Dear Nephew,

 This morning I discovered I was out of maple syrup and decided to walk down to the county store as it’s only about a quarter mile. Bout half way, I met Abe who was out repairing the stone wall in front of his house. You probably remember him, always wildly speculating about some crazy thing or other.

 Well, last night on TV he’d seen some horrific videos of suicide bombings in Israel. “You know,” he said, “What they need there is some kind of Mid-Eastern Mexican standoff.”

 “And, Abe, just how would they do that?” I asked.

 “You see, Maggie, they need to get a balance of power like they used to have in Bush's Old Europe. The Palestinians got to get someone to backstop them. What they need is to get some Arab country, larger than themselves and with more resources, modernized – democratized in some fashion, if you will. See, in South Korea for example, democracy got the economic engine into gear quick as a blink. And that made South Korea what those Washington folks call a – um- geo-economic and geo-political force.”

 “You follow?” “I think so Abe,” I said, trying to be neighborly.

 “Well, you see, a Mid-Eastern democracy, with its natural Islamic leanings, could then backstop Palestine, and Palestine would have enough clout so it wouldn’t have to resort to these suicidal runs anymore. Then you’d have your standoff.”

 “But, Abe, did you ever considered this partnership’s clout might let them up the ante and cause even more ruckus? You know, when push came to shove, the balance of power in Old Europe didn’t exactly result in peace. Your idea might upset the applecart not only in the Middle East but spill new conflicts Westward."

 “I hate shooting down your theories but sometimes, Abe, you go off half cocked. Anyway, as I see it, the Palestinians are too weak to get some Arab country modernized. And European countries, though they could, have too keen a sense of history to do something so dangerous to them selves.”

 That said, Abe got back to fixing his wall and I went and got my syrup.

 Yours truly,
Great Aunt Maggie Pye