ENGLISH
FOR
CONGRESS POSITION PAPER (Revised January 2012)
Two
aspects of Bush Administration foreign policy in the Middle East
have destroyed all credibility of the United States to influence
events and achieve resolution of the serious and dangerous
Middle East problems that threaten worldwide peace and economic
stability. The pronounced pro-Zionist Bush foreign policy
shift has adversely affected Palestine. It is the direct
consequence from the appointment of neocon ideologues to high
level Administration positions during the first Bush term and
has seriously and possibly permanently alienated the world's one
billion Moslems. The subsequent unilateral invasion of
Iraq under false pretenses without the support of the United
Nations and also the approval of neighboring countries has
further greatly undermined the ability of the United States has
to act as an honest mediator in resolving the various disputes
in the region. In short, no one in the Middle East trusts
the U. S. any longer and it has been forced to rely on the good
offices of our European allies, Russia, and China, to attempt to
influence events in the region.
With respect to the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian dispute, the U.
S. must recognize that its unwavering and unquestioning support
of Israel has enabled pro-Zionist extremists to dominate and
control Israeli (and U. S.) policy toward Palestine. The
assassination of Itzak Rabin by a Zionist fanatic and the
deliberate provocation and the subsequent violent reaction of
Palestinians resulting from Ariel Sharon's profaning the Dome of
the Rock mosque have muted the influence of Israel's moderates.
The tripling of the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank
during the years since the signing of the Camp David accords has
further alienated the Palestinians and contributed to the
support for Hamas. Years ago, David Ben Gurion said: "If I were
an Arab leader, I would never come to terms with Israel.
That is natural: we have taken their country. We came from
Israel a long time ago, but what is that to them?
Anti-Semitism - was that their fault? They only see one
thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why
should they accept that?" A former Israeli Foreign Minister,
Shlomo Ben-Ami has said that the international community must
impose a solution since the Arabs and Israelis are incapable of
reaching one (Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: the Israeli-Arab
Tragedy, Oxford University, 354 p, $30). The recent
protest by 450,000 Israelis over the continuing high cost of
living in a perpetual state of war society indicates that a
peaceful resolution of the hostilities with the
Palestinians cannot be delayed.
If the United States is truly serious about resolving the
Palestine crisis, it should privately tell Israel that it will
suspend all further foreign and military aid unless Israel
orders a permanent moratorium on all further settlement activity
in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The current
efforts of the “Quartet” to achieve agreement are unlikely to
succeed. If the U. S. doesn’t use the threat of
discontinuance of its financial support of Israel to achieve a
permanent solution to the ongoing 64 year-long dispute between
Israel and the Palestinians, unending hostilities will continue.
The withheld aid should be placed into an escrow account to fund
the relocations and property transfers negotiated as part of the
overall treaty between Israel and the Palestinians. After the aid
moratorium is in effect, then quiet diplomatic overtures to the
Hamas leadership and Fatah should begin using the good offices
of a neutral country such as Switzerland. Eventually, a Geneva
conference hosted by that country with United Nations
sponsorship should work out the terms of a permanent peace
settlement between Israel and Palestine. The United
States should officially remain on the sideline but publicly
state that it is fully supportive of the dispute resolution
efforts in Geneva. In time, perhaps, with strong
international cooperation and support, a successful resolution
of the Palestine dispute will enable the United States to
gradually regain its lost prestige, esteem and good standing
with the rest of the world.
Finally, with respect to the incipient crisis brewing over
Iran's nuclear ambitions, the U. S. and it allies must realize
the insecurity present in Iran over the former Bush
Administration's name calling (member of the Axis of Evil) and
current hostile talk about "all options remain open". Not
mentioned is the near certainty that Israel has nuclear weapons,
which the U.S. and its allies conveniently ignore although the
Iranians are certainly aware of their
likely existence. North Korea is treated with great
deference, a fact that is quite obvious to the Iranians.
The present dangerous volatile situation in the Middle East
could have profound adverse impact on the entire region and
elsewhere if an uncontrollable regional conflict erupts.
The consequences of probable major oil export interruptions from
the Middle East would be catastrophic for the entire world
economy. Permanent resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian
dispute would greatly ease tensions in the region. An immediate
Congressional review focused upon U. S. Middle Eastern policy
should be initiated to redirect U. S policy to attempt to
alleviate the current perilous and potentially disastrous
uncontrolled situation in the region.
See
the Foreign Policy issue paper.
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Designed by Imad-ad-Dean,
Inc.