-Caveat Lector-
From
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/attacks/story/0,1320,558331,00.html
}}}>Begin
Snub exposes policy clash
Downing Street and Foreign Office at odds over conflict
Ewen MacAskill, diplomatic editor
Wednesday September 26, 2001
The Guardian
The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, flew into Israel last night to
find his Israeli hosts had cancelled the lavish dinner they had
planned for him. It was one of a series of snubs to Mr Straw by an
Israeli government that has been smarting over what it regards as the
pro-Palestinian bias of the Foreign Office.
The Israeli government described as "obscene" and "pornographic"
remarks made by Mr Straw in an article published in Iran in which he
argued that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a breeding-ground
for terrorism.
The Israeli debacle may be the result of Mr Straw being the victim of
a much bigger game, being played between Washington and Tel Aviv, and
to a lesser extent between the Foreign Office and Downing Street.
The row has been in the offing since Mr Straw became foreign
secretary four months ago. Although Mr Blair has at times protested
to Mr Sharon over Israeli entry into Palestinian authority territory,
on the whole Downing Street tilts in favour of Israel. The Foreign
Office tends to be pro-Palestinian.
With Mr Straw's appointment and with Mr Sharon taking a hard line in
his dealings with the Palestinians, the Foreign Office had hopes that
Mr Blair could be persuaded to take a more sceptical line towards the
Israeli government.
A glimpse of what the Foreign Office really thought about Mr Sharon
was provided by a senior source quoted in the Guardian last week
describing Mr Sharon as "the cancer at the centre of the Middle East
crisis".
Israeli diplomats protested to the Foreign Office. Mr Straw issued a
statement to the Israeli press distancing himself from it. But the
damage was done. It provided Israel with an opening. Mr Sharon had
been under pressure from Washington to get the peace process rolling:
the last thing Washington needed as it tried to build a coalition
against terrorism that included Arab states was continued Israeli-
Palestinian tension.
With the row over the "cancer" quote still running in the Israeli
press, the British government made a fundamental mistake. Mr Straw
had been due to visit only Israel and the Palestinian authority this
week, but Mr Blair persuaded him to include Iran. From that point on,
Mr Straw's trip to Israel was doomed.
Iran is regarded by Israel, rightly, as an implacable foe. There was
no way that Mr Straw was going to be able to move comfortably in the
space of one day from Iran, the biggest funder of the two most
effective anti-Israeli terrorist groups, to Israel.
Mr Straw gave the Israelis their opportunity in an article for an
Iranian paper on Sunday. In it, he made three points that offended
them. The first was to refer to the 25,000 Muslims and 23 mosques in
his Blackburn constituency. He also referred in the piece to
"Palestine". As far as the Israeli government is concerned, there is
no such place: the question of statehood is still under
negotiation. Third, and most damning of all in Israeli eyes, Mr Straw
wrote that he understood "one of the factors which helps breed
terrorism is the anger which many people in this region feel at
events over the years in Palestine".
The Foreign Office was unrepentant yesterday. A spokesman said: "We
stand by what the foreign secretary said."
Downing Street was less sanguine. A spokesman told lobby journalists
the word "Palestine" is not one that would be used normally and that
there was no intention to cause offence.
An Israeli government source said: "What media in Israel is trying to
understand is how the foreign office of a government that is very
good friends with Israel is so out of sync with the verities of
terrorism."
It has been a neat bit of diplomatic manoeuvring by Israel,
exploiting the rift between the Foreign Office and Downing Street.
Any hopes within the Foreign Office of persuading Downing Street to
take a tougher line on Israel will have to be abandoned.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
End<{{{
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without charge or profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe
simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not
believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do
not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not
believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men.
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it
agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it."
The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutta
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled
one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller,
German Writer (1759-1805)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that
prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless
of frontiers."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will
teach you to keep your mouth shut."
--- Ernest Hemingway
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
