Posted on 04/30/2002 2:18:44 PM PDT by LarryLied
For all the saturation coverage of the Middle East situation, an important element has been missed by the passing caravans of instant experts.
Namely: it is not a Palestinian-Israeli conflict but an Arab-Israeli conflict.
President George W. Bush's statement that the Arab nations have a crucial responsibility shows someone in Washington understands the game.
George Mitchell, of Mitchell Plan fame, is trotted out regularly by the big media to talk about his road map for negotiations.
Mitchell was a key player in achieving the Good Friday Agreement for Northern Ireland peace. He emphasizes that while it was difficult, something very beneficial was finally achieved.
But as tough as it was, there was a huge difference. Only one Irish state was involved. There weren't 25 other Irish states declaring only they will be the final judge of what constitutes justice and only they will decide what represents treason to the cause of Irish Catholics.
But there are 25 Arab states, plus Iran, facing Israel.
That's important because even if Yasser Arafat woke up tomorrow with an epiphany that peaceful coexistence with Israel was good for his people, he would have that outside interference.
That's always been the problem. After Arafat got the magnanimous offer from Ehud Barak at Camp David, he consulted with the Egyptians and the Saudis. They said no. He did what he was told.
The other Arab states and Iran hold an effective veto. They arm, train and finance people opposed to peace and they incite hatred.
Israel talks of incitement from Arafat's media, but there are other media from the surrounding states. All his people have to do is to turn on their radios and TV for the hate.
Why these other Arab states can't countenance genuine peace is something the CNNs and CBCs of the world should examine.
The fact is Israel is a square peg in a round hole in the Mideast. What makes Israel different makes Arab political and religious elites scared -- very scared.
The Muslim Arab states are the world's last holdouts against democracy. The fractious Jews, if anything, stand for democracy.
Israelis can say anything about Sharon. Ever see any Palestinians who say Arafat isn't doing enough to achieve peace? It's not because there aren't any, but they fear the fate of the so-called collaborators.
For Muslim fundamentalists, a Jewish state in the area just isn't part of the script. It can't be. Not if Islam is supposed to be the big winner.
Remember, too, that Israel is a western society with much of the cultural decadence fundamentalists love to hate, including emancipated women.
And peace would remove the scapegoat. People would start thinking about deficiencies and corruption of their regimes.
Peace means Israel as legitimate example. When we see something we like in the U.S., we copy. With peace, Arab reformers might be encouraged to call for copying what they see in Israel.
Another inconvenient fact is that there are other minorities in the Middle East the self-determination fans ignore.
Real peace with Israel means Kurds, Copts, Berbers and Sudanese blacks and animists can tell Arab governments: We want equality or what the Jews have.
Examining these issues provides a new matrix for looking at the problem. It helps in understanding the Saudi subterfuge of land for peace plus return of the Palestinian refugees, which equals no Israel.
The brutal reality remains that the neighbours don't want genuine peace with Israel. And they are willing to fight to the last Palestinian to achieve their goal.
Ed Feuer is a Winnipeg Sun copy editor; reach him at efeuer@wpgsun.com.
Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@wpgsun.com.
And American's war on terror is not an Arab-American conflict. A war with some, even many, Arabs? Yes. A war with all Arabs? No. That is the problem Bush faces. How do we support Israel without turning an Arab-Israeli war into a Arab-American/Israeli war?
maybe it should.
As the British would say, "Spot on".
W. has some very fine lines to walk, and they don't even have the courtesy to be straight, and they sometimes have the audacity to move.
Agreed (surprisingly enough). However, it may not be a problem that Bush can, ultimately, resolve. What, for instance, do you suppose will happen if (when?) we attack Iraq sometime in the next year. I would bet dollars to donuts that Saddam will launch chemical-laden Scuds at Israel, with the express purpose of drawing them into an attack upon Iraq, and thereby transforming the American-Iraqi conflict into an Arab/Israeli/American action. This is (sans the chemicals) exactly what he tried to do in 1991, so it is hardly a far-fetched idea (in fact, it is IMHO closer to metaphysical certainty).
Due to the actions of those (namely Saddam) who want a wider conflict in order to take some of the heat off of themselves, the situation may blow out of anyone's control in short order, much as World War I started. I hope that I'm wrong, but that's how I see events unfolding.
YOu've got to be at least honest, Larry who Lied: yo do not want any support of Israel whatever, even if --- especially if --- they are all dead tomorrow.
You don't even want people to know there are two distinct wars going on. Anyone who suggests that is called a Jew hater, an antisemite, a supporter of terrorists and someone who wants America not to support Israel.
Silly stuff.
If Israel didn't exist, we'd still have a presence there for one simple reason: oil. And they would still have a beef with the U.S., and the Saudis would still exploit their people, and support terrorism, and this war would still be in danger of spiraling out of control.
Probably not. But he can buy time for us to build up. Critical time. Just saw we lost another F-15 and pilot in a training crash this evening. Clinton did a job on our military
If this turns into an Arab/America war, we need, to ensure the fewest American lives lost, to be at least where we were at the start of the Gulf War. From what I read, we have a ways to go.
Don't despare: if your level of hatred fails in America, you can alsways move to France.
That is not and is very unlikely ever to be the official policy of hte government of the United States.
We are not about to dump our Muslim allies. We are not going to fight one billion Muslims.
Absolutely correct. Israel was a nice excuse, after the fact, but this conflict is a clash of civilizations. It is just the latest round of a conflict that's been going on for about 1,400 years.
We are not about to dump our Muslim allies. We are not going to fight one billion Muslims.
Are they really our allies, or do they use us like we use them? Also, we may have no choice about fighting the Arab world - Saddam wants it that way, and will likely lob some nasty stuff at Israel to cause a general war in the area. He undoubtedly would like the Syrians and Iranians fighting us in addition to his forces. However, I doubt that the Indonesians (200 million Moslems) or the 100 million Indian Moslems will be fighting us because of a dispute we might have with large parts of the Arab world.
Once islamism has been deconstructed.
This is a war against anyone that attacks our nation. Muslim, Arab, Persian, Communist, Fascist, Foreign or Domestic. In this case it happens to be elements that are Islamic and led by Arabs. So, it already is an Arab versus American war. It doesn't matter if it is all, or most, or part, or some Arabs. 15 of 19 attackers came from Saudi Arabia, the holy land of Islam. Like it or not, Arab nations have made themselves our enemy.
Israel is fighting the same enemy. So even from a strictly practical sense, we must support our ally against a common enemy. That is what the President is doing. Diplomatically, he is trying to keep our enemies from uniting if possible.
Ultimately, we have no Muslim allies.
We are not going to fight one billion Muslims
Won't be necessary. But if it comes to that, then it comes to that. There's many more billions of people in this world who are not Muslim.
Jim Pavitt, CIA Deputy Director for Operations, Address to Duke University Law School Conference April 11, 2002:
Our war is not against Islam. . .The war in which our country finds itself now, a war which we did not seek but one we are determined to win, is not a war against a people or a war against a faith. It is a war against a terrible distortion of human and religious values. It's not merely a war to defend our way of life, it's a war to defend life itself. To be sure, despair and disappointment are the raw materials of terror, but it's building blocks are ignorance and intolerance. And it is those evils which are fostered by extremists who have nothing to do with genuine piety that produce the fanatical terrorists which can perpetrate the kind of action we saw on the 11th.As President Bush has said, this will be a long and difficult war. Some of the battles are very visible, others are not. But most are waged by a coalition of nations—Muslim and non-Muslim alike, for we all face a common threat, and all share a deep, deep revulsion for the teachings and tactics of terrorism. Alongside with military and diplomatic coalitions, there's something I think very important and that is a global coalition of intelligence services. From around the world, from our allies and our partners, we receive and we share information. We plan operations together and together in many instances we take terrorists off the streets. . .
http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/pavitt_04262002.html
Those radical militant "Muslims" that attacked us, were NEVER our allies.....they dumped us....they chose war. We must respond, or surrender.
We won't have to fight one billion.... If these militant "Muslim Leaders" continue to push their lunatic agenda - the destruction of their entire "world" could occur in an afternoon.... Those nations with large muslim populations that join us or avoid joining our enemies will continue to be our allies. Turkey comes to mind...but there are others that appear to be working closely with the U.S..
To have those backward, arrogant and treacherous bastards threaten us is laughable... They are truely suffering from undeserved respect and visions of importance in the modern world.... They are like the poorly mannered little dog that chases cars ---- getting in front of the wheel kills him.
Semper Fi
They're dumping us, Larry. Actually, they're dropping the pretense of being our allies. So what shall we do, try to pretend that they are still the allies we knew they never were?
Look, this sort of stuff is fine for diplomacy, or for trying to keep our economy going, or for trying to calm down the Muslim hoardes, but let's be clear, among ourselves, who our enemies are: miltant Islamists and those who enable them, for whatever reason.
The governments of Saudi Arabia and Iran head the list.
By the way, I don't believe that Turkey is our enemy, simply because they are Islamic. They have a secular government, and don't, as far as I can tell, oppress their people and then incite their population to hatred of the U.S. to deflect their wrath from their oppressive leaders.
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