No peace in the Holy Land.

• Author: Howell, Llewellyn D.
• Position: WORLD WATCHER

SPECIAL ENVOY George Mitchell has a task. It is more than the "Middle East," the designated region for which he now is responsible. He also has a responsibility for the former "War on Terrorism." The argument goes this way: the war on terrorism actually is a conflict between radical Islamists and the West; radical Islamists key their recruiting and motivation around threats to Islamic core values; central in these values over the last half-century has been Jerusalem and the cause of the Palestinians against Israel; until the issues of Jerusalem and a Palestinian state are resolved, the radical Islamists will continue to use them as catalysts in the mobilization of conservative Islamic youth to fight against the West and Israel and to recruit fighters and suicide bombers; therefore, if we want to at least reduce (if not end) the threat of this Islamist terrorism, the Israel-Palestinian conflict has to be resolved. Hence, Mitchell's task in the terrorism context.

How can this millennia-old conflict be resolved by anyone? The solution is not easy, but the logic of resolution is. It essentially is the Two-State Solution. To get to it, there is a critical step on each side to open the way to two viable states. On the Palestinian side, the Palestinians (especially Hamas and Hezbollah) have to give up the intent to destroy Israel. On the Israeli side, all Jewish settlements have to be removed from the West Bank (not just expansion and commercial exploitation stopped). Viability means territorial integrity and that means no pockets or internal barriers. Every settlement and commercial Israeli enterprise in the West Bank must go. These two tasks we now hand off to Mitchell--with a wish of good luck.

This is a problem that has plagued the world for the last 3,000 years. Violence perpetrated in the name of causes is nothing new, although its form has changed with advances in technology, significant increases in levels of education and the spread of knowledge, and a dramatic alteration in the mathematics of population. As we have for the last 3,000 years, we can continue to deal with the superficialities of politics, physical fighting, and "national security"--and the process will continue for another 3,000 years.

In We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land, Jimmy Carter, as well meaning as the former president is, does not deal with the realities of the Israel-Palestine situation. Neither terrorism nor the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a problem of...