Fool Me Once Shame On You; Fool Me Twice Shame On Me
By Ann Huggett (06/16/03)
If ever there were two men determined to ignore the recent lessons of history, it is President George Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Normally, both men are tough, smart, and dedicated. They hold the security and integrity of their countries first and foremost.
So why would two such intelligent and worldly men fall for the UN sponsored, Saudi Arabian hosted Roadmap peace plan? After the UN’s totally disgraceful performance over the Iraqi War and it’s and Saudi Arabia’s clearly anti-Israeli slant, why would Bush and Sharon defer to anything Kofi Annan, along with input from France, Russia, the EU, and Saudi Arabia cook up at Aqaba June 4? Talk about food poisoning of the body politic!
This Roadmap, which is less than two weeks old, is already shredded. So far, 37 Palestinians and Israelis have been killed since June 4. The Palestinian terrorist group, Hamas, is pulling the same old Islamic BS about killing off every last Israeli because the Israelis had the temerity to go after a Hamas leader. This after Israel, in a goodwill gesture had released 180 Palestinian prisoners and opened up the West Bank and Gaza to the Palestinians. The Palestinians showed their gratitude by launching rocket attacks from Gaza into Sderot and letting a murder bomber disguised as an orthodox Jew – notice how I didn’t say suicide bomber – destroy an entire busload of innocent men, women and children in Jerusalem. Now Israel is saying it will fight to the bitter end. Abu Mazen, the new Palestinian Prime Minister, doesn’t hold the real power to control Palestinian terrorists. That’s in the hands of Yasser Arafat, who still heads the security apparatus for the Palestinians through his clever placement of his followers into positions of power.
The premise of the Roadmap was simple on the surface: The Israelis pull back from the lands won from the 1967 war and that both sides recognize each other with the new nation of Palestine slated for atlas map reality in 2005. This was all predicated on the Palestinians and Israelis sitting down like civilized people and resolving their differences at what looked like a fortuitous time in Middle East History.
Dream on. Not even if Tinker Bell came in through the midnight window and sprinkled pixie dust over all parties could the differences between the Arabs and Israelis be reconciled. The Israelis live with a naĂŻve hope based on a real understanding of demographics that it has to get a permanent peace in place. The Arabs, however, live with an ever-growing pathological hatred of Jews based on religion and culture. They also understand demographics and know that if they can get all those Palestinians resettled into Israeli lands, they take over. Period.
To give President Bush credit he came out the other day with a bit of truth based on exasperation and a growing understanding of the swamp he has entered when he said that there are just some people who are addicted to violence. Jeez. What was your first clue? It seems that terrorists everywhere eventually get what they want. Just ask the IRA. Unfortunately, Bush took Sharon to task for Israeli response but the remonstrance stopped almost immediately.
John Podhortez of the New York Times pointed out this week that “The calculus is simple. The terrorists commit daring acts of murder. In response, the Israelis go after their leaders, who are inevitably surrounded by civilians when the Israelis strike. The terrorists vow revenge. The Palestinian Authority, which is being undercut by the terrorist attacks, calls for an end to them while simultaneously accusing Israel of bearing responsibility for them.”
Bush recognized the pattern and changed tack immediately. He called for a defunding and destruction of terrorist groups running amok and destroying any chances of peace between Palestinians and Israel. That means Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade’s days are numbered.
When President Bush said, "I strongly urge all of you . . . to cut off money to organizations such as Hamas, to isolate those who hate so much that they're willing to kill to stop peace.”, he was delivering a shot across the bow of Saudi Arabia. Yes, good old Saudi Arabia. Funny how it always seems to devolve back to that place of degenerate oil producers and Wahhabi boobies.
Right now Bush is acting along the linear reasoning of a Western diplomat. He expects talks around tables coupled with civilized behavior. The Arab world, which is really big on boasting but which can’t fight it’s way out of a paper bag, is still counting on Western forces to play this one sided game, a game the Arabs abandoned a long time ago for asymmetrical warfare. Arabs are hopeless at fighting a disciplined military but they’re just wizard at murdering innocent and defenseless civilians.
The only way to deal with this cancerous and cowardly form of warfare is to starve it and if that means going after the chief financiers then Bush should go for it free of UN fetters. The Palestinian terrorists were seriously undercut financially when Saddam Hussein bit the dust. Evidently Saudi Arabia picked up the slack and it should not get away with it. Right now the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia is still open. I suggest some behind the scene arm twisting by Bush and if he has to pull a few arms out of some princely sockets while twisting, it’s okay by me.
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