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Last US tanks leave Europe

The news is quite startling: There are no longer any American tanks stationed in Europe. The story has been largely ignored by the major media. The information was provided in an article in the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes.

According to the Department of Defense, at its peak, Germany, the main center of NATO activity during the first Cold War, was home to 20 U.S. armored divisions, with about 6,000 tanks. Despite the glaring revival of threats from Moscow, the United States no longer has any tanks, the pivotal weapon in land combat, stationed on the entire continent. The entire combined tank forces of all NATO nations on the European continent (including the United Kingdom and Turkey) does not come close to equaling Russian numbers.

Mr. Obama’s extreme views on the lack of need for tanks became an issue in the 2012 campaign, when vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan  criticized the President’s attempt to shut down the only American plant that produces them.

For those who believe that airpower can be used to deter the massive advantage Russia has in tanks, there is further bad news: Washington is seriously considering retiring the Air Force’s tank-killing fighter, the A-10 “Warthog.” According to Defense Secretary Hagel’s February statement,  “The A-10’s age is also making it much more difficult and costly to maintain. Significant savings are only possible through eliminating the entire fleet, because of the fixed cost of maintaining the support apparatus associated with that aircraft. Keeping a smaller number of A-10s would only delay the inevitable while forcing worse trade-offs elsewhere.”
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There are no new weapons systems or innovative methods coming on line that will take over the tank’s front-line tasks.  Indeed, even if there were, there are no funds available to fund them. Another armored development program, the Ground Combat vehicle, a multi-purpose platform, has been defunded.

According to current plans, by 2020, there will be only 30,000 American troops in Europe, approximately one-tenth of the maximum strength during the first Cold War. This spring, further cuts to U.S. military infrastructure in Europe will be presented.

These actions take place in the face of massive new funding for the Russian military, as well as exceptionally aggressive behavior on the part of the Kremlin.

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Americans Pay More for Taxes than Food, Clothing & Shelter

With the April 15 tax deadline finally over, Americans must begin the onerous task of coping with this year’s tax liabilities.

In a stunning analysis, a Tax Foundation study  has revealed that the combined burden of federal, state and local taxes will cost the average citizen more than food, clothing and housing combined.

The study finds that in 2014, Americans will pay $3.0 trillion in federal taxes and $1.5 trillion in state taxes, for a total tax bill of $4.5 trillion, or 30.2 percent of income.  That contrasts with 1900, when Americans paid only 5.9 percent of their income in taxes.

Despite calls to increase taxes on the rich, made popular by the Occupy Wall Street movement, President Obama, and progressives nationwide, a Heritage Foundation report  finds that recent increases disproportionately affect the working wealthy.  The top 10 percent of all income earners paid 71% of federal taxes in 2010, yet they earned 45% of all federal income.  On the other hand, the bottom 50% earned 12% of income yet paid just 2% of federal income taxes.

Erectile Dysfunction is very common problem in men and it is further added cialis generic tabs that it affects a man at least once in his lifetime. A safe list is a list of email addresses by people who have agreed to receive posts and advertisements in exchange for being able to send out their own. viagra price canada One can measured cardiac health, diabetes, neurological concerns, hormonal destabilization, over use of medication, smoking, etc. Recommended shop buy viagra online Then again, there are some people http://djpaulkom.tv/crakd-watch-this-lap-band-dance-at-the-gathering-2014/ buy levitra who don’t smoke. The reason for high taxes are not due to a federal government starved for income. According to the Congressional Budget Office,(CBO) federal revenues are expected to grow by about 9 percent this year, to $3.0 trillion. The expiration of various tax breaks is a key factor in this increase.

Will all those extra dollars mean that Washington can pay down its debt? (pegged at $17, 580,937, 100 by the  US Debt Clock ) Unfortunately, that will not happen. According to the CBO, Federal outlays are expected to increase by 2.6 percent this year, to $3.5 trillion, or 20.5 percent of GDP.  The CBO projects that under current law, spending will grow faster than the economy during the next decade and will equal 22.4 percent of GDP in 2024. With no changes in the applicable laws, spending for Social Security, Medicare (including offsetting receipts), Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and subsidies for health insurance purchased through exchanges will rise from 9.7 percent of GDP in 2014 to 11.7 percent in 2024. Net interest payments by the federal government are also projected to grow rapidly, climbing from 1.3 percent of GDP in 2014 to 3.3 percent in 2024.

Will that extra spending make our nation safer? Apparently not. The Congressional Budget Office notes that spending for defense, benefit programs other than those mentioned above, and all other nondefense activities—is projected to drop from 9.4 percent of GDP this year to 7.3 percent in 2024 under current law.

Should taxes be raised—or just kept at current high levels—to provide more funds for Washington? History indicates that higher taxes do not lead to higher revenues.  The Tax Foundation notes that “The Reagan tax cut ushered in an economic boom; federal revenues grew but the economy grew even faster. Despite pressure on state and local taxes following taxpayer revolts like Proposition 13 in California, the strong economic growth led to increased tax collections…”

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US Military May Face Devastating Cuts

What will happen if the U.S. continues with “sequester level budgets” for the military?

According to Pentagon sources, it would result in continued force-level cuts across the military services.  The Army would be reduced to 420,000 active duty soldiers along with 315,000 in the Guard and 185,000 in the Reserve.  The Marine Corps would drop to 175,000 active duty personnel.  The Air Force would have to eliminate its entire fleet of KC-10 tankers and shrink its inventory of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).  The Navy would be forced to mothball 6 destroyers and retire an aircraft carrier and its associated air wing, reducing the carrier fleet to ten.

Modernization would also be significantly slowed.  Compared to plans under the fiscal 2015 budget, the department would buy eight fewer ships in the years beyond fiscal 2016– including one fewer Virginia-class submarines and three fewer DDG-51 destroyers – and would delay delivery of the new carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) by two years.  The services would acquire 17 fewer Joint Strike Fighters, five fewer KC-46 tankers, and six fewer P-8A aircraft.

There would also be sharp cutbacks in many smaller weapons programs and in funding for military construction. In addition, the department would invest about $66 billion less in procurement and research funding compared with levels planned in the fiscal 2015 budget.

The report notes that sequester-level budgets would worsen already existing readiness shortfalls across the force and delay needed training to prepare the joint force for full-spectrum operations.
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The Department of Defense notes that “Overall, sequester-level cuts would result in a military that is too small to fully meet the requirements of our strategy, thereby significantly increasing national security risks both in the short- and long-term.”

Unlike the days of World War II, when America was able to recover from the devastating Pearl Harbor attack thanks to a massive industrial base, our manufacturing capability is now too limited to gear up in the event of a war. Indeed, there is only one plant in the entire US that manufactures tanks, and the Obama Administration has been attempting to close it down.

All this is occurring as Russia has dramatically modernized and improved its conventional and nuclear forces, and China has become a superpower.  Iran and North Korea have also developed exceptionally strong and vehemently anti-American militaries.

The continued refusal to acknowledge the perilous international climate, and the ongoing cuts to our armed forces, are clear, present, and immediate threats to our national safety and sovereignty.

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UN Global Warming Study Criticized

Everyone should bear concern for the health of the planet.  But far too often, many individuals and organizations engage in groundless scare tactics in order to pursue agendas of personal enrichment or political goals.

The Capital Research Center  has just issued a report that finds “The most prestigious international group claiming we face a global warming crisis has a history of twisting the scientific evidence involved in the controversy. It is so duplicitous that it has even misrepresented the findings of its own reports.”

The study is particularly critical of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which recently stated its belief that global warming was underway and was going to be deeply harmful to humans.  In sharp contrast, a private sector organization, with the similar-sounding name of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, found exactly the opposite. Their research indicated that the human impact on climate is small, and that, if there is a minor increase in global temperature, it may actually be helpful to mankind.

The global warming debate has been one that has, unfortunately, overlooked scientific evidence and common sense. Indeed, the most contentious question—whether man-made activities are causing global warming—tends to ignore a vast and extensive history of the Earth’s periodic warming and cooling without any influence of human beings.
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The Report notes that the global warming theory is not new. A French scientist first discussed it in 1827.  It was not until the 1970s, however, that the concept of human activity causing temperature changes came to be widely discussed.  Initially, it was thought by adherents to the theory that industrial activity was causing the planet to cool.  When the evidence for that idea didn’t work, the argument changed to the belief that humans were causing the temperature to increase. That idea also lacked evidence, so the terminology was altered to simple “Climate change.”

Astronomers at St. Petersburgspecializing in studying the sun point out that solar activity ht is largely responsible for temperature fluctuations.  Some have predicted that, due to the current solar cycle, we may be in for a period of global cooling.

It would appear that the global warming proponents need to cool down and brush up on the concept of scientific objectivity.

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What the Cook Incident Reveals

What is the practical meaning of yesterday’s revelation that a Russian FENCER jet fighter made twelve low level passes over the U.S.S. Donald Cook, a destroyer, in international waters on the Black Sea?

The incident takes place as Russian military forces are positioned to illegally seize more Ukrainian territory, and Moscow-supported agent provocateurs foment chaos in the eastern portion of that nation. These factors represent the immediate background leading to the increasingly tense relations between U.S. forces in Europe and Russia’s military. However, larger issues play a key and perhaps even larger role than Moscow’s Crimean anschluss.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, both western and Russian military forces were significantly reduced.  NATO, of course, grew in membership and geography as the Kremlin’s Warsaw Pact disintegrated, and the vast Red Army returned home to Russia.

But while the west gained significantly, it also slashed its own defense structure. American military cuts were dramatic.  The navy has reached its smallest size since before World War I, and the Air Force is smaller than at any time in its history, flying aircraft that are exceptionally old. The American nuclear arsenal is dangerously antiquated and inadequately tested.

Since the Obama Administration took office, this situation has become significantly worse. A further $1.3 trillion has been slashed from the ten-year defense budget. Geopolitically, the rise of China has made America’s national security posture far more challenged and vulnerable.
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NATO has followed a similar course of disinvestment in armed strength.

The picture from Moscow is significantly different. Under Vladimir Putin, Russia’s conventional and strategic armed forces have undergone a renaissance.  A comprehensive modernization program fueled by extraordinary amounts of cash has produced an exceptionally well-equipped and capable military.

That rejuvenated armed force has flexed its muscles through invasions into Georgia and Crimea, and a return to military cooperation with Cuba and other Latin American nations.

The harassment of the U.S.S. Donald Cook was an indication of the changing positions of the military positions of the America and Russia, Moscow’s improved geopolitical fortunes, and the Kremlins’ growing confidence in its newly developed strength.

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Passover, Easter, & The Threat to Western Civilization

Passover, about to be celebrated by Jews around the world, has connotations far beyond a religious holiday celebrated by adherents of one religion. The theme of freedom, marked during this commemoration of the release from bondage of a people, has been a central tenet of western civilization.

At the beginning of next week, Christians will celebrate their most important holiday, Easter, marking the ascendancy of Christ and his message. That theme, in addition to its very vital religious one, was unique for the tumultuous period when Christ lived.  Unlike other creeds of the time, the worth of each individual human being, perhaps best represented by the biblical exhortation to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto to you,” was an extraordinarily innovative concept for that era.

Bonded together, the themes of freedom, and the great value of each individual human life, became the twin pillars underlying all of western civilization.

When that civilization was transplanted to and took root in America, those two basic philosophical tenets became the foundation of a new nation.

But increasingly, that foundation is being questioned. Marxism and Progressivism constitute a return to a more ancient concept where individuals are defined not by their own rights but by their place in a community.  As noted in the Encyclopedia of Marxism:

“Only in community [has each] individual the means of cultivating his gifts in all directions; only in the community, therefore, is personal freedom possible.”
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In practice, this idea has always led to an increasingly powerful state. The rights of individuals are essentially no different in a Communist state then in any other centrally-governed entity, whether they are called absolute monarchies, fascist regimes, or other even theocracies like Iran.

This, in turn, leads to an explanation of why Marxists governments abroad and Progressive proponents in the United States generally have antagonist views of Christianity and Judaism: both religions are based on concepts of freedom and the rights of the individual that are untenable in a centrally governed state.

Another wrinkle has been added to the debate between modern Western views of the concepts of freedom and individual rights based on a Judeo-Christian ethic and those of different traditions.  The increasing influence of militant Islam has spread the belief that “The irresponsible concept of freedom expounded by existentialism, democracy and modern theories of freedom of expression lead only to corruption and immorality since they are not tied to any concept of higher moral values or self-control…”

Internationally, the increasing spread of militant Islam openly challenges foundational concepts of individual rights taken for granted. In the U.S., an educational environment where mention of the Judeo-Christian underpinnings of Western civilization is harshly discouraged, combined with  the political and cultural rise of Progressivism, is proving surprisingly effective in sharply reversing the nation’s fundamental adherence to Constitutional guarantees of individual rights.

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Political earthquake hits Washington

A long expected political earthquake has struck Washington, D.C.

Within a matter of days, several key administration figures and supporters have either resigned or been raked over the coals by Republicans.  The GOP is belatedly reacting to incidents of scandal and extreme behavior on the part of the White House’s appointees and allies, and the President himself.

Responses against each of the individuals, including Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, former IRS official Lois Lerner, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) is based on matters pertaining to those individuals and their actions on behalf of the Obama Administration.  However, recent actions by the President himself, including his near-pacifist defense policies  in the face of Russia’s aggression, vast military buildup, and nuclear arms treaty violations, as well as his growing closeness with the unsavory Al Sharpton may have emboldened Republicans to be more staunch in their attacks on his administration.

Intense anger on the part of farmers in Southern California, ranchers in the Southwest and property owners in a variety of states against extreme tactics and questionable decisions on the part of the White House’s radicalized Environmental Protection Agency may also have played a role in the GOP’s aggressiveness.

A growing unease also over the mounting news reports about criminal aliens being released by the federal government is also adding to public anger.
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The Sebelius resignation may actually help the President.  Polls  indicate widespread dismay over both the Affordable Healthcare itself as well as its botched rollout. If Sebelius takes the blame, that may deflect anger away from Mr. Obama.

The numerous scandals affecting Attorney General Eric Holder, as well that involving the Internal Revenue Service may be far more difficult to steer away from the White House.

The President has repeatedly denied any involvement or knowledge of the IRS misdeeds. However, the extent of the scandal, including the recently released information that no organizations other than those that vehemently disagreed with Mr. Obama were targeted, makes those statements less than convincing.  The House of Representatives has held IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt, and there is contemplation of a related criminal referral. Calls to investigate the possible collusion of Obama ally Rep. Elijah Cummings.

Eric Holder’s refusal to appoint special prosecutors in any of the key scandals has led to the perception that the Department of Justice has become a politicized agency serving only the interests of the White House, and not the nation.  Public anger may not be quelled until very significant action is taken, actions which may well permanently cripple the Administration.

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US Cuts Nuclear Arms as Russia Moves Ahead

President Obama is conducting, without the consent of Congress or the American public, a high-risk experiment in unilateral disarmament.  He is doing so despite all evidence that his concept is fundamentally flawed. His action is exceptionally endangering the safety and sovereignty of both the United States and its allies.

Andrew C. Weber, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, and Elaine Bunn, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense policy, testified last week before the House Armed Services Committee  that the United States will cut nuclear stockpiles under the New START treaty with Russia.

In October, Russia tested it SS-25 mobile ICBM, the fourth time in the past two years it engaged in tests violative of the 1987 agreement. In January, the treaty was again violated by the deployment of the RS-26 missile test.

In January, it became public that Russia was also violating the 1987 missile treaty. Despite that fact, the U.S. has taken no action.

The Administration’s move comes despite Russia’s placement of nuclear-armed ISKANDER missiles on the border of Europe in response to absolutely no threat from NATO.
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It is done in compliance with a treaty despite Moscow’s obvious current and historical record of treaty violations, in response to a treaty that was bad for the United States since it allowed Moscow a 10-1 advantage in tactical nuclear weapons, and one that is especially inappropriate in the face of the dramatic change in international conditions since the rise of China as a nuclear power that is hostile to the United States and its allies.

In addition to the development and deployment of new atomic weapons systems, Russia has engaged in updating and testing of its nuclear weapons, while the American arsenal has gone untested and un-updated for decades.

President Obama’s planned cutback comes in the face of undeniable evidence of massive Russian cheating.  It comes at a time when Russia has evidenced its hostile intent through its invasion of Crimea, its threats to other parts of the former Soviet Empire, and its return to engagement in military-related activities in Latin America, especially in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. It comes as the United States has slashed its military spending, while Russia and China dramatically expand their armed forces budget.

A full analysis of the nuclear weapons reduction issue will be published Monday, April 14.

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Congress Moves to Block Internet Surrender

Congress is fighting the Obama Administration’s plans to transfer the internet to international control.

Shock waves were sent throughout the nation when the Obama Administration’s Department of Commerce proclaimed on March 14 that it would transfer control of the internet out of U.S. hands. Currently, The United States has the responsibility of managing domain names through its contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN.)

It’s an essential mission, as it prevents dictatorial regimes from stopping dissenting or noncomplying voices from expressing their views. The transfer responds to demands from nations such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea to provide a means of censoring free speech even beyond their own borders.

Representatives John Shimkus (R-Illinois, Todd Rokita (R-Indiana), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) Joe Barton (R-Texas), Renee Ellmers (R-North Carolina) and Bob Latta (R-Ohio) are the leading advocates for Congressional action to halt President Obama’s move.  Their legislation is known as the DOTCOM (Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters) Act of 2014

The legislation’s official description: Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2014 or the DOTCOM Act of 2014 – Prohibits the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information from relinquishing or agreeing to any proposal relating to the relinquishment of the responsibility of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) over Internet domain name system functions (including the authoritative root zone file, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions, and related root zone management functions) until the Comptroller General (GAO), within one year after the NTIA receives a relinquishment proposal developed in a process convened by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) at the request of the NTIA, submits a report to Congress regarding the role of the NTIA with respect to the Internet domain name system.Requires such GAO report to include: (1) advantages and disadvantages of such relinquishment of NTIA responsibility; (2) any principles or criteria that the NTIA sets for relinquishment proposals, as well as an analysis of each proposal received by the NTIA; (3) the processes used by the NTIA and any other federal agencies for evaluating proposals; (4) any national security concerns; and (5) a definition of “multistakeholder model” as used by the NTIA with respect to Internet policymaking and governance.

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According to a statement by Shimkus, Rokita and Blackburn, “In the month of March alone we’ve seen Russia block opposition websites, Turkey ban Twitter, China place new restrictions on online video, and a top Malaysian politician pledge to censor the internet if he is given the chance  This isn’t a theoretical debate. There are real authoritarian governments in the world today who have no tolerance for the free flow of information and ideas. What possible benefit could come from giving the Vladimir Putins of the world a new venue to push their anti-freedom agendas?

“Russia and China have sought such a venue in the past through the United Nation’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU). According to Russian state-funded media,  ‘a takeover of the Internet by a UN supranational agency’would aim to “standardize the behavior of countries concerning information and cyberspace.

“The internet is the single greatest economic machine created in the last 50 years and is a shining example of our American Exceptionalism… It is against our own national economic interest to relinquish control, especially without a clear path forward that will protect internet freedom and American interests.

“We can’t let the Internet turn into another Russian land grab. America shouldn’t surrender its leadership on the world stage to a ‘multistakeholder model’ that’s controlled by foreign governments. It’s imperative that this administration reports to Congress before they can take any steps that would turn over control of the Internet…”

“We have to consider the long-term implications of relinquishing our oversight role because once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.”

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Jerusalem, Fact and Fiction

Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are on the verge of breaking down yet again.

One of the thorniest issues involves the fate of Jerusalem.  As in so many international issues, there is more emotion and misinformation than facts in the discourse over the problem. That’s not surprising, considering that it is a site of extraordinary importance to three of the world’s major religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Jews and Arabs claim biologic ancestry going back to the beginning of the site’s existence.

Archaeologists  believe the area was first settled in the 4th millennium B.C. near the local Gihon stream.  Fortified walls first appeared in the 18th century B.C., and difficult relations with neighboring nations are indicated by Egyptian “Execration” texts, which reveal that Egypt was hostile to the city.

From 586 B.C. onward Jerusalem, although at times quite prosperous, was subjected to numerous invasions.  According to published sources,  Jerusalem has been totally destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked an additional 52 times, and captured 44 times.

Most famously, of course, was the Roman invasion.  Rebellions against the rule of the Caesar’s resulted in the burning of the old city in 70 A.D. During the Byzantine period, Christianity had a heavy influence, until Muslims invaded in the 7th century.  They were ousted by Crusaders four centuries later in the 11th century, who were ousted by the Arabs in the 12th century. In the 15th century, Jerusalem was taken by the Ottoman Empire, which was defeated by the Allies in World War One.  After that, it was ruled as a British mandate.

Following the declaration of Israel’s independence in 1948, the city was divided between Israel and Jordan. (The United Nations General Assembly sought to establish the city as a separate entity under its own control.) The division lasted until the conclusion of the 1967 war, when a victorious Israel was able to occupy the entire site.
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Neither side has been particularly eager to compromise, and so the issue appears intractable.  Delving through its voluminous history, however, several facts do stand out.

Of the three religions that lay claim to the site, Muslims appear to have the weakest link. The city has been central to Judaism essentially for as long as there has been a Jewish identity, with architectural and archeological evidence of it being the key center of worship. Christ was crucified there, making it the linchpin of Christianity. The Prophet Mohammed never physically visited the City, but is said to have arisen to heaven from there.  Muslims rank both Mecca and Medina higher as religious sites. In terms of tolerance, the period of Israeli control has been more tolerant than that which occurred under Jordan.

A similar comparison may be made in terms of being a national capital.  While Jerusalem has served as a capital city for Israel whenever Israel was independent, there is no substantial evidence  that it has served as either a national or provincial capital for any Arab state.

But over the past decades, Palestinians have made keeping at least a portion of Jerusalem a key part of their demands, and most international organizations, including the United Nations, have been generally supportive. The United States has not recognized Israel’s claim of Jerusalem as its national capital. Therefore, the relative historical weakness of the Palestinian claims has not played a significant role.

It is quite possible that external factors, including both international organizations and individual countries other than the two parties involved, may be rendering negotiations more, rather than less, difficult. The casting of Jerusalem as a prize, a point of prestige in the eyes of the world, makes a settlement based on facts and practicality a secondary consideration.