The Brits, past masters of setting one faction against another faction and by doing so leaving British rule unchallenged…
If you haven’t yet noticed, British rule has been quite challenged lately. The sun regularly sets on what remains of the former empire. The British don’t even rule their own land anymore. That job belongs to their Gulf state owners and the tulipmania fortunes the British are making with the “Islamic banking” schemes.
The end of the British empire is just a small hint that the tactic of “setting one faction against another faction” is now a complete failure.
That doesn’t stop the Israelis and the Americans from following the bad example set by the British. There is no reason to tolerate different terrorist factions, or to negotiate with/support either side. Terrorism is a form of war. Our negotiations with terrorists ignores the basic principle of war – if your enemy is stronger than you are, negotiate with them. If they’re weaker, destroy them, using whatever means possible (economic, military, diplomatic). The British history of tolerating and making ‘deals’ with those weaker than themselves is responsible for their current decline.
