Posted on 12/14/2002 1:19:20 PM PST by the_second_moon
Barak predicts long fight ahead 12/11/2002
BY KAREN LEE ZINER Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- The Sept. 11 attacks changed the world forever, and underscored that "we are at war," former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said at Brown University last night.
"The choice is clear," said Barak. "Destroy terror, or be destroyed by it."
Held under extremely tight security, Barak's appearance was hosted by the Brown Student Lecture Board. Students and VIP guests packed the upper hall of Salomon Center. The public watched a simulcast on the lower level.
"More than a year after 9/11, it is still a time of testing, and more tests still lie ahead," said Barak. "But the last 15 months have given us the nature of the world we are living through."
Advanced technology, and biological and chemical weapons have created "a frightening new state for the whole world," that places us "at the opening chapter of an epic struggle," said the 60-year-old former prime minister.
Barak predicted "a long fight, not just months, but years, maybe half a generation. Many civilians may lose their lives along the way," he said, "but we have to win this first world war of the 21st century. And we will."
During his hour-long talk, Barak stressed that in the war against terror, "the need to remove Saddam Hussein stands out more than anything else."
And, with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Barak said, "On a most profound level, this is the Palestinians' attempt to force suicide bombings on Israel as a new diplomatic tool, and I can tell you, Israel will never, never yield to it, period."
Barak's appearance drew several dozen protesters, who stood outside shouting, "Stop the killing, stop the crime . . . End occupation of Palestine."
They handed out fliers calling for opposition to "Israel's treatment of Palestinians, Israel's attempt to prod the United States into war with Iraq, and all those who oppose inceasing militarization of American society."
The tight security, which included Barak's traveling security team, Providence and Brown Security police, bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors and person-by-person inspection, slightly delayed Barak's scheduled 7 p.m. talk.
Channel 12 TV news cameras were turned away, apparently over failure to register in time, said a Brown University spokesperson.
BEFORE HE entered politics, Barak was the most decorated solider in Israeli history. In April 1991, he was appointed 14th chief of the general staff and promoted to lieutenant general, the highest rank in the Israeli military.
Barak became Israeli prime minister in 1999, but was defeated in special elections last year, after the failed negotiations at Camp David during the prior year spawned renewed violence.
Barak last night gave his account of the Camp David talks that were hosted by President Clinton in the summer of 2000.
Clinton put an offer on the table that called for giving "a Palestinian independent state -- that would be 90 percent contiguous," he said.
Barak said he was ready to take that proposal back to the Mideast "as a basis for negotiations," but Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat decided to "close the door behind it, and turn deliberately and consciously to suicidal terror."
Arafat does not recognize "the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state," he said.
He suggested the solution is to "strike back at terror," no matter where, to "focus on the Palestinian terror, not on the Palestinian people," and to make it clear that the door "is always open for negotiation, based on the principles of Camp David."
As for Saddam, the former Israeli prime minister said, "Those who prefer to wait should consider the following: no one really knows how close Saddam Hussein is to a crude nuclear device. And it was a crude nuclear device," he noted, "that destroyed Nagasaki."
If Saddam is allowed "to cheat the weapons inspectors one more year or two, we might be making an unforgivable mistake," Barak said.
"Though no one is willing to admit it now," he said, putting an end to the rule of Saddam Hussein "will change the geopolitical landscape of the whole Mideast."
The greatest risk, Barak said, "lies in inaction."
This man is a leader.
Lt. Gen?!?!
Its about time someone with authority came out and admitted this to the civilian populace. Something we have all known since 9/11, but have not just been frankly told. Good for Barak.
Is "destroying terror" what this traitorous scumbag was thinking when he offered to evicerate Jerusalem and give 99% of the West Bank to Arafat?
Do not be fooled by the seductive whispering of the devil. Barak, along with the vermin Rabin, Peres and Yossi Beilin wounded their nation almost mortally by inviting in Arafat, arming him to the teeth, and bestowing on him the status of a statesman.
Barak should be shunned by every clear-thinking American.
This man is an appeasing coward.
This man is an appeasing coward
I stand corrected. Should read, "this man speaks like a leader"...!!
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