A rchive Date
[ 03-04-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Israel ]
|
[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/worthington.html
Israel doesn't need our approval
It's not our wives and children who are being murdered by suicide bombers
By PETER WORTHINGTON -- Toronto Sun
April 3, 2002
A case can be made that the greatest mistake Israel is making in this ongoing war against Yasser Arafat is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's penchant for explaining his actions. He should not feel required to solicit the approval of the outside world.
The difference between Osama bin Laden's attack on America and the daily suicide bombings in Israel is mostly a matter of degree.
When U.S. President George Bush declared war against terrorism, starting with the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan, he alerted allies and sought their co-operation, but he didn't explain or justify his actions. He didn't have to - his countrymen were onside, and he made it clear that regardless of what the world thought, America was going forward to clean up the terrorist mess that his predecessor, Bill Clinton, promised to do after the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, but never did.
Clinton didn't even want to investigate the Iraqi connection in the 1993 underground bombing of the World Trade Center.
There was no shortage of warnings that America's "cowboy impulsiveness" in Afghanistan would alienate and infuriate the Muslim world, that the Afghan people would rise against Americans, that what happened to the Red Army in Afghanistan would also happen to U.S. forces. That's been forgotten in the light of events. The "invaders" are seen as liberators and Muslim countries are uneasy that harbouring terrorists might make them targets.
Concerns that made the world timid about Afghanistan are again surfacing about actions the U.S. may take against Saddam Hussein and Iraq.
FEW FRIENDS
The outcome is likely to be the same - but only if America succeeds. Iraq has no friends, and if the U.S. succeeds in whatever actions it plans, the Arab world will go along with it and hope America doesn't frown at them.
As for Israel, Sharon should not enter into debates with the outside world about Israeli policy. He should not allow himself to be badgered by Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes to defend reprisals against terrorist attacks that kill his people and which spawn more terror. Editorialists and pundits - some of them knowledgeable - warn that if Arafat is killed, the Middle East will explode against Israel.
Baloney. Of course neighbouring countries prefer the status quo. There's fear - eloquently expressed by military strategist Edward Luttwak - that if Arafat were killed, the Arab street would erupt and might force Syria, Egypt and Iraq into attacking Israel.
I'd argue that if the "street" in Arab countries erupted at Arafat's death, these regimes would be forced to crush them. All are harsh dictatorships and uprisings have a history of turning on leaders who are not sufficiently ruthless.
POWER STRUGGLE
Some editorialists worry that with Arafat gone, a power struggle for leadership would cause Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and others to get even more bloodthirsty, and would further harm Israel and prospects for peace.
I'd argue that evidence points to Arafat condoning if not encouraging terrorists - that's his history. His al-Aqsa Martyrs and Fatah Militia are now into suicide bombing like other militants. Arafat has limited respect from Arab leaders. He can be convenient. He uses and is used. But if he vanished from the scene, a new dynamic would replace him.
Yes, it might be worse. But it also might be easier to deal with. After all, a suicide bomber can only be used once, and at some point enthusiasm for martyrdom will fade, especially if it isn't working.
The more Ariel Sharon goes on TV to justify actions, the more it seems the terrorists are winning.
Like it or not, Israel must do what it feels it has to do, and not listen to faint hearts who'd have its leaders continue dealing with Arafat until Israel is crushed and defeated.
Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
|