{"id":1904,"date":"2002-04-11T12:26:34","date_gmt":"2002-04-11T17:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/?p=1904"},"modified":"2002-04-11T12:26:34","modified_gmt":"2002-04-11T17:26:34","slug":"why_is_this_sad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/04\/11\/why_is_this_sad.html","title":{"rendered":"Why is this sadly not that improbable?"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Lileks (of Bleat <\/a>fame) gives a Brief History of the Future in the Middle East<\/a>.<\/p>\n

— Abandoning talks altogether, Israel abruptly pulls out of the West Bank and builds a fortified wall. President-General Arafat’s Al-Mor’on Brigade begins rocket attacks the day after the wall is complete. “We regret the ballistically assisted disassembly of a preschool,” the French U.N. ambassador remarks later, “but it must be seen as an expression of aesthetic frustration. The wall is very ugly.” …
\n— Hamas holds a press conference to announce that its goal of a Palestinian state has been met, so it will now concentrate on liberating the oppressed people of Lebanon from the grip of Syrian tyranny. There is stunned silence. “Just kidding,” the Hamas spokesman grins. “Seriously, death to the Jews.” …
\n— The United States finally attacks Iraq, seeking to destroy Ba’athist fascism and liberate the Kurds, and eliminate Saddam’s arsenal of horrors. Britain is credited with the assist. European nations owed money by the Iraqi regime complain bitterly, but fall silent when Iraq lobs Scuds laden with poison gas into Tel Aviv.
\nEuropean diplomats caution Israel against retaliation, appealing to the Jews to sit still and be gassed by a mustachioed dictator just one more time. Last time. Promise. We’ll take you out for ice cream afterward.<\/p>\n

\n(Via Ken Layne<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Lileks (of Bleat fame) gives a Brief History of the Future in the Middle East. — Abandoning talks altogether, Israel abruptly pulls out of the West Bank and builds…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-geopolitical-brouhaha"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2227,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/07\/23\/striving_for_th.html","url_meta":{"origin":1904,"position":0},"title":"Striving for the moral low ground","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 23-Jul-02 10:05am","format":false,"excerpt":"Salah Shehade, a top Hamas military leader, certainly seems to have been a legitimate military target in and of himself, and I have no regrets about his death. Both Shehade...","rel":"","context":"In "Geopolitical Brouhaha"","block_context":{"text":"Geopolitical Brouhaha","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/geopolitical-brouhaha"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":132828,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/02\/11\/tweetizen-trump-2017-02-11-so-dangerous.html","url_meta":{"origin":1904,"position":1},"title":"Tweetizen Trump – 2017-02-11 "SO DANGEROUS!"","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 11-Feb-17 10:46am","format":false,"excerpt":"You've been so chatty on Twitter, Donald, I feel like I need to check in even on a Saturday. Watching you is a spectacle that never ends!===\u25ba Our legal system is broken! \"77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries.\" (WT) SO DANGEROUS! [1]Why\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2771,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/09\/24\/layers.html","url_meta":{"origin":1904,"position":2},"title":"Layers","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 24-Sep-02 10:07am","format":false,"excerpt":"The new head of the TSA is thinking of phasing out random screening at the gate for air travel, in an effort to make flying more convenient. Okay, I certainly...","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":959,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2001\/10\/30\/a_warning_to_th.html","url_meta":{"origin":1904,"position":3},"title":"A warning to the Saudis","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 30-Oct-01 3:02pm","format":false,"excerpt":"When even the Wall Street Journal starts talking, seriously, about a US take-over of the Saudi oil fields, you know the relationship is in trouble. [Requires an e-mail registration.] Today...","rel":"","context":"In "Geopolitical Brouhaha"","block_context":{"text":"Geopolitical Brouhaha","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/geopolitical-brouhaha"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":136438,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/05\/14\/yup-those-bullets-just-fired-themselves.html","url_meta":{"origin":1904,"position":4},"title":"Yup! Those bullets just fired themselves!","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 14-May-18 2:48pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Are there Hamas leaders who knew that (continuing) protests at the perimeter of the Gaza Strip would likely draw gunfire from the Israeli Defense Forces? Sure. Are there some who are cynically satisfied that scores have been killed and possibly thousands injured by live fire at Palestinians by the IDF?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/unnamed-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6330,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/09\/20\/well_heres_some.html","url_meta":{"origin":1904,"position":5},"title":"Well, here’s some interesting spam …","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 20-Sep-04 9:23pm","format":false,"excerpt":"A refreshing relief from offers for investments, unclaimed wealth, and erection aids: How can one become a terrorist? 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