynicism and bloodthirstiness is just beyond belief. Where's the Gandhi of the Palestinians? Where are the visionary leaders willing to set aside tit-for-tat hatreds and work together to improve life for all? The sad answer is that they've been hijacked and overshadowed by the extremists on both sides for whom violence and intolerance is the only response to everything.

A recent podcast headline from the satirical newscast "The Onion" read, "God Re-Floods the Middle East." Sometimes you could think that The Deity finally giving up, wiping the whole place out and starting over wouldn't be such a bad idea.

I'm in a somber mood today. I'll try to be more upbeat tomorrow as we slide into the weekend.

Bilbo