Howard- great post!! and re: Bush - not particularly consistent, is he? :-( -Ben
> -----Original Message----- > From: Howard Owens [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2002 9:09 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Bush's Mid East Policy > > > My frustration with Bush's Israel policy grows daily. > > Yesterday, he pretty much ordered Sharon to withdraw from Palestinian > territory. I was shocked when I heard it. It all but assured > Sharon would > not withdraw. It would be political suicide within his own country to > withdraw and appear that he is obeying orders issued from > Washington. It > would also make him appear weak to his Arab enemies. And > finally, when he > doesn't withdraw, it makes Bush look weak because Israel > won't listen to > him. > > Bush's policy is also full of contradictions. Either Arafat > is a liar and > can't be dealt with or he is a head of state who can make deals he can > honor. He can't be both, but while we call him a liar, we talk about > brokering a peace deal. > > I listen to Bush and I listen to Powell and I listen to 99 > percent of the > commentators on TV and I think none of these people really > understand the > situation in the Mid East. They talk about Israel withdrawing > and engaging > in the "peace process" as if there was any realistic hope of > peace, as if > we're dealing with two rational group of people who want > peace but just > don't know how to get there. > > Palestinian leaders don't want peace. The majority of the > Arab world doesn't > want peace. The only thing they want is the total destruction > of Israel. I > think that is a hard concept for many people to come to grips > with because > they just don't want to believe that another country's foreign policy, > especially countries that are supposedly allies with the US, could be > predicated entirely on racial hatred. But it is. This whole > conflict, dating > back to the 1940s is all about anti-Semitism. The Arabs > purposely created a > situation of endless turmoil (but forcing a situation whereby > Palestinians > were locked in refugee camps) because it puts endless > pressure on Israel. > > As far as I can tell, there is one person on the world stage who has a > clear-headed view of the situation and that is Ariel Sharon. > He understands > that he must press his own war on terrorism if he is to have > any hope of > creating a safe and secure homeland for his people. There can > be no peace > process when one side is passionately committed to the total > destruction of > the other and is not beyond lies, deceit and any act of evil > that promotes > its cause. As Sharon said today, "Yasir Arafat and the > Palestinian Authority > have no intention of respecting any accord." > > It's time to stop pretending we can be friends with the Arab > states that > support Palestine and oppose Israel. Bush should step aside > and let Sharon > do what he's got to do. > > H. > > ______________________________________________________________________ This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
