Review of the pattern of failure of Washington and Tel Aviv in dealing with Moslem societies by Uri Avnery...
Describing the history of foot-in-mouth and endless bungling of ties to Moslem societies by Israeli and American politicians:
Wise men like these direct the state, the government and the army. Wise men like these control public opinion through the media. What is
common to all of them: blunted sensibilities to the feelings of anybody who is not Jewish/Israeli. From this springs their inability to understand the psychology of the other side, and hence the consequences of their own words and actions.
The history of U.S.-Palestinian relations, 2006 - 2008:
(a) The Americans ordered Mahmoud Abbas to hold parliamentary elections, in order to present Bush as bringing democracy to the Middle East.
(b) Hamas won a surprise victory.
(c) The Americans imposed a boycott on the Palestinians, in order to nullify the election results.
(d) Abbas diverted for a moment from the policy dictated to him and, under Saudi auspices (and pressure), made an agreement with Hamas,
(e) The Americans put an end to this and compelled Abbas to turn over all security services to Muhammad Dahlan, whom they had chosen for the role of strongman in Palestine,(f) The Americans provided plenty of money and arms to Dahlan,
trained his men and ordered him to carry out a military coup against Hamas in the Gaza Strip,
(g) The elected Hamas government forestalled the move and itself carried out an armed counter-coup.
Bottom line on Gaza:
Hamas is there. It cannot be ignored. We have to reach a cease-fire with it. Not a sham offer of "if they stop shooting first, then we will stop shooting". A cease-fire, like a tango, needs two participants. It must come out of a detailed agreement that will include the cessation of all
hostilities, armed and otherwise, in all the territories.
No comments:
Post a Comment