The 1949 gambit:

Bush says this about the Israli Palestinian issue:

... it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.

And John Podoretz - very happy with Bush's endorsement of Sharon's position - says this in the New York Post:

The Jewish state will not pull back to the borders of the 1949 armistice, borders that were untenable and dangerous.

[...]

When Palestinians say they accept Israel's existence, what they mean is that it should return to these 1949 borders. That's delusional.

That's something of a misdirect. Aren't we really talking about a return to the 1967 borders? Sure, they were set in 1949, but the borders were effectively in use until the Six Day War.

The reason for citing 1949 borders is to make them seem so far back in time that they are, in effect, not relevant today. But consider the following. Mexico grabs a bit of territory from Texas this year and holds on to it. Would anybody believe the argument that Mexico should not pull back to the 1850 borders? That it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the borders of 1850?

posted by Quiddity at 4/15/2004 07:21:00 AM