# Bush says:  Settlements must go

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-says-settlements-must-go/179548>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [June 4, 2003, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-says-settlements-must-go/179548 "2003-06-04T09:40:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-says-settlements-must-go/179548/81 "2003-06-10T14:17:20Z")

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And this latest attack was a coordinated act by three major terrorist organizations, not a ‘lone individual’. What’s worse, they reiterated their goal of completely driving the Jews out of Israel.

At what point do these terror groups get stepped on, and who does the stepping? I believe Bush is pressuring other Arab countries to get involved, because he recognizes that, while the U.S. could fight Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the political ramifications of that would be terrible.

But clearly, something has to be done. You can’t let these groups run amok like this.

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**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-says-settlements-must-go/179548/82 "2003-06-10T14:27:41Z")

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\> Does Abbas have the necessary muscle to deal with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc.?

If Abbas can’t deliver his side of the bargain, what’s the need to negotiate?

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**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-says-settlements-must-go/179548/83 "2003-06-11T19:01:05Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by sqweels \*  
> Because Reagan might have been able to nip the settlements in the bud, which would have made a peace deal by now much more likely, which would have removed the primary irritant of the Arabs toward the US. But then again, there’s not much point in pursuing historical “what ifs”.

Even if I grant that the Isralei-Palestinian conflict is truly the primary irrantant of the Arabs, which is questionable, it is quite a leap to then say that any terrorist act involving Arabs must have been because of it, especially considering that the act in question was planned from an non-Arab country. Seeing as how bin Laden’s actions can be fully explained by simple hunger for power, it seems to me that Occam’s razor would rule out a motivation involving Israel.

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