Joseph Farah: Pat Buchanan Has Adopted the Rheoric Of Yassar Arafat [Pat' Mideast Myopia]

WND ^ | 4/10/02 | Joseph Farah

[CatoRenasci]

In Pat Buchanan's world they surely are. Actually, "churched" Protestants are a minority. Catholicism is the largest single Christian denomination in the US. The unchurched - which includes many who might have been nominally Protestant by heritage but have no church affiliation or participation at all - may be the largest group of Americans.

[Rambro]

Everyone seems to be convinced that PJB is antisemitic because he believe that the Palestinians have legitimate grievances that should be considered. I believe that is true, altho I think that they have forfeited their right to our sympathy by resorting to terrorism. Of course what PJB and I think is irrelevant. If Israel wants to destroy the terrorists (and I think that it has the right to try) then I would submit the two primary imediments are its own policy of tolerating Arafat (it could easily kill or capture him at any time) and Bush #43, who is obviously restraining Israel (which may also be responsible for problem #1, Arafat, altho Israel accepted him at Oslo in '92, and can't blame Bush #43 for that).

Of course, in the real world, Bush #43 and Israel have to accept that the political reality is that killing Arafat would probably just transform him from a powerless symbol of an impotent force to a martyr to the Palestinian state.

Given these realities, I doubt that Israel is going to "conquer a peace" by invading the West Bank. To the contrary, I think it is going to learn the lesson of the "tarbaby", which Sharon should have learned in Lebanon 20 years ago. How long do you think Sharon will keep Israeli troops and tanks in the West Bank before "declaring victory"?

[okie01]

"I have long thought that scratching Pat would find a fascist."

Fascist: A Populist...who wins an election.

[Burr5]

He will keep the tanks in the West Bank until there are no more bomb-belts, AK-47s, or RPGs sitting in the homes of the "civilian population" and there are no more known terrorists living there. Why do you sound as though you wish Israel to fail in their war (which is ultimately OUR war)? Pat Buchanan, BTW, is a guy I used to just love, although I couldn't understand his position that the "Amen Corner" in the U.S. Congress was the only reason we went to war with Saddam in 1991. Sounded pretty anti-semetic to me, given that there was no other coherence to his argument. Oh, sorry: he did say that there would be "tens of thousands of American body bags". You remember, all those corn-fed kids with non-jewish names (which I can't recall, although one was certainly Irish in origin). Now a liberal democracy, and ally of the U.S., a country which respects human rights as best it can given its position as the most despised nation on earth, a nation under constant terrorist assault by psychopaths who live within its borders, now that nation has NO RIGHT to defend itself. Well, that's the detritus of a lingering anti-semetism right out of the days of the first "America First" movement. You know, the one that sympathized with the Nazis? Maybe that's an ad hominem attack on my part. I don't know. But before the Buchanan Brigadiers come in to flame me: what other explanation for Pat's utter lack of common sense or fairness regarding Israel?

[Rambro]

What did I say to imply that I do not support the war against terrorism? To the contrary, I believe that I am at least more consistent in my support of it than Bush #43, or Sharon, since I would strike at the head of the evil, which Sharon insists is Arafat, rather than the tail, the Palestinian refugeee camps and towns, which I believe to be counter-productive.

What does annoy me is that any criticism of Israel or its policies is immediately branded "antisemitic". I think PJB has made and continues to make excellent points which are obviously in the minds of Bush #43 and his advisors. We need to understand the political realities so we can make informed decisions as to which policies and leaders to support.

If you are correct that Sharon will keep troops and tanks in the West Bank until the terrorism ends, I think they will be there a very long time. And any reprieve that is obtained will be very short lived.

Ultimately, Israel will have to recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people if it wants peace. However the Palestinians must also reject terrorism and adopt new leadership. Eventually they will realize that the means to their desired ends can best be gained by peaceful, nonviolent resistance as demonstrated by Gandi and Martin Luther King.