|
|
| up a level post search archive articles admin main |
 Posted by Aron on October 23 2002 (Wednesday) : 10:16 PMWell Sharon didn't even need his usual slew of excuses in order to kill this one. William Burns mission is a non-starter before it got off the ground. It amazes me how Israelis [and their diaspora Jewish supporters] find peace negotiations more threatening than the death and destruction that they experience everyday. The excuses used to avoid negotiations grow hollower the more people die because of Sharon's policies -- maybe that's why the arguments get repeated more often and louder. One thing I want to ask these supporters. After the latest terrorist attack, Israel basically didn't react. Israeli army and government officials explained that they can't react with the usual strong force because Bush asked Sharon to keep the conflict on a low profile. This as part of Bush's sales effort for his Iraq war. Israel always says, that the excessive force used to react to every terrorist bombing is absolutely essential as part of the war on terrorism. Without the strong hand of the army more Israelis will be killed, so the argument goes. Which means, by this logic, many Israelis will die because of the lack of reaction. The terrorists will exploit the situation to kill as many Israelis as possible, knowing Israel can't and won't react. So the question is this: do Israeli citizens willingly accept the fact that they need to be victims of terrorism as part of Bush's "war on terrorism"? Of course the question is rhetorical. The whole thinking in Israel (and the U.S.) is warped to begin with. As Amira Hass points out, it is precisely Israel's use of excessive force against Palestinian civilians that gives the Hamas and Islamic Jihad the fuel they need to continue their murderous campaigns. If Israel reduced the violence, alleviated the suffering of the Palestinian civilians, and went back to the negotiating table, terrorism would return to the level it was two years ago. Does anyone remember that two years ago it was safer to walk the streets of Israel than anywhere in the U.S.? Sadly, even with the D.C. sniper, that is no longer the case. But Sharon's (and Bush's) failed war on terrorism must go on - or else, so we're told, things will get even worse. So I guess I've just answered my own question. Yes, Israelis seem to be exceedingly willing to be victims of terrorism as part of their war on terrorism. Somehow this is seen as preferable to waging peace and living a normal life. Go explain human nature. And yes, I know the counter-argument. It was the Palestinians who "started," responding to Barak's "generous" offer with a violent Intifada. Of course, this view of events is just a bit distorted. Even if Barak's offer of a Bantu state can be considered generous (which it wasn't), the Palestinians reacted mostly by civil disobedeince and stone throwing. And their reaction was not to the generous offer, but to ten years of a "peace" process which promised them freedom and dignity, but actually delivered more occupation and more settlements (and let's not forget the 25 years of occupation that preceded that, and the forty years of conflict that preceded that). In the first few months of the Intifada hundreds of Palestinians were killed, many of them civilians. The number of Israelis killed were far, far less. The suicide bombings did not begin in earnest until Sharon came into power, turned up the violence even more and officially ended the negotiations. At that point, the Palestinians were hell bent on revenge. So this needs to be clear to all: Sharon's war on terrorism is a war to complete the eradication of the Palestinian people. The more likely outcome of such a war is the eradication of Israel. It's time to end this foolish war before its too late. < | >
|
|
  Cost of the War in Iraq
|
"Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz -- Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace" -Benito Juárez
"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." -Eleanor Roosevelt "Let them call me a rebel and welcome. I feel no concern from it. But should I suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul" -Thomas Paine | |
| Copyrights for all postings on this page are owned by Aron Trauring, except where otherwise noted ©2002-2008 Aron Trauring. |
||
Today's road map, tomorrow' s road kill
