Had Barbara Tuchman been able to add a chapter to her March of Folly classic, she would surely have chosen a long one on the Oslo Accords. In her celebrated 1984 book, the brilliant historian provided a fascinating account of past cases that were a paragon of political foolhardiness and reckless policy.
Tuchman defined policy folly as the continuous pursuit by successive governments of policies that are contrary to their countries' interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives. The Oslo Accords, which will soon be marking the 25th anniversary of their ill-conceived signing, fit that bill perfectly. So much so, that “Oslo” has long since been absorbed into the cultural parlance in Israel as the ultimate four-letter word, not to be mentioned favorably by any serious politician seeking office. The United States acknowledged the Oslo process as a dead-end policy, and the Palestinians withdrew from it long ago – actually before it ever began.
Read Full Article »