State of Warre

Reprints can be obtained here

...with a crucial difference: Whereas Hobbes' state of nature presupposed an equality of killing-power, such a parity is patently absent in the latest Israeli-Palestinian tit-for-tat.

Granted that Israel is obliged to respond to injuries visited upon it, Your Cartoonist is not sure what Olmert expects Hamas and the denizens of Gaza to do; beset as they are and unable to escape their predicament, their only recourse is to fight, wherefore they will not surrender. Needless to say, the result is a nigh-intractable bloody mess.

By the way, happy new year!

Roughin' It: Annapolis Addendum Addendum

Two persistent and not entirely unrelated onuses, methinks. It's a shame that the parties immediately concerned lack either the will (U.S., Israel, & Syria) or capability (Palestinian Authority) to resolve the issue.

Roughin' It: Annapolis Addendum

While we're on the topic of Bush's "legacy," let's not forget the storm-cloud of pessimism that hangs over the Annapolis conference. Farewell, Mr. Bush's legacy, we hardly knew ye.