Colt of Eurabian Times has a very good set of links and analysis covering Egypt's role and options re: the Gaza Strip and its future. His piece is thorough and realistic, which makes it doubly worthy.
It's critically important to understand the roles, pressures, and options that the countries involved are really dealing with, rather than any fantasies about how we wish things might be.
Here are some quick tips for adding simple Textile formatting to your comments, though you can also use proper HTML tags:
*This* puts text in bold.
_This_ puts text in italics.
bq. This "bq." at the beginning of a paragraph, flush with the left hand side and with a space after it, is the code to indent one paragraph of text as a block quote.
To add a live URL, "Text to display":http://windsofchange.net/ (no spaces between) will show up as Text to display. Always use this for links - otherwise you will screw up the columns on our main blog page.
Drudge posted a link to this AP story which was pretty interesting - some more solutions for the gaza border.
http://www.local6.com/news/3433764/detail.html
Israel Plans 'Remote-Control' Border
Border To Include Unmanned Patrol Cars, Computerized Posts
POSTED: 10:13 am EDT June 18, 2004
JERUSALEM -- The Israeli army envisions a "remote control" border with the Gaza Strip after a troop withdrawal, including unmanned patrol cars and computerized observation posts that would automatically spot and kill attackers, a military official said Friday....
An Israeli army think tank has been working on a new border design for months, the military officials said. The planners envision a "remote control" border that will cut down on the number of troops being deployed in the area. High-tech equipment for border control is already being tested, they added.
A computerized observation system will allow the army to identify "hostile elements" and fire deep into Gaza, Yediot said. The system will even choose the most appropriate weapon to use to hit a specific target.
In addition, the army is testing unmanned patrol cars that can identify and defuse explosives by remote control. Planners have prepared alternatives in case the technology is not useable in time, military officials said.
On Thursday, the Israeli Defense Ministry published a bid for an 80-foot-deep trench between Egypt and Gaza meant to block Palestinian arms smuggling after a withdrawal.
The trench would cost millions, and military officials said it remains unclear whether more Palestinian homes would have to be demolished to make room for it.
Thanks, Glenn. That's... actually not all that surprising, given who we're dealing with.