The IDF and the Basij

Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out his vision for peace. He was quite eloquent in arguing Israel's case, and I imagine parts of this speech were extremely well-received by those schooled in Israeli versions of history. I'm not up for recounting a different story, one in which both Israel and the pre-state yishuv were frequently aggressors rather than victims, whether in 1920's land disputes, the Suez War, or 1960's conflicts with Syria over water rights. It's too easy to mock him for stating a willing to negotiate without preconditions in the same speech in which he lays out preconditions so radical they would make the Bush administration blush. I expect nothing from this government but delay and obstruction designed to subvert the peace process rather than advance it toward any vision; the goal will be peace through Israeli dominance.

I do, however, have a question. Is this really so different from this?