-Caveat Lector- From: Mazin Qumsiyeh Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 10:46 AM
A Haaretz article today reports that Peres and Sharon are urging Bush to attack Iraq. An opinion article in Haaretz (same day) by Benvenisti (an Israeli best selling author) paints a clear picture of why Israel is pushing for an attack on Iraq. Read those two to see why the scenario of war leading to ethnic cleansing is not far fetched. Afterall, this is what happened between 1947-1949 and the Israeli leadership learned taht lesson well (see details at http://palestineremembered.com ). It is incumbent on all of us to act to stop this before it happens. Those in politics and the media will not be able to say "we did not know". Reminder: Israel is the only country with known biological, chemical and nuclear weapons and Israel is in violation of 69 UN security council resolutions. For information on Iraq, see: http://iraqaction.org http://epic-usa.org http://www.peace-action.org To act, use http://congress.cfl-online.org Mazin Qumsiyeh ====================================== http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo= 8223&contrassID==2&subContrassID==1&sbSubContrassID==0&listSrc==Y PM urging U.S. not to delay strike against Iraq By Aluf Benn Israel is pressing the United States not to defer action aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has sent messages to the U.S. administration in recent days saying that postponing the Iraq operation "will not create a more convenient environment for action in the future." But Sharon added that Israel would support any American action, and would respect U.S. decisions regarding the method and the timing. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres sent a similar message yesterday during an interview with CNN television. "The problem today is not if, but when," he said, adding that while attacking now would be "quite dangerous... postponing it would be more dangerous," as "he [Saddam] will have more weapons." But like Sharon, Peres also added a disclaimer, saying he did not want to be seen as urging the United States to act and that America should act according to its own judgment. Israel, he said, "will be a good soldier" in the camp led by President George W. Bush. Sharon has also repeatedly informed Bush that if Iraq were to attack Israel, Israel would respond. During the 1991 Gulf War, the United States effectively prevented Israel from retaliating against Iraqi missile strikes by refusing to give it the "friend-foe" codes required to keep U.S. and Israeli planes from shooting at each other. But in closed discussions recently, Sharon told associates that he had a clear understanding with the United States that this time, if Saddam were to attack, Israel would be allowed to exercise its right to self-defense... ========================================== http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo= 7827&contrassID==2&subContrassID==4&sbSubContrassID==0&listSrc==Y Preemptive warnings of fantastic scenarios By Meron Benvenisti Day after day and seemingly deliberately, someone else fans the flames of hysteria about the possibility that an American campaign against Iraq will bring a nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) attack on Israel. After the flaws in the old protective kits were revealed and raised the sense of danger from toxic gases, there followed anxieties about terrible epidemics of anthrax and smallpox and fears of nuclear radiation. Those fanning the anxiety are doing it in a sophisticated, indirect way, through comments and leaks about "being prepared for the threats." These are ostensibly meant to relieve public fears and prove that the authorities are ready for action in even the worst cases of "existential danger." After the statements about the need for mass vaccinations and issuing pills against radiation sickness, the public should be catatonic by now. But there seems to be no panic, and there is a distinct lukewarm response to calls to bring protective kits to be refurbished. The decision makers seem more anxious than the public - maybe they are afraid of future complaints about "failures," or maybe there are interests at work beyond the narrow matter of being ready for any threats. Public hysteria will no doubt peak when the authorities announce a "voluntary inoculation campaign," placing responsibility in the hands of the citizens, and taking it out of the hands of the authorities, who will then be able to say they only provided what the public wanted. But fanning anxiety with reports of "Home Front readiness" are not only about "defensive" measures. They are also about declarations by the Sharon government that "this time (as opposed to the Gulf War of 1991) Israel will certainly respond to any Iraqi attack." The worse the hysterical fear of an NBC attack - little children crying as nurses administer vaccinations on their arms - the more the pressure will rise to "stick it" to Saddam Hussein, whether it is necessary or not. According to government statements, Israel might end up as the only American ally in the war - aside perhaps from Britain. The warnings about the destructive ramifications of an attack on Iraq for the entire Middle East are not deterring Israel - they are encouraging it. Under the cover of George Bush getting even for his father, Ariel Sharon will be able to settle his own old accounts, going back to the days of Beirut. Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Eitan hinted at the strong connection between a war in Iraq and the war against the Palestinians when he said "an American attack on Iraq will also hurt the Palestinian Authority." It makes one wonder if the IDF has operational plans directly linking a reaction to an Iraqi attack with the war in the territories. Since the Israeli government is coming up with "worst case scenarios" on NBC attacks, here's another one - an American assault on Iraq against Arab and world opposition, and an Israeli involvement, even if only symbolic, leads to the collapse of the Hashemite regime in Jordan. Israel then executes the old "Jordanian option" - expelling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across the Jordan River. There has never been a better opportunity for that option. The ideology, moral dissolution, and motives of hatred and revenge that already allow collective punishment, curfews, closures, assassinations, house demolitions, expulsions, annulment of Israeli citizenship, and denials of legal defense, have all created a reality in which mass expulsion, wholesale house demolition, and destruction of vegetation are not considered reprehensible steps toward a criminal ethnic cleansing. A state of war - "the threat of nuclear radiation and smallpox" - could justify such "an appropriate" response. Just as the authorities are getting ready for an NBC attack, worried Israelis should get ready for the possibility of a mass "transfer" of Palestinians in case of war in Iraq. Anyone who regards such ethnic cleansing as a horrible crime must raise their voice now, without any of the "ifs, ands or buts" so typical of the response to the punishment already being meted out in ever more strict steps. Warnings about ethnic cleansing should not only come from committed leftists, but from people whose patriotism cannot be questioned. And let nobody say it would be unnecessary protest because nobody is plotting "transfer." Immunizations against smallpox, and pills against atomic radiation are based on an even more fantastic scenario. And last but not least, a word to the Americans. They should also be warned that an assault on Iraq could unleash ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. Nobody should be allowed to say they weren't warned. <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! 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