Fora TV

This website has an endless supply of great recorded programs discussing foreign policy from many of top thinkers in the world. It's the equivalent of the Treatment and DVD extras for filmmakers, except for foreign policy and world affairs.

I just listened to a long program with the Israeli architect of plan to unilaterally withdrawal from Gaza. The most interesting part of the program was his analysis of Palestinian society and about dealing with radical leaders. He argues, persuasively, that Palestinian civil society is essentially non-existent. It is broken, tribalized, and unable to function like a healthy society. The problem is not the election of Hamas - the problem is that Palestinian society will not "go along" with any actions of a responsible government. There is no Palestinian leadership who is able to negotiate with Israel because none of the Palestinian militias will go along with any decision made. Inter-fighting between Palestinian factions causes more Palestinian deaths than Israeli-Palestinian violence.

A couple of interesting facts: per capita, the Palestinians received 6 times the amount of money as Europeans did during the Marshall plan. Europe was devastated after WWII and has re-built an entire continent since that time. In Gaza, during celebrations, guns are routinely fired into the air. The cost of one bullet in Gaza is the same as a crate of tomatoes. He says look - these people shoot guns into the air for any type of celebration and then beg Europe for money because they can't eat.

It's like dealing with a drug addict. Impossible.