Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Gaza pullout and Strategic protesting

I am very much in favor of the Gaza pullout, but on the other hand I am very much in favor of protesting it as well. Remember, in cases like this protesting can be (what we game theorists call) strategic.

Sharon's goal is not to pull out. It is to pull out as a concession to the other sides (whomever that may be) so that he gets something in return. The more difficult it appears that it is for Sharon to pull out - because of resistance from within his own camp - the more he looks like he is giving up for the sake of peace or whatever.

The best way to support Sharon, it would reson is to let Sharon do his job and protest it. As a politician it is clear that he couldn't care less about protests (which politician does?), but it appears as if he is taking these bold, politically dangerous, and very generous steps. Next time he is asked to make a concession, he can point to the last time and show how difficult it was for him as an Israeli and a politician to conceede anything, and try to get more out of the deal.

The Palestinians are doing the same thing, only they are playing with live ammo. By showing that accepting only Gaza they are barely satisfying anyone - to the point that they can barely control the terrorist groups, it shows the world how much of a mere drop in the bucket is compared to what they really want.

I guess that that moral of the story is that if you like Israel, wear orange. If people ask for your personal politics, tell them what you really think.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmmmmmm.......you should be an army
general, you strategizing little bastard. That's smart.
I was just thinking this morning that this pullout sets a precedent which is, perhaps, the worst part of it because what comes next? (not to downplay the ache I feel for the settlers losing their homes and livelihood).
The Palestinians have always done better PR wise-even with the history of suicide bombings.
The world has gone mad....

karl said...
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karl said...

Well, the land-for-peace precedent has already been set by Begin giving the Sinai back to Egypt. So this is just following an old right-wing Israeli strategy.

bec said...

karl said: "Sharon's goal is not to pull out. It is to pull out as a concession to the other sides (whomever that may be) so that he gets something in return."

i don't recall an agreement being made as to what he would get in return. already the "palestinians" are talking about the west bank, jerusalem, etc., but there is no indication of an agreement made regarding peace. if there was, after the netanya incident, we wouldn't be pulling out of gaza.