:: blame the extended gestation.... ::

:: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 ::

It's The Occupation
by Bill Thomson
excerts:

"As UN Secretary General Kofi Annan put it in a letter to Prime Minister Sharon on March 19, 'In this connection, I feel obliged to call your attention to disturbing patterns in the treatment of civilians and humanitarian relief workers by the Israeli Defense Forces .... Judging from the means and methods employed by the IDF - F16 fighter bombers [supplied by the United States-BT], helicopter and naval gunships [supplied by the United States-BT], missiles and bombs of heavy tonnage [also supplied by the United States-BT] - the fighting has come to resemble all-out conventional warfare.' "

"How are we, as Americans, to interpret such events? Why didn't the Palestinians accept former Prime Minister Barak's "generous offer", which would have given the Palestinians "most of what they wanted"?
Imagine that someone comes to you and makes the following proposal: I am going to let you and your family finally live in your home, relatively undisturbed. Most of the rooms will be yours to do with as you see fit--all I want is one room, the hallways, and control over who goes in and out your front and back door. You may occasionally have to ask my permission to go to the bathroom or into the kitchen to prepare a meal, but I will usually let you pass with only a quick glance. However, remember that anytime I want, I can seal up the hallways and make you go to your room. I understand that you are willing to let me have the rest of the neighborhood. I just need a little bit more to make me feel safe. And I'll be happy to give you a few acres out by the city dump in exchange for the room in your home."

"In a 1998 article, Rumania & Bar-Tel point out that both Israelis and Palestinians both perceive only themselves as historical victims, and both have legitimate claims to the land. Through systematic internal indoctrination, each sees the other as an invader. Palestinians fail to understand the Israeli obsession with security, based on Israeli's self-perception as an island in an Arab sea, recognizing that to lose a war is tantamount to disappearance as a nation. Israelis' fail to understand Palestinians' legitimate claims to the land and need for a viable state, and that Palestinians see themselves as having borne the brunt of an oppressive military occupation for many decades. Both sides assume that through violence they can prevail, without carefully and logically considering the ultimate outcomes of such violence."

"Finally, what is the role of America in this process? Unfortunately, our claim to be an "honest broker" in this process is transparently false. One need look no further than our long history of financial and military support of Israel over the last five decades ($92 billion), or the recent declaration of support of Israel by 70 members of the US Senate. Of such actions is not honest-broker ship made. It is long past time for us to retire to the sidelines, and allow this issue to be dealt with by the United Nations, the European Union and other appropriate international bodies. The alternative is more decades of oppression, violence and fear."

:: Jim Nichols 4/10/2002 04:46:00 AM [+] ::
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