No Such Thing as Buffer Zone from Terrorism

The Oregonian ^ | 4/11/2002 | Steve Duin

[Jason Gade]

Steve Duin

No such thing as buffer zone from terrorism

04/11/02

A s we wait patiently for Ariel Sharon to follow orders -- the president's orders -- and pull Israeli tanks out of the West Bank, let's imagine how President Bush and his fellow Americans would react if Israel's prime minister rose up and ordered U.S. forces out of Afghanistan.

You're thinking, I suspect, that the analogy breaks down, and you're right: Afghanistan, where U.S. troops have spent seven months running the terrorists down, is 6,750 miles from the tomb of the World Trade Center while Ramallah, the besieged headquarters of the PLO, is a 40-minute bus ride from Netanya, where a suicide bomber blew up 27 Israelis last month at a Passover Seder.

"I meant what I said about (Israeli) withdrawal without delay," Bush reminded us this week. Let's imagine how we might respond if Sharon was dictating the rules of our war on terrorism, or suggesting we shouldn't start something we can't possibly finish.

Totally lacking in finesse, Sharon was nimble enough to link the terrorist attacks in New York and Netanya and the military responses last week in a speech to the Israeli Parliament. "Since that deadly attack in September," he said, "the partnership between Israelis and Americans has, unfortunately, become a 'partnership in blood' between victims of terror. We are partners to the principle set forth by President Bush in his most recent speech, and I quote:

" 'Terror must be stopped. No nation can negotiate with terrorists. For there is no way to make peace with those whose only goal is death.' "

If you're inclined to give the Palestinians credit for grander goals, you missed the recent story in The New York Times headlined "Bombers Gloating in Gaza as They See Goal Within Reach: No More Israel."

Various leaders of the Islamic militant group, Hamas, were chortling over the carnage in Netanya and a cafe bombing that killed 15 in Haifa. The extended bloodshed, said Sheik Yassin, is a measure of how significantly the resistance has evolved since the first intefadeh, much less the days when Israeli soldiers had nothing better to do than to shoot down kites flying the colors of the PLO.

"At that time," Yassin said, "nobody knew how to make explosives. But now everybody knows, and Israel will never be stable again."

As for peace . . .

"We in Hamas," Abdel Aziz Rantisi told The Times, "believe peace talks will do no good. We do not believe we can live with the enemy."

Are these the life-affirming views of the average Palestinian? Who knows. It doesn't matter if they are the accepted views of a popular minority, one unchecked by Yassar Arafat or anyone else in the Arab world. If you need an analogy, imagine Aryan Nations exerting its racist will on an American landscape where no one's interest is served by curtailing their rage or decrying their tactics.

C oincidence or no, the Israelis gained a nine-day reprieve from suicide bombings during their assault on terrorist strongholds in the West Bank. That said, Bush is right. Sharon needs to back off. Israel is better than this. Israel needs to retreat to the desperate hunch that peace won't be possible until the Israelis have their security and the Palestinians have a place to live and more to aspire to than a full metal jacket.

But I'm curious why anyone is so sure that Israel's military response to terrorism is a lost cause and ours is a just and productive one, particularly given the growing sympathy for the Palestinians. I'm reminded of one of the lessons in "From Beirut to Jerusalem" by Thomas Friedman, who won the Pulitzer Prize this week for commentary in the Times.

"Arafat learned a lesson from Kurdish rebel leader Mustafa Barzani," Friedman wrote. "Barzani was once asked why the Kurdish national liberation movement, which he led, never got the world attention of some other national liberation movements, like the Palestinians.

"Barzani said it was simple: 'Because we fought only on our land and we killed only our own enemies.' "

You only think we're living at a safe distance from what's driven the Israelis mad, and over the edge.

Reach Steve Duin at 503-221-8597, Steveduin@aol.com or 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland OR 97201.

[Jason Gade]

Steve Duin is usually a bit too liberal or too boring for me, but this item caught my eye.

[Ronin]

The article started very good, but he choked at the end.

Bibi's Senate speech was a much better read.