Land for Peace? An immodest proposal

Land for Peace is a concept discussed concerning Israel. It has been tried unsuccessfully in other places and at other times, but its natural tendency to failure is not its prime weakness. The real problem, as recently voiced by the head of Iran, is the very existence of Israel. It is not any specific amount of land. To prove my point, one can turn the "Land for Peace" equation on its head and say, "If the Muslim Arabs would only concede the small amount of land in the Middle East to the Israelis that they now occupy, then we would have peace in the Middle East." When you say it that way, you see its absurdity as that approach has been rejected for over 50 years. So, land for peace is actually a hoax, as those who propose Israeli land for Muslim peace never consider the opposite tact.

So, we get to the true issue: the very existence of Israel as a state in the Middle East. If OPEC is planning to raise petroleum to $100/barrel, and if we proposed that, if they only raise it to $95/barrel we would get Israel to relocate out of the Middle East, but if they insist on $100/barrel, we will arm Israel to the teeth and provide tactical support, thereby helping them conquer whatever lands that are in their (or our) strategic interest, I think we would have a deal. So, as the phrase goes, we have shown them to be prostitutes, we are just haggling about the price.

I propose that we split the difference. OPEC sells the USA oil for $20/barrel for 10 years; the Middle East becomes a nuclear-free zone, and the US government raises taxes on oil to keep gas at about $2.00/gallon. With the money collected, we purchase land in Montana equal in size to Israel offer to relocate all willing Israelis to that area, ceding that land to them as an autonomous country. We use additional money to help them re-tool, re-build and restart their industry, commerce and residential communities. Then, we stop supporting the Israeli state in the Middle East and promote Arab rule.

With no Israeli scapegoat in the Middle East, the Arabs will have to get on with their lives. Any potential violence towards the US could be dealt with decisively. No nuclear arming of the Middle East would be tolerated, punishable by raining of devestation from the skies via our airforce. They could be as third world as they want. Also, no more US aid in the Middle East. We work on petroleum free energy over the next 10 years and leave them ...er... in the dust.

Those who wish to be first or second world could develop their own industries and become part of an ecumenical world scene, but only if they develop governmental structures that are not Islamic states and demonstrate a reasonable form of justice and freedom for their citizens.