I Can Say "I Told You So"

In an op-ed I authored and which was published in the Los Angeles Times six years ago, I wrote, in connection with Israel's unilateral retreat from Lebanon, " [then prime minister Ehud] Barak hasn't solved the problem of border attacks, but perhaps has only cleared the decks for a better shot...the fear, though, is that the price for his failure will be paid by those who are less able to do so" ("The Breaking of the Barak Myth", May 24, 2000).

These past three weeks have demonstrated that observations made at the time, based on a simple but logical analysis of the nature of the enemy Israel faces rather than wishful-thinking, were accurate. Territory, whether in South Lebanon, Gaza or, as Israel's current prime minister, Ehud Olmert, now wishes to hand over, Judea and Samaria/West Bank, cannot result in peace. The aspirations of the Arabs and the Israelis are non-equitable in that Israel seeks peace and the Arabs seek territory. The territory thus obtained then becomes yet another means of attacking Israel, another cleared deck for a better shot.

The original article can be read here

and it even generated protests by the American Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee


and just in case you think I'm pulling your (virtual) legs, here's a scan. My quoted words above are in the last column.