XPost: calgary.general, can.general, tor.general 
 XPost: wash.general 
 From: yac@nospam.com 
  
 > I will admit to never being there. 
 > 
 > When and where were you there? 
  
 Was there in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 for work and stayed and traveled a 
 lot.  In 2000 I went all over the West Bank and Gaza with my Arabs hosts and 
 saw the massive amount of building and development going on.  And in 2002 I 
 could not even go to most areas, but what I did see was very upsetting - 
 there is no question the quality of life for the Palestinians has gone done 
 dramatically.  However, it's their leaders fault.  They promoted terrorism, 
 and what you have today is the consequences.  You can not start a war and 
 they get upset if the other side fights back.  Also, in Israel you hear 
 about the 90% of attacks that DON"T make it.  When you understand how many 
 attacks are stopped, then Israel's actions make a lot more sense. 
  
 Again, Sharon is not really a "peace partner" but he only got elected after 
 Palestinians started this war out of disgust for Arafat and the parties in 
 Israel that supported him.  In Israel, you hear about Arafat going to the 
 funerals of suicide bombers and praising them.  And Fatah, his own party, is 
 behind many attacks. 
  
 I still think there has to be an independent Palestinian State, but there 
 can not be with the present leadership.  Arafat is perhaps one of the worst 
 leaders in history. 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)