Egypt: Still a Broken Reed

The current instability in Egypt certainly gives one pause to consider the value of peace treaties in this region. Who knows what will happen there in the coming weeks/ months/ years? Who knows whether the Camp David Accords will hold? Who knows if Egypt is still the broken reed that the prophet cautions against? And if we can't be certain about Egypt, who can we be certain about? Who can Israel sign a deal with that would be guaranteed to last more than a generation?

And yet, if in 1977 the deal on the table was a return of the Sinai to Egypt in exchange for:

• no wars with Egypt over the next 34 years (remembering that Israel and Egypt fought 4 wars in the previous 30 years)
• a guaranteed source of oil for the next 34 years (remembering that this was a pretty big deal in the 1970s after OPEC was organized)
• a stable border with Egypt for 34 years (remembering how unstable that border was until 1970)
• 34 years worth of a demilitarized Sinai
• Breaking the ice for an eventual peace treaty with Jordan
• and roughly $100 billion in American foreign aid that pretty much went straight to the defense budget

Would you take that deal?