West Bank Improves

The well travelled Michael Totten talks about a NYT report on the West Bank and relates it to his own experience there. He says cities like Ramallah and Nablus are doing 'OK' and said the former is actually a nicer place to visit than Cairo.

The corrupt kleptocracy of Makmud Abbas may pay lip service to the cause of Israeli destruction, but right now it is at war with its rival, Hamas. Whose presence in the West Bank is much weaker than in Gaza. Here the Israelis allow some movement, though there are still numerous

checkpoints and roadblocks, and there is some economic interaction between the two states.

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Israel is using Abbas and his Fatah party to fight Hamas, and helping them by allowing arms shipments and fostering economic growth. This is the only effective way of fighting an insurgency, a proven method that has worked against numerous insurgencies, from the Apaches in Arizona to the Sunnis in Iraq.

It is now up to the United States to find some way to make it work in Afghanistan.

Will's book about the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the Battle of 73 Easting, is called A Line Through the Desert. It may be purchased at Amazon.