Friedman writes: Indeed, in the Middle East playground - as Friday's suicide bomb in Israel reminds us - tipping points are sometimes more like teeter-totters: one moment you're riding high and the next minute you're slammed to the ground.
The scariest example of a tipping point is the US trade deficit and the dollar..... but that's another issue.
A true tipping point is when the underlying facts get so out of wack from reality that everyone is forced--suddenly--to revise their long held opinions about what is true...
Tipping points happen ONLY after the foundations of an idea have been completely removed...and all that's left holding it up is "tradition," or fear of what comes next.
Then and only then, will a seemingly small event cause the "tipping point." And the entire house of cards collapses.
Sort of a "straw that broke the camel's back..." concept.
Things don't happen because they are logical....or because they are "right," or because a bunch of smart people think they should happen.
Things happen because there is No Way for them Not to happen! Anything else is "Luck."
So too in the middle east.....
Sharon must be convinced that there is no way he's going to get the West Bank....
Only then will he take the pressure off the Palestinians...... As long as Dubya and the Neocons allow Sharon to think the West Bank annexation is "doable." He won't settle with the Palestinans.
We could be at the tipping point now....
Israel must realize that the US can not conquor the entire middle east just so the West Bank can be annexed......
But now Sharon is back-sliding on the Gaza hand over again.....If Condi and Dubya would simply apply a little pressure to Sharon and the Likud...the real tipping point could be achieved in the middle east.
Sharon and Israel need a little help form their friends in Washington....to get though the West Bank settlements issues.
Then, we might be at a tipping point in the middle east.
....the rest is just wishful thinking....or luck.
