Sunday October 23, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

A telling tidbit from the Bush/Abbas meeting:
The Palestinian leader suggested that secret backdoor negotiations be arranged between Palestinians and Israelis.
Abbas thinks that with back door negotiations in place "we can reach a state within years, or even a single year."

Abbas has not yet learned to think like the leader of a democratic country.
This is a serious problem.
Secret negotiation channels are the antithesis of democracy.
Democracies are countries that embrace public transparency and public debate, open discussion and open negotiations.
Democratic leaders must educate their society to the values of democracy.

Abbas cannot and should not hide behind closed doors. He must throw open the doors of debate and persuasively, not secretly, point his people towards a better future. That is just what Sharon did regarding the Gaza pullout.

If Abbas wants a democratic state he must negotiate in democratic style.