Posted on 04/30/2002 2:18:44 PM PDT by LarryLied
For all the saturation coverage of the Middle East situation, an important element has been missed by the passing caravans of instant experts.
Namely: it is not a Palestinian-Israeli conflict but an Arab-Israeli conflict.
President George W. Bush's statement that the Arab nations have a crucial responsibility shows someone in Washington understands the game.
George Mitchell, of Mitchell Plan fame, is trotted out regularly by the big media to talk about his road map for negotiations.
Mitchell was a key player in achieving the Good Friday Agreement for Northern Ireland peace. He emphasizes that while it was difficult, something very beneficial was finally achieved.
But as tough as it was, there was a huge difference. Only one Irish state was involved. There weren't 25 other Irish states declaring only they will be the final judge of what constitutes justice and only they will decide what represents treason to the cause of Irish Catholics.
But there are 25 Arab states, plus Iran, facing Israel.
That's important because even if Yasser Arafat woke up tomorrow with an epiphany that peaceful coexistence with Israel was good for his people, he would have that outside interference.
That's always been the problem. After Arafat got the magnanimous offer from Ehud Barak at Camp David, he consulted with the Egyptians and the Saudis. They said no. He did what he was told.
The other Arab states and Iran hold an effective veto. They arm, train and finance people opposed to peace and they incite hatred.
Israel talks of incitement from Arafat's media, but there are other media from the surrounding states. All his people have to do is to turn on their radios and TV for the hate.
Why these other Arab states can't countenance genuine peace is something the CNNs and CBCs of the world should examine.
The fact is Israel is a square peg in a round hole in the Mideast. What makes Israel different makes Arab political and religious elites scared -- very scared.
The Muslim Arab states are the world's last holdouts against democracy. The fractious Jews, if anything, stand for democracy.
Israelis can say anything about Sharon. Ever see any Palestinians who say Arafat isn't doing enough to achieve peace? It's not because there aren't any, but they fear the fate of the so-called collaborators.
For Muslim fundamentalists, a Jewish state in the area just isn't part of the script. It can't be. Not if Islam is supposed to be the big winner.
Remember, too, that Israel is a western society with much of the cultural decadence fundamentalists love to hate, including emancipated women.
And peace would remove the scapegoat. People would start thinking about deficiencies and corruption of their regimes.
Peace means Israel as legitimate example. When we see something we like in the U.S., we copy. With peace, Arab reformers might be encouraged to call for copying what they see in Israel.
Another inconvenient fact is that there are other minorities in the Middle East the self-determination fans ignore.
Real peace with Israel means Kurds, Copts, Berbers and Sudanese blacks and animists can tell Arab governments: We want equality or what the Jews have.
Examining these issues provides a new matrix for looking at the problem. It helps in understanding the Saudi subterfuge of land for peace plus return of the Palestinian refugees, which equals no Israel.
The brutal reality remains that the neighbours don't want genuine peace with Israel. And they are willing to fight to the last Palestinian to achieve their goal.
Ed Feuer is a Winnipeg Sun copy editor; reach him at efeuer@wpgsun.com.
Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@wpgsun.com.
I don't believe Americans are seeking catharsis, as you put it, but the government may find that the misdirected policy of claiming nations such as Saudi Arabia to be our friends will push the populace in that direction. God help us if there is another terrorist attack while this diplomatic schizophrenia continues. There may be some grand and unseen plan behind it, but the best laid plans have the potential of backfiring.
I also believe Americans are capable of distinguishing between peaceful Islamic states (of which there are too few) and those who, for whatever reason, wish to destroy the Western world. The same goes for the ability to distinguish between the populace and the governments of these states, although I fear most Americans have lost sympathy for the likes of the Palestinians, the majority of whom seem all to have been poisoned from the same well through the joint efforts of our "friends" in the Middle East.
They are trying to hold on to power is what they are doing. Hezbollah Shi'ite agitators are all over countries such as Bahrain where they are trying to cause an uprising against the Sunni ruling class minority. Desmond Tutu, Mandela and others are helping them try to kick us out of the Gulf states too.
We want these people to stay in our camp and they want to stay. We don't want to have to figure out how to land C-5 Galaxy cargo planes on aircraft carriers should our Muslim allies be overthrown.
But is this true ? What we have heard from most of these Muslim nations is that suicide bombing is justified.
This speech is a continuation of the politically correct mantra which the beltway overlords keep pushing, believing that if they say it often enough, the American public will accept it over our common sense, over what our eyes and ears see and hear.
Sorry, I'm not buying.
Both the Islamic terrorists and, to some extent, Israel have an interest in making both wars into one. That is what the Bush adminstration has been trying to prevent since 9/11.
The only way you'll get the Arabs to stop terrorism is by giving them Stockholm syndrome as G Gordon Liddy said grab them by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow.
Right on. Diplomacy games and trying to outfox the foxes are difficult to watch. Plus, I am not sure that our foxes are smarter then theirs. They have more experience in the split tongue speak.
Second point. Everybody there well understand the clear language of the decisive force. You don't have to be particularly mean, but strong and firm and not apologizing for your power. I don't think there is anything what we could have done in the past that could make them love us. But we can make them respect us and make them to be watchful not to step on our toes. Which is exactly the good old policy to "speak softly but carry the big stick". I see nothing wrong in demanding, for example, from Egypt to control their government controlled press so they won't print anti-American and anti-Israeli excitements. Don't we have some small levers of influence, like 2 billion dollars annually? Was not that part of the spirit of Camp-David? The brainwashing of their populace they engaged in is quite effective for one thing, and is controllable for another, because they are all dictatorships.
We don't have to be stupid about it. We don't need to go around making the enemies. But, there are limits of compromise. How far should one go to keep a "friend"? Some of our "friends" are forth than enemy!
They are not united and won't be. We need not fight 1 billion people. Whatever we heard about the "street" is just talks. Take them out one by one starting with Saudis and de-Nazify them and add the Marshall plan. You'll hear just some short screams, but nothing more.
(just kidding...the west is all right and there may even be a little sanity in the east)
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