Posted on 06/20/2002 6:34:17 AM PDT by xsysmgr
Terrorism is an effective tool in the Middle East — against Palestinians. It is not defeating Israel, or forcing them to pull back into pre-1967 borders. Rather, it is preventing the stated aims of the Palestinian Authority: a sovereign Palestinian state.
Though President Bush and his foreign-policy team have been planning a major policy speech on the Middle East, including such concessions as a "provisional Palestinian state," the terrorist group Hamas and their "War on the Buses" have usurped the diplomatic schedule.
The Bush administration — much to the chagrin of supporters of Israel — has openly supported a Palestinian state if certain conditions are met. And in recent days have floated the idea of a "provisional" state as a confidence building measure.
President Bush, though, can not possibly call for a Palestinian state — provisional or otherwise — while the blood is still drying on the bus stops and sidewalks of Jerusalem. There is little doubt that these delays are the goal of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and their ilk. These groups want Israel driven into the Gulf of Aqaba, and Israelis cleansed from the face of the earth. They do not want to be neighbors.
Sadly, the nation Arafat foresees would be bred of terrorists, suicide bombers, and those who see Israel as "the offspring of apes and pigs." When Arafat put forth his latest reorganization plan for the PA cabinet, he offered seats at the table to members of Hamas and other groups who support terrorist attacks and the destruction of Israel. Though the groups rejected the offer, it speaks volumes to the credibility of Arafat's claims of working for peace and security.
Hamas claimed credit for the Tuesday attack that killed 20 civilians, and the Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades — a branch of Arafat's Fatah Movement — claimed responsibility for the attack at French Hill in Jerusalem on Wednesday. These are the same groups Arafat wants involved in the creation of what he hopes will be a Palestinian state.
Beside the obvious benefits of peace and security in the region, though, it is also in the best foreign-policy interest of the Bush administration to find an end to this crisis. If the U.S. is to continue the war on terror in the region — and possibly move against Iraq — with any support from moderate nations in the Middle East, this crisis must be resolved with a solution other than the total invasion of the West Bank by Israeli tanks.
Though the administration has been attempting for some time put forth a proposal to be imposed on the region that all can agree to, aides admit that any speech supporting a provisional state is impossible while the bombings continue — and as long as Arafat condemns terror, but makes no arrests, and offers no alternative.
Hamas and their fellow terrorists know there will be no peace, no permanent civil infrastructure, and no embassy in East Jerusalem while there is terror. They know that there will be no exodus from the refugee camps while those camps remain a breeding ground for young men — and women — who are willing to take their own lives, and those of Israeli women and children to support their evil aims.
Much as al Qaeda was nearly successful in using cross-border terror to force a war between their enemies in Pakistan and India, it is the aim of those who want Israel destroyed to pit Jew against Arab.
The efforts, sadly, have been successful. On Tuesday, the Israeli government issued an official statement saying: Israel will respond to acts of terror by capturing PA territory. These areas will be held by Israel as long as terror continues." And the deputy prime minister declared on Wednesday, shortly after the French Hill bombing that "we've waited long enough . . . we have to dismantle this authority of terror." Simultaneously, young Palestinians are lining up to strap explosives to their belts, and are scouting civilian areas for a target-rich environment.
Bush is right to push for security, Israel must defend herself, and the Palestinians understandably want self-determination. All three aims are achievable, but not while Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and their ilk are not only walking free in the region, but are in fact courted by Arafat. Palestinians will not have a state until these groups are removed. When Messrs. Bush, Sharon, and Arafat realize this painful truth we can finally hear Bush's speech, and start planning for a new embassy.
— Robert Stewart is a former Army intelligence analyst who was stationed in Southwest Asia during the Gulf War. He now writes on security issues from Washington, D.C.
I am so tired of the "sovereign Palestinian state" fallacy.
A "sovereign Palestinian state" is the last thing on earth that Hamas wants. Every time the specter of establishing a "sovereign Palestinian state" raises its ugly head Hamas goes apeshit to make sure it doesn't happen. They don't want a "sovereign Palestinian state." They want to destroy Israel. Period. They will settle for nothing less.
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