I may be making comparing things that should not be compared, but nonetheless, the connection was made when catching up with some reading this morning.
It turns out that the global “listening” infrastructure that was built as part of Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban obligations picks up not only the sounds of nuclear tests — but also big schisms in the earth’s crust. This is a fascinating clip about the long, grinding sound of the earth tearing itself apart during the December 2004 tsunami-creating quake.
Then, I turned to a powerful piece written by the Washington Post‘s Warren Bass on Gaza. There too, there are political plates tearing themselves apart — and there are huge risks not only for the Israelis and Palestinians writ large but for the world in the Gaza withdrawal.
I, for one, think that we need to begin considering what lies beyond Gaza — but we have to get through Gaza first. As I wrote the other day, Frank Gaffney linked the London bombings to the Gaza pullout, arguing that withdrawing from occupied territories is appeasing Islamofascists. I couldn’t disagree more.
We must not allow the crime of terrorism delegitimate policies that make good public policy sense. For example, withdrawing from Gaza is a major step towards an eventual two-state solution in the Palestinian-Israeli standoff, and the Bush administration endorses this.
We need to split the “official” Bush administration off from the radicals embedded in and around the White House and move this deal forward.
More on this later, but I wanted to make sure that some of you got the opportunity to read this great Warren Bass piece — and ponder what the earth tearing itself apart might sound like.
I’m still stuck in Denver at the airport.
— Steve Clemons
