Posted on 10/11/2001 7:08:53 PM PDT by gohabsgo
The US is to make a determined effort to force Israel to enter into peace negotiations with the Palestinians, fearing that the west is in danger of losing the propaganda war with Osama bin Laden.
In an attempt to address one of the main Muslim grievances, President, George Bush will use all the financial and political muscle at his disposal to push the Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table.
Mr Bush, whose patience with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has finally snapped, is drawing up a detailed plan to be published in the next few weeks in the hope of finally resolving 53 years of conflict.
But Mr Sharon, whose camp has been unnerved by the development, will not be moved easily, and the scene is set for a gigantic battle of wills. Tony Blair, who returned to London last night from a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt, highlighted a gnawing anxiety in the US and Britain.
Only five days after the bombing of Afghanistan began, Mr Blair made the extraordinary admission that the west was in danger of losing the propaganda war in Muslim states. He said: "One thing becoming increasingly clear to me is the need to upgrade our media and public opinion operations in the Arab and Muslim world. There is a need for us to communicate effectively."
Bin Laden electrified parts of the Muslim world within hours of the first bombs landing on Afghanistan by releasing a video in which he tried to polarise the conflict between the west and Islam, focusing especially on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. A senior aide to Mr Blair conceded that the broadcast had found a receptive audience in the Middle East.
The west's biggest worry is the dangerous schism between Arab leaders, who basically support the west and are appalled by Bin Laden, and sections of their people to whom he has become a potent symbol of defiance.
Acknowledging this, Mr Blair said: "All moderate, sensible parts of Arab opinion know that it is right that we are acting in Afghanistan and support that. But they do point out to us that they have a general problem with their own people, that we have lost interest in the peace process. It is a perception we need to counter."
In a series of interviews in the region and a signed article offered to Arab newspapers - all part of Downing Street's new battle for public opinion - Mr Blair stressed the urgent need to "convince people that we are sincere in our desire" to get the Middle East peace process back on track. Central to that is the new US thinking, which Saudi Arabia and Egypt are enthusiastically backing. It is based on proposals on the table when the Israelis and Palestinians met in January at Taba in Egypt, the closest they have ever come to agreement. It envisages Jerusalem as the shared capital of Jewish and Palestinian states.
The ideas, which were to be announced in a speech by the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, that was postponed because of the September 11 attack, are expected be revealed formally later this month.
Leaks in the American and Israeli press are causing tremors of nervousness around Mr Sharon, even though US diplomats say the proposals could change before they are publicly aired. "This government is not going to divide Jerusalem. Period," Mr Sharon's spokesman Raanan Gissin said. "Jerusalem will remain the capital of the Jewish people."
Mr Sharon will visit Washington next month to press his case, Israel Radio reported yesterday. He is known to be angry that Mr Powell consulted Saudi Arabia and Egypt but not Israel when he drafted his speech.
Palestinian officials lauded the idea of a "viable homeland" - seen as an improvement on Mr Bush's call for a Palestinian state.
Revealing the nervousness of Arab governments, it emerged yesterday that a tentative plan to include Saudi Arabia on Mr Blair's Middle East itinerary was scrapped at the last minute.
The Saudi government is fearful of Islamic fundamentalist opinion in the kingdom. The London paper Asharq al-Awsat quoted "informed sources" in London as saying the kingdom told Mr Blair that it could not receive him because the leadership was sensitive about its role and position in the Islamic world.
Downing Street played it down, insisting that the visit was not logistically possible.
I have an idea about where they can go...it's quite warm, has abundant energy, even some minerals. There's a nice river there too...the river Styx....
They should feel right at home!
I agree. Then Bush and Powell tell Sharon "Goodbye and good luck. Don't bother dropping around for this month's check." It's a nice scenario but will it happen?
It was all about Israel. Let's blame them. We'll create a Palestinian state and give money to its "refugees" but not one dime to jewish refugees from arab lands. Shift the world's focus on Sharon. Ignore Hussein. Ignore Wahhabism. Blaming, or focusing on the Jews will allow the oil to flow, let us not end the muslim terror all around the world. Let more muslims come to our countries to live and study. Let them immigrate. They will never be a threat. They will adopt our values. Let's hug and forget this ever happened. Kum-ba-ya. It was the Jews.
Note from Bill:
Below is another reason to pray for President Bush's decision regarding Israel's covenant land.
This is another confirmation that President Bush was planning on backing the establishment of a Palestinian state at or just before the September 11 terror attacks.
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Saudi Arabia warned US over policy on Israel - Financial Times By Roula Khalaf in Riyadh
Published: October 9 2001 21:41 | Last Updated: October 10 2001 04:53
Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told Washington 10 days before the September 11 terror attacks that US policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict had become untenable.
According to diplomatic sources in Riyadh, the prince's letter to President George W. Bush prompted US reassurances that apparently led to US backing for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The Riyadh sources said the letter was part of a dialogue started in the June meeting in Paris between Crown Prince Abdullah and Colin Powell, US secretary of state. The letter shows the world's largest oil exporter trying to influence US policy on the Middle East conflict at a time when Arab public opinion and governments had become increasingly disillusioned by US backing for Israel.
This suggests that Mr Bush's statement last week supporting the idea of a Palestinian state was not directly tied to US efforts to bring Arab nations into the coalition against terrorism.
The Saudi message is believed to have indicated that US bias towards Israel was making it impossible for the Saudi leadership to follow policies that were in both countries' interests. Mr Bush is said to have written back to reassure the crown prince that the message had found a listening ear.
The crown prince's office on Tuesday would not comment on the letter. But in a statement last week the Saudi leader praised Mr Bush's statement on a Palestinian state, saying the kingdom appreciated the move.
US officials confirmed that an "exchange of letters" had taken place shortly before last month's attacks but did not comment on the details of them.
A diplomatic source in Riyadh familiar with the Saudi correspondence said it was "a frank exchange, but a letter from a friend".
Saudi Arabia in recent weeks has backed the US campaign but stressed its concern about the fate of Afghan civilians and its opposition to extending the US war to Arab countries.
Since the launch of air strikes against Afghanistan, the kingdom has not issued a public comment. But in a cabinet meeting on Monday, King Fahd called for "practical steps" to end the Arab-Israeli conflict and restore peace in the region. A senior Saudi Arabian cleric on Tuesday sought to counter Osama bin Laden's calls for an Islamic uprising by stressing that jihad, or holy war, should be fought for the good of the Muslim nation, not its destruction.
Sheikh Saleh bin Mohammad al-Lahidan, head of the country's higher judicial council and a member of the council of leading clerics, stopped short of opposing US and British air strikes. But in the first comments on the war by a senior Saudi cleric, he called for "wisdom" in the fight against terrorism.
How dense can we be to continue to not accept the fact that the Arabs have no desire for peace. There only goal is the obliteration of the State of Israel.
Israel's only hope for survival as a nation is through a strong military and a strong intelligence network, and the exercise of brute force to maintain their borders and their security.
Don't divide Jerusalem, I'm warning you!
Revelation 16:19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
Jeremiah 50:41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
See: Zechariah 2
Ouch!
Methinks there is some newly available real estate available in Afghanistan - a real fixer-upper. Presently being renovated by the U.S. Airforce and Navy. SF extermiators are currently scheduled to delouse the entire property with extreme prejudice. Call your broker now! This deal won't last!
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