Andrew Exum is a really good and fair observer of Israel/Palestine. He's just very good at it. Yet nearly every time he writes on the subject, he prefaces it with a variation of, "Now, I'm loath to say anything about Israel and Palestine..."
Maybe he's doing an Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer thing -- in which case: well played, sir -- but I think he's sincere in his stated desire not to wade too deeply on a volatile, emotionally charged debate that's constantly policed by demagogues. Still, it's entirely because Exum has a perspective entirely outside our own intra-tribal grievances that his analysis is so clear and so persuasive. He's got an open mind and is looking to be persuaded by the best arguments.
Which is a long and meta way of saying you should read his epic fisking of Rick Perry's Israel speech, which is probably the last and least euphemistic word on the subject. Israel isn't really looking to persuade anyone these days, just to rally the forces that are already on its side, rhetorically speaking, and to beat back its critics. And all of that makes it striking to read the impatience of a fair-minded observer who's looking to be persuaded and isn't impressed.
Now, if only politics reporters were similarly willing to actually abandon euphemism and adjudicate the merits of speeches like Perry's...
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