Walking the walk no more-The Arab world now knows that they must take the United States seriously

Jewsweek ^ | 4-15-06 | Micah D. Halpern

[SJackson]

Walking the walk no more

The Arab world now knows that they must take the United States seriously. That's a scary scenario -- especially for the Palestinians. Micah Halpern examines the U.S. success in Iraq -- what it means for the Palestinian street and for the future of the Palestinian people.

by Micah D. Halpern

April 15, 2003

		WALL OF SHAME: A resident and supporter of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein walks by a mural in Tikrit, Iraq, Sunday, April 13, 2003.

It's a whole new ball game.

Now - after the total disintegration of tyrannical Iraq, the Middle East has no alternative but to face new realities. Opportunities for the entire region are just waiting to emerge. The hard part is realizing their import and grabbing hold.

I'm not talking about "the Domino Effect" which the Bush administration has been touting for the last year where they suggest that after Iraq falls, the rest of the despotic-ruled region will fall.

I'm talking about the fear and trepidation that U.S. power now engenders.

		Now what?

It has been years since any Arab state in the Middle East took the U.S. seriously. The U.S. would flaunt its power and throw its weight around and make grandiose statements, but the U.S. was regularly ignored. Most Arab leaders thought that the United States really wasn't interested in them or in what happened in the region. They thought American diplomacy was empty bellowing. They thought that the United Sates had only one overriding interest for their region -- protecting Israel's interests.

True, the United States would provide monetary incentives, but when and if things did not go well -- then so be it. There was no penalty, no price to pay because until now the U.S. really did not get hands-on involved.

The Arab street was under an illusion. They thought that they could combat and destroy the United States and Israel. They actually believed that the Arab states had the weapons the training and the power to defeat an invading army from the United States. And not just because Allah was with them.

Across the Arab world the United States' defeat of Iraq was devastating. It was demoralizing. It burst the bubble they had been living under for generations.

Palestinians have been hit hard. Palestinians never assumed that they themselves were strong enough to crush the enemy Israel and her protector the United States. They relied on the strength of their brothers and neighbors. The defeat of Saddam's Iraq crushed their dreams and destroyed their hopes.

No other Arab ruler was as supportive of the Palestinian struggle as was Saddam Hussein. Almost everyone on the Palestinian street harbored the hope that the great military of Saddam -- the weapons and the training of the former Soviet Union -- would repulse and crush the arrogant Western Crusaders.

On the streets of Gaza there was no better defender of the Palestinian cause than Saddam. It was he who paid the families of suicide bombers. He walked the walk and talked the talk unlike any of the other heads of Arab States. Saddam would blatantly flaunt his disgust for America and their interventionism. His hatred of Israel was palpable.

For the Palestinians as for many other Arabs, Saddam was going to be the one to teach Bush a lesson. Bush, they were convinced, was to learn the lesson of humility at the hands of an Arab who knows how to teach humility.

At the start of the war, in the center of Gaza City, Palestinians began a vigil in solidarity with the Iraqis as they fought the Americans. That vigil lasted until the 21st day of the war. Only then was it dismantled and most of the posters put up in support of Saddam Hussein taken down.

The mood was grim on the streets of Gaza. They people were despondent. They had many unanswered questions: If Saddam is gone and he cannot defend us -- who can? Iraq's leader now looks like a coward in hiding, where is Saddam the great warrior? In Jenin, with only small weapons, Palestinians held out longer against the invading Israeli army, what happened to the great Iraqi army?

More than anything else, the myth of Arab military strength was destroyed.

And because that great myth has been destroyed -- quickly and with relatively little resistance -- things are different today for the Palestinians on the ground. Now, they have to take the United States -- and by extension Israel, much more seriously.

The other despots and tyrants in the region are quaking. Their regimes are afraid, even those regimes traditionally more closely aligned with the United States.

Syria is petrified that they are next in line. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are afraid that the U.S. will insist that they break down their class system and establish a more representative system of governance. Libya knows that the U.S. has a score to settle with them. Egypt understands that the United States is displeased because they are not controlling their extremists.

After Saddam and Syria the next biggest loser in this war is Turkey. They made the biggest mistake of their modern history. It will take Turkey a long time to convince Congress that they truly are a friend and not, as they appear in the context of this war, a neater, cleaner substitute for fundamentalist Islam.

And then come the Palestinians. They are the next biggest losers. They now know that no one will come to their protection. They now know that they must, for the first time, take responsibility for their own actions and for the realization of their dreams. It is hard, but they know because they have been shown in no uncertain terms that if they do not stop perpetrating acts of terror they will get nothing.

The Palestinian Authority and all Palestinians now understand that the U.S. is not just mouthing hollow terms. The U.S. and her friend and ally Israel are insisting on two things: reform and the end of terror.

It's only a matter or time.

[annyokie]

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[battlegearboat]

Wow! Hats off to the author, he hit the nail square on the head and drove it home. Well done!

[stubernx98]

Thank you George Bush and your team!

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Oh gee, the Arab world is finally starting to figure out that the fun and kidding around is pretty much over. Those dumb bastards kicked the hornets' nest and now they're dealing with the results.

[COURAGE]

"They are most welcome. We will butcher them."

[COURAGE]

"They are most welcome. We will butcher them."

[COURAGE]

"They are most welcome. We will butcher them."

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[Cathryn Crawford]

Thank God it's only a matter of time. The Palestinians cannot be allowed to continue terrorist activities indefinitely.

[Trailerpark Badass]

After Clinton, the Al-Qaida said that when attacked, the US will just try to "sue someone."

I don't think they're saying that any more.

[Slings and Arrows]

"It is better to be feared than loved." --Niccolo Machiavelli

[Incorrigible]

Jewsweek?

[Torie]

I suspect the Isreali government is a bit concerned too. It will be hard to thwart Bush if he is determined about the "road map." I suspect their will be lots of acrimonious threads about that, with old alliances on this issue somewhat frayed. We shall see whether Bush is serious, or was just playing lip service to Blair in Blair's hour of need. What is my opinion? I am cross conflicted aka ambivalent.

[SJackson]

Yes, rhymes with Newsweek.

[Savage Beast]

"the United States' defeat of Iraq was devastating. It was demoralizing"

For the United States, it was about like swatting a fly or perhaps exterminating a rat.

The Americans hardly touched their ordnance. Their strategy was brilliant, their armed forces extremely disciplined and well trained.

"Bush, they were convinced, was to learn the lesson of humility at the hands of an Arab who knows how to teach humility."

Instead it was exactly the reverse.

These people made the mistake of believing the Leftist ("Liberal") propaganda of America and Europe, and they allowed themselves to be misled by the existence of the Clinton presidency.

They therefore vastly underestimated George W. Bush.

As a matter of brilliant strategy, he encouraged them to underestimate him.

Anyone who is not deluded will realize that George W. Bush is a great, brilliant, visionary leader and one of the most courageous leaders in history. He is also a man of impeccable integrity.

The forces of evil in the world have been confronted and will be disarmed!

This operation employed a mere fraction of the U.S. military capability. Evil-doers of the world, be forewarned!

[geedee]

Those dumb bastards kicked the hornets' nest and now they're dealing with the results.

LOL. Don't you know these jackasses would like to get their hands on Osama-mama for waking the sleeping giant on 9-11?

[Dark Wing]

ping

[Victoria Delsoul]

The Arab street was under an illusion. They thought that they could combat and destroy the United States and Israel. They actually believed that the Arab states had the weapons the training and the power to defeat an invading army from the United States. And not just because Allah was with them.

An illusion fostered upon them by the wonderful Clinton administration. For eight years, terrorists grew increasingly defiant because Clinton was never serious about stopping them.