Dear PM Olmert:

One of the things that those of us who supported (and still support) the Gaza pullout hoped would happen would be that future conflict would be "rationalized" somewhat -- no more little skirmishes over vaguely defined territory that are difficult for the outsider to understand and contribute to the misperception that all the violence is some sort of tit-for-tat prodding where the killing of innocent Israelis looks more like murder (where individuals are perceived to be at fault and punishable) than acts of war (where an entire government is responsible). By setting a border, who is at fault in any situation should become easier to discern -- "you did that to us, so we are going to do this to you."

That's what's been frustrating about the current Gaza situation. Even after the "disengagement," this whole process just looks like more of the same, because the Israeli government just hasn't (as usual I'm sorry to say) done an effective job of explaining what's going on in straightforward terms to those who'd like to know but weren't necessarily previously informed.

Look, I admit I'm not the greatest internet searcher in the world, so maybe they've already done this, but then that's the point, this thing should be front and center on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs web site and any other site it would be vaguely appropriate, like the Permanent Mission to the UN -- places where the public would never miss it and the press could never ignore it.

What this should be in effect is a Declaration of War. Now I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know all of the implications of an official "Declaration of War," but that's the idea -- that'll do here in the court of common sense. We need to know: The grievance, the goal and the means we can expect you to use to achieve it. By stating what started this episode and defining what will end it, you will rationalize the entire process in the minds of much of the world and as a result find support for you soar. Better yet, if your opponents do the same thing, the public can "compare balance sheets" as it were, and see who has the better case. You won't win over everyone, but I guarantee you will win over all the people that matter. Guaranteed.

To that end, below I have provided a brief brainstorm on the outline that such a document should take along with some guidance on the answers. By necessity, the final document will be more detailed than even something like the United States' Declaration of War on Nazi Germany was, and you should remember that this is for public consumption -- not a court of law. If you go and turn to some staff International Law expert, you've already lost -- though they should be consulted. Total length of the final document should not exceed the equivalent of two double-spaced type-written pages with wide margins. You really should have released this before the tanks rolled into Gaza.

Oh, and while you don't want to be overly formal, you do need to make sure your facts and logic are as bullet-proof as it's humanly possible to be. Write it like you're trying to frame one of your three wishes to an evil genie who's just waiting for his chance to twist your wish for "a million bucks" into a million antelope running around your back yard. Know what I'm saying?

Anyway, here you go...it should go something like this:

1) The Grievance: [Why are you taking action now? Give us some background. Why so angry? The following words and phrases will probably appear in this section: rockets, cross-border, kidnapping, act of war. Speak in general terms, but provide some specific examples as well, so long as you make it clear these are representative samples chosen for brevity and not an exhaustive list. Talk about deaths, particularly of children caused by rockets and mention the sacrifices you have already made. Talk about the enemy's war crimes, their use of human shields, child soldiers, hiding among civilian populations, fighting out of uniform, their own choice of targeting civilians and their general indoctrination of hatred among their people.

Oh, and if you find yourself typing the number "1948" in anywhere in this section, hit back-space immediately. Don't go back further than two years. Everything else is ancient history for our purposes here. No one cares about that. You have to show you've moved on and it's the other guy who won't let history rest.]

2) The Goal: [What are you trying to achieve? Make sure this goal is rational and achievable. Be fairly modest if possible. Be specific here and don't include anything abstract or unquantifiable. Is it just to get a soldier back? Stop rocket attacks? Regime change?]

3) The means you will use to achieve the goal: [What will you target? What and who will you not target? Are Hamas law-makers targets? (Say yes.) What weapons and tactics will you use and what won't you use or do (in general terms)?]

4) Thank everyone for reading and ask for their support. [Seriously]

Just doing the above will put you on the moral and rhetorical high-ground by making you into the rational actor in the conflict.

Now to show you how this might stand you in good stead in contrasting you with your enemy, I'm going to fill out a similar sheet, very, very briefly on behalf of the Hamas/Palestinian Authority Government. This is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, of course, but the answers such as they are are dead-accurate and plausible. (It's in the extended entry below.)

1) The grievance: In 1948, blah-blah, ethnic cleansing, blah-blah, dirty Zionists, blah-blah, Protocols of the Elders of Zion can't trust 'em, blah-blah, handing out candy that make us impotent, blah-blah, won't stop fighting back and let us kill them already.

2) The goal: Conquer and subjugate all territory from the Jordan to the Mediterranean, then subjugate the area east of the river. Institute Sharia Law. Make sure non-Muslims know their place as Dhimmi, institute the Jizya, drop walls on queers, &c... Oh, and uproot and expell every Jew (we will determine who is a Jew) other than a token handful who we'll say were there already sometime around 1900...and that remnant will need to remain indoors where we can't see them, cause if they get uppity...KABOOM, they know what'll happen to 'em.

3) The means we will use: Why, any means, of course. And when we say any, we mean any. We will teach our children murderous hate -- hate of others, hate of their own worthless lives. We will send them as human bombs against the Zionists and their children. We will target all those we label Jews and anyone standing close to them. We will take particular interest in targeting their children and non-combatants. We will bomb buses and schools, send rockets into villages at random, and brag about having chem/bio weapons and threaten to use them. We will take hostages. We will refuse to make or honor any treaty. I'm sure we'll think of more stuff later, we will get back to you on this...

4) Thank you for reading this. We hope you will support us and our goals.

That all sounds crazy, right? But the truth is that if Hamas were to honestly answer these questions, that's about how it would sound, no matter how much you tried to pretty it up for public consumption, and Israel would come out looking like the rational ones whose side an increasing number of people would want to take.

Now, I'm no expert on international relations like the big-brains in the Israeli Government, but I know people, and I think this is the way to approach it. Oh, it would also help give your supporters something to rally behind, instead of the current situation where we're all left, "buh...duh...I'm not exactly sure what they're doing...looks ok to me...I guess..."

Thank you for taking the time to read this.