false 3 0 true false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 01 18:46:51 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 13 06:10:51 -0800 2007 and Israeli. I guess he needed to title his book with something controversial to get silly fools like me to actually pick it up and give it a read. He's far more moderate than the title seemingly makes out.

I do believe in one of the tenets that Carter espouses: that peace is wanted by a majority of the people in the region, the current struggle is merely a political one. Here's a good quote to that effect:

"As [Jimmy Carter:] said in a 1979 speech to the Israeli Knesset, 'The people support a settlement. Political leaders are the obstacle to peace.' Over the years, public opinion surveys have consistently shown that a majority of Israelis favor withdrawing from Palestinian territory in exchange for peace, and recent polls show that 80 percent of Palestinians still want a two-state peace agreement with Israel..."

Of course, times have changed since 1979, still, I believe in the basic issue here. It simply does not make sense to live in a state of constant battle. In the long run, peace will help the region prosper.

Alright, now I'm getting down into more personal beliefs than book review. It's an alright read. If you are interested in the conflict in the middle east, I'd recommend Thomas Friedman's from Beirut to Jerusalem over this one. ]]>