This whole thing would be easily solved if only the middle-east factions understood NHL hockey. They could simply review the past NHL lockout for some pertinent advice. Most of us will agree that both the NHL owners and the NHLPA were at fault for the lousy state of the league's finances. Unfortunately, certain people took longer than others to realize that it wasn't about "fault" -- it was about saving the league (or lives and civilizations, as the case may be). It was inevitable that the NHL owners would win the dispute, as they controlled the capital. Similarly, it is inevitable that Israel will continue to exist because they control both the military power and have the strongest portion of the international community behind them.
The Arabs, as did the NHLPA, might try to stave off the inevitable, but it's obvious that the only result will be increased losses for both sides, and not an outright victory. We can only hope that eventually a few rational people will come to power and overpower the irrational elements who deny the obvious. As we've seen, the league and the PA are co-existing quite well right now after that very thing happened.
A striking difference, I suppose, is that Chris Chelios was never likely to kill the NHLPA executive when they started to diverge from his desired path. Unfortunately, it appears that Islamic radicals aren't endowed with the same sense of restraint. While a majority of Arab/Islamic** people might desire peace, the radicals are willing to kill for their position whereas the moderates aren't.
**Note** I realize that not all Muslims are Arabs, and vice-versa, but I choose to use the terms interchangeably here as it is apparent that virtually every enemy of Israel is either Arab, Muslim, or both.
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