To the editor:
I'm puzzled by the analysis of Hussein Agha and Robert Malley in "Nothing Left to Talk About," particularly the reference to Abbas allegedly holding "a lifelong belief that Israelis could be persuaded by sheer force of reason and logic of the need for compromise."
Abbas, after all, is the leader who has refused to even sit down and try to negotiate with Israel for the last two years, has repeatedly insisted he would never compromise on any of the core issues and admitted "if we showed flexibility on these issues the peace agreement would have been signed a long time ago."
Abbas is right: if the so-called "moderate" Palestinian Arabs were even half as willing to compromise as the most extreme, hard-line Israeli leaders, a peace agreement would have been signed long ago. For now, because of Arab intransigence, it's unfortunately true that there's nothing to talk about.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein