Wars always resolved by prospect of prosperity

The latest study by the Rand Corporation on Israel’s complex relationship with its Palestinian neighbours — the Gaza Strip is Hamas-controlled — concludes that “a two-state solution provides by far the best economic outcomes” for citizens of both sides of the conflict.

This is presented as the outcome of a “a US-based non-profit research organisation” (Irish Examiner, world news, June 9).

One would infer that this report is unbiased, a new template for conflict-resolution that has escaped generations of expert negotiators on both sides of this tragic conflict. But the Rand Corp is not an impartial think-tank. It represents the official thinking of the American administration, and is aligned to, and sponsored by, the military industrial complex, which lies at the heart of American economic prosperity.