GROWING A PAIR

THE AMERICAN PARTISAN ^ | June 25, 2002 | Timothy Rollins

[ThePythonicCow]

With only 17 months on the job, it seems that the President is finally growing a pair - not just on one front, but two and both in the Middle East. The first front is where it pertains to the issue of Yasser Arafat. After banging his head repeatedly to the point of near-unconsciousness, the President has finally come to the conclusion that Arafat has got to go. He may not have used those exact words, but in making it clear that the Palestinian Authority must hold elections by the end of the year, it sent an unmistakable message that Washington finds the current leadership unacceptable.

Last Friday evening, I was a guest on Michael Coren Live, a talk show that airs just outside of Toronto, Canada. As one of four panelists on the show, I came out and stated my view that the solution should be an Israeli-Palestinian one, and that the White House seemed all too quick to put a major feather in its cap. Carter tried it in 1978 with the Camp David accord and pulled it off in what was the only positive accomplishment of his administration. As one of the parties to that treaty, Sadat paid for it with his life three years later. Other attempts by the White House to score points by initiating peace efforts have also been unsuccessful. Look no further than now former President Bill Clinton, whose efforts in the Middle East peace process also failed and his motives in this one were as ulterior as they got. Toward the end of the Clinton reign, National Public Radio - a very leftist leaning outfit that had been favorable to Clinton throughout his administration, came out and said that Clinton's handling of the situation over there had set the process back decades - not years, but decades - and that's from a liberal outfit that was sympathetic to Clinton. One can only imagine what Clinton-haters had to say about it.

One of the other guests on Friday's show - Sid Ryan (left), who heads CUPE Ontario - the Canadian Union of Public Employees, lashed out at me for my column of that day "Payback!" saying it was irresponsible on my part calling for the removal of Arafat to include assassination if necessary. Granted I do not relish assassination of Arafat if he can be removed from the peace process by other means, but the fact remains that he has got to go, regardless of how you look at it. The fact that the White House has finally admitted - publicly - that Arafat has to go might now bring that about. With Arafat's compound once again surrounded by the Israelis, should Arafat and his cohorts start firing on the IDF, they do have the inherent right to self-defense ands such a move on Arafat's part would be tantamount to suicide.

One of the points time did not permit me to discuss on air with Mr. Ryan was that Arafat is not a man of peace, he is not a man of honor and he is certainly not a man of his word; as such, his removal is a must in order that a lasting peace process can begin in the Middle East. Furthermore, Arafat cannot keep the extremists of Hamas, Hezbollah or the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in check, and it's not like he has made any real efforts in these areas either. They have continued their attacks on the Israelis with Arafat's consent, either explicit or implied.

Now that Bush has seen the light on that front, it seems that he has wised up on another one as well. In another column I wrote in May called "Justice, Texas Style", I made the case of how the administration has lost its focus. Back in September, it was clear that the administration's voice had always been there - especially in the wake of the attacks of 9-11. However, in the ensuing time since, with the partisan attacks primarily originating from Senate Democrats, most notably Majority Leader Tommy "Give me back my marbles!" Daschle (D-SD), Bush had seemed all too quick to be all things to all people on the Hill, to, in effect, compromise his principles - when he should have stayed true to himself and the principles that made him the only man to serve back-to-back terms as Governor of Texas and then be elected President of the United States.

Yesterday, Bush also set September 11th of this year as the deadline by which Usama bin Laden (right) is to be captured and from all accounts, terminated with absolute prejudice (my words there). Nothing would gain Bush better political capital - especially in this midterm election year than to use the anniversary of the attacks to announce to the American people and to the world that Usama has been purged from the face of the earth. The skeptical will want to see this on videotape in part as retaliation for the videotape made of the Danny Pearl execution and the marketers will of course want to sell this on VHS and DVD in time for Christmas no doubt - all under the guise of a portion going to the victims' families - yeah, right, sure. Just like Red Cross fundraising, and we all know how that money was put to use. When the final numbers came in, less than one-third went to the victims - and as for the fundraising telethon carried on 32 cable channels - which I didn't watch, it was merely an exercise in celebrity ego stroking who were more interested in getting their mug on camera than in helping the victims of the attack.

Getting Arafat out of the picture of the Middle East peace process would be a huge feather in the cap of all who would seek a lasting peace in the Middle East - the Israelis, the White House and especially the Palestinian people who I suspect would like to live in peace and eventually allow for the creation of a Palestinian state, provided someone else is in charge that is able to keep the more fringe elements in check.

As for bin Laden: While someone else will take over after his demise, we really can't control that variable. The fact remains that I agree with the overwhelming majority of the American people when it comes to the handling of Usama and that can be summed up in three simple words:

Lock and Load! ***

© 2002 Timothy Rollins

[ThePythonicCow]

I hadn't noticed elsewhere that Bush had set Sept 11, 2002 as a deadline to capture Osama. That sounds a little odd to me.