Posted on 04/06/2002 6:06:44 AM PST by Clive
'What do you make of Bush's speech? Cave-in? Or prelude to something bigger?"
This was the question flashed at me by an American blogger within seconds of the President concluding his address on Thursday. The speed of modern thought is astonishing, impressive. I took a minute to make up my mind, almost fearing someone else might hit the buzzer first. But having now slept on it, I'm sure the answer is: "Continuation of something bigger."
On the face of it, you would expect a speech that once again told Israel to pull back from its present military operation to destroy as much as possible of the terrorist infrastucture in the West Bank would demoralize U.S. allies, Israel in particular. Nothing but happy noises from there, so deep as I am able to plumb Israeli officialdom. Qualified approval from the Arab world. Whether more or less "moderate," every Arab government agreed that the part about Israel pulling back was "encouraging." They then ignored or mildly rebuked the long and rather feisty sections about aiding and abetting terrorism. In other words, the parts addressed to them.
The timing was notable, as an example of diplomatic craft, for the speech was made the day before Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, set out for Mr. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas -- in the awkward position of trying to support Mr. Bush while being obliged to tell him about opposition to his policies from many European colleagues. And the day after Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, had publicly told the U.S. to step out of the "peace process," and let the European and "moderate" Arab states step in, to the task of grinding concessions out of Israel. I rather think Mr. Bush relished driving his truck over Mr. Prodi's foot.
Europe is in pain, the more excruciating because it cannot be discussed in the candour with which I will now discuss it. In France especially, but also right across Europe, there has been an extraordinary series of attacks on Jewish synagogues, schools, businesses, community centres and individuals. These appear to be still escalating, a new Kristallnacht in which Jews across Europe are now beginning to seek cover, and once again finding little sympathy from their non-Jewish neighbours.
The reality is that Europeans are increasingly afraid of their Muslim immigrants. They see what is happening now in the West Bank and Gaza, and they genuinely fear it may explode in Europe's face -- that the suicide bombers will soon be crashing into their coffee shops, their discos, their pizzerias. It is the fear that these attacks on Jews, by youth gangs from Europe's impoverished Muslim ghettoes and slums, are the dreaded precursor of a far worse "clash of civilizations" to come.
So it is not anti-Semitism, though some of the old "aristocratic" distaste for Jews certainly adds to the flavouring. Rather it is the old European instinct to appeasement.
If the existence of Israel so antagonizes the Arabs, then why must we think about this "shitty little country"? Why won't Israel just go away? If the existence of the Jews antagonizes the Muslims, then why won't the Jews go away? ("Surely there are wide open spaces for them in Wyoming," as one correspondent unselfconsciously explained.)
That the great majority of Arab and other Muslims came to Europe to escape the oppression of their own societies, and that they share in the dread of the Islamist agitators, should go without saying. They are the first to realize that the fire has begun, that it will take tremendous will now to douse it. And yet they are themselves easy to intimidate within their own ghettoized communities; and they watch their children carried away in the Islamist breeze.
One of the ways we have had in North America of coming to terms with racial and cultural tensions, is to talk about them openly within our "melting pot." If a single synagogue were firebombed here, it would be on the front pages. But if you look through the European press, you find little desire even to report on such distasteful occurrences. News of the new Kristallnacht is played down, as if, when no one notices, it will go away.
It is not just the desire to capture the large and growing potential Muslim vote. It is a real fear that anything done on behalf of the Jews may further inflame the radical Muslim constituency. The mood is: "Leave us out of this."
Instead, the effort is invested in trying to bring Israel to heel, through a more comprehensive "peace process"; in demanding that the Israelis tame their inflammatory habit of trying to defend themselves against the terrorist onslaught.
President Bush's speech Thursday, more than any made before, was addressed to the Europeans and Arabs. He knows already that the Arabs will be deaf to anything he says on the subject of terrorism; he is hoping the Europeans will listen. He has the unenviable task of trying to wake old Europe, of saying: "Look, we cannot stand for this."
He is saying (and I paraphrase): "Look, let's put all our cards on the table. Let us confirm one last time in clear public view whether Mr. Arafat will stop inciting suicide bombers, whether the moderate Arab states will acknowledge Israel's right to be, whether they will unambiguously condemn the massacres of Israeli civilians in their state-controlled media, whether in fact we have anything to talk about. We need perfect clarity on all these points, and then we'll take it from there."
This is not a new departure from established American policy. It is a development of the policy heralded a fortnight ago when the vice president, Dick Cheney, invited Yasser Arafat to meet him in Cairo -- on the condition he first publicly condemn, in Arabic, all terrorist strikes on Israel -- an invitation that Mr. Arafat then nervily declined. Mr. Bush is in effect repeating the question, and concentrating everyone's attention on Mr. Arafat's reply. I should think that Mr. Bush, by now, is already convinced that he will give the wrong answer; but he does want everyone to hear, before he proceeds.
As I wrote before, even two weeks ago Mr. Cheney and the U.S., were thus stepping between Mr. Sharon and Mr. Arafat, "taking the next dance" as it were. Even yesterday, the U.S. envoy, Anthony Zinni, was reminding Mr. Arafat of the new context in which he is viewed -- that his known alliances with international terrorists, and with regimes such as those of Iran, Syria, and Iraq, were making him into a direct enemy, not just of Israel, but of the United States.
With his speech Thursday, Mr. Bush began to make the case at large, and very publicly. One of its subtexts, addressed to the "moderate" Arab states, and by extension Europeans, was, "How can I take seriously your demands that I restrain the Israelis, when you either won't or can't restrain the Palestinians, and Mr. Arafat can't even stop inciting suicide bombers?"
The speech would certainly have been a cave-in, if there had been any indication that the U.S. was actually twisting Israel's arm. The most intrusive demand on Israel, that it stop extending settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, had already been accepted by the Sharon government.
The hourglass was set on the present "Operation Defensive Wall," which may now have only several days to run before the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, arrives in theatre. But this operation has already achieved most of its objectives, in a surprisingly short time, thanks largely to the preparatory work of "Operation Root Treatment" before it. There have been huge intelligence hauls in Ramallah and elsewhere, weapons collecting on an unprecedented scale, and a breakthrough round-up of wanted terrorists. The feverish Palestinian executions of "collaborators" are among several indications that they, too, give the Israelis high marks.
At the time of writing, the operation still had not extended into the Gaza strip. I believe the reason is that the whole thing was aimed at Mr. Arafat's own terrorist infrastructure. With the isolation of Arafat in Ramallah, Gaza has increasingly become Hamas territory, to be dealt with separately, and less urgently, since Hamas is clearly on the U.S. State Department's list of international terror organizations, and will raise fewer objections in future.
The vexing question, "What to do with Arafat?" will, thanks to Mr. Bush's present posture, become more and more a public one. Earlier this week, according to my information, both the Israelis and the Americans were negotiating with Morocco's King Mohammed about his future digs.
Mr. Bush is now putting this question before the world: "We have to do something. Don't pretend we can look away."
How true and aren't we all?
"The reality is that Europeans are increasingly afraid of their Muslim immigrants. They see what is happening now in the West Bank and Gaza, and they genuinely fear it may explode in Europe's face -- that the suicide bombers will soon be crashing into their coffee shops, their discos, their pizzerias. It is the fear that these attacks on Jews, by youth gangs from Europe's impoverished Muslim ghettoes and slums, are the dreaded precursor of a far worse "clash of civilizations" to come."
And:
"...it is the old European instinct to appeasement."
Truer words were never spoken.
Then why is HE looking away when it comes to sealing our borders from illegal immigrants?
The basic problem is that Europe is still morally enfeebled by a half century of war that nearly destroyed it, and did destroy its power. Moral relativism and isolationism dominate the mood in Europe, and have for decades. Now, however, the piper demands to be paid. Now the Europeans are being forced to make a choice between good and evil, between survival and surrender. They have studiously tried to avoid any such choices for decades, and now they are paralyzed. Well, as the saying goes, lead, follow or get out of the way!
If the existence of Israel so antagonizes the Arabs, then why must we think about this "shitty little country"? Why won't Israel just go away? If the existence of the Jews antagonizes the Muslims, then why won't the Jews go away? ("Surely there are wide open spaces for them in Wyoming," as one correspondent unselfconsciously explained.)
Because Israel, unlike France, isn't full of snail-eating surrender monkeys. And, more seriously, because the Europeans themselves made it clear that Jews have nowhere else to go. Europe's prior promotion and toleration of the vilest forms of anti-semitism led to the Holocaust, which in turn led to the creation of the State of Israel. And the Arabs have also made their position clear, one which apes the European Nazi position: they want Israel destroyed and all of its inhabitants exterminated. So the Eurotwits will have to suffer Israel's existence. (/sarcasm)
At the time of writing, the operation still had not extended into the Gaza strip. I believe the reason is that the whole thing was aimed at Mr. Arafat's own terrorist infrastructure. With the isolation of Arafat in Ramallah, Gaza has increasingly become Hamas territory, to be dealt with separately...
Hamas is next. As soon as the present Israeli operation is over, the next Hamas suicide bomber will precipitate an Israeli action throughout Gaza.
Bush baits a trap for Arafat
I have believed this since the Bush speech. Bush knows that Arafat can't stop the terror, even if he wants to (which he certainly doesn't want, as he's the architect of the whole thing in the first place). Bush has given Arafat and the other Arabs a bone, in the form of telling Israel to pull back. This is viewed as a victory by the Arabs, as now Israel's ally is, apparently, no longer backing its actions. Note, however, that Powell will not arrive until sometime next week, giving Israel a nice amount of time to mop up. Also note that the Arabs were given a clear message: no more terrorism. Since it is obvious that they are incapable of meeting this condition, Bush will be free to condemn Arafat in public. The other Arabs and the Europeans won't be able to say diddly about it, nor about the Israeli reaction. By the way, this series of events will also allow the public to be aware of what Bush already knows - which Arab countries are with us (or at least not stupid enough to be against us), and which are with (or are) the terrorists. Bush is simply dividing the wheat from the chaff, and setting the chaff up for disposal.
By the way, does anyone think that there is the remotest chance that Al Gore would be doing the same thing, that Gore would have the moral clarity, the guts, the brains to do this? Not me. Yet the lieberal Democraps will still complain about how stupid Bush is. Well, GWB has already proven to me that he's a better actor than Reagan on this score - he's really lulled his political enemies into underestimating him. This, by itself, shows real brilliance. My respect for him grows daily, even if I don't agree with everything he does (like the CFR fiasco, or caving to the 'craps on domestic stuff). Bush will go down as one of our best and wiliest presidents.
You are absolutely correct - I stand corrected! I especially like Krauthammer and wish media would have him on TV a lot more. I've only seen him on FoxNews with Brit. Brilliant man.
The reality is that Europeans are increasingly afraid of their Muslim immigrants. They see what is happening now in the West Bank and Gaza, and they genuinely fear it may explode in Europe's face -- that the suicide bombers will soon be crashing into their coffee shops, their discos, their pizzerias. It is the fear that these attacks on Jews, by youth gangs from Europe's impoverished Muslim ghettoes and slums, are the dreaded precursor of a far worse "clash of civilizations" to come.
ITS AXIOMATIC......ITS AXIOMATIC......ITS AXIOMATIC......ITS AXIOMATIC......ITS AXIOMATIC......ITS AXIOMATIC......
I LIKE THE FEEL OF ALL THIS OBSCURED MOMENTUM.
Terrorism(oh! The americans are already taking care of that. Let's carp at them and tell them how their doing it all wrong, and how we could do it much better. Isn't america bashing uplifting? It's much easier to elevate ourselves by knock them down, than by putting our ass on the line as the americans do.)
Really? Pretty interesting scenario since we only get between 14% and 17% of our oil from the middle east. I wouldn't bank too much on people who are presenting those scenarios. You might want to take a look at the recent borrowing habits of the Saudi government, take a look at the outstanding debt leftover in Iran, look at the per capita drop in income for the whole area in the last 10 years.
"We have to do something. Don't pretend we can look away."
Looks like a declarative sentence to me.
Glad to see this guy gets it. Hope more are to follow.
And considering the damage Israel alone can inflict on their forces, you have confidence in their ability to resupply and retrain? They have to win fast and have the US stay out of it. I don't think so.
I think that's a great way to say how I'm thinking and feeling.
Arafat can do anything he decides to do. He is financing the suicide bombers, he is paying the parents for the deaths of their suicide bomber daughters and sons etc and he will never relent on Israel.
Here's The Wizard's http://www.denbeste.nu
Here's one belonging to a chemist http://www.dlowe.blogspot.com
The National Review Online has a blogspot called The Corner, and the Opinion Journal has one called The Best Of The Web.
All blog spots usually list tons of other blog spots, so it's easy to find a lot of them once you go to one. They're really neat.
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