Terrorism: What John Kerry Must Face
By Terrell E.
Arnold 7-30-4
- Last night John Kerry resoundingly threw his hat into
the ring to become President of the United States. In the same ringing
tones, he committed himself and his running mate, John Edwards, to
making America safe, combating world terrorism, restoring the reputation
of the United States, and bringing the United States back into the
family of nations. In short, John Kerry launched himself and, if
elected, his presidency into an urgent confrontation of the greatest
moral, ethical and human rights dilemma facing the American President
and the American people: The plight of the Palestinian people. If he
does not recognize this from the beginning, his presidency and our
future will both be in jeopardy.
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- We have had five Presidents in a row confront the
problem of world terrorism and leave it unsolved for his successor.
Carter launched the right moves with the Camp David accords, but the
problem of American hostages in Iran stole the momentum of his
presidency. Reagan allowed his core team in the White House to get
involved in a deal to retrieve hostages in the Middle East while
promoting terrorism in Central America. Bush 1 put the problem on a back
burner while he disciplined Saddam Hussein. Clinton attempted to make
peace in Palestine with a second Camp David accord that failed to
guarantee Palestinian rights. Bush 2 not only has muddied world
terrorism waters with an unprovoked attack on Iraq but also has put the
United States completely in opposition to any rights for the Palestinian
people.
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- If he becomes the next President, Kerry faces the
Palestine problem in the worst condition it has ever been. Why? Bush 2
has erased any pretense of White House interest in the rights of the
Palestinian people. Kerry will face a tough road back from that debacle,
even if he applies himself from the beginning.
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- To get beyond this point, John Kerry has to approach
forthrightly and connect with that largely unmentioned "third rail of
American politics: Relations with Israel. Politicians generally won,t
touch it, because Jewish/Zionist media, financial, and voting clout
represent formidable obstacles.
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- Through his actions to date, Kerry has indicated he
intends to follow basically the line followed by Bush 2: Go blindly down
the path of support for Israel. Undoubtedly being pressed by Israelis
and supporters to do so, in a March 2004 meeting with Jewish leaders in
New York, Kerry committed himself whole-heartedly to support Israel. In
the week before the Democratic Convention, he sent his brother to
reaffirm that commitment directly to Israeli leadership.
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- It may be that realities of the campaign make it
impossible to correct this posture before being elected. Not only are
the Zionist extremists and their supporters behaving as if they have the
American presidency in their pockets, but also Christian conservatives
are backing Israeli moves. In a close election, as this one is shaping,
those pro-Zionist votes can be decisive. But if he stays on that course,
if he refuses to touch that third rail, the Kerry Middle East policy
train will never leave the station.
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- At the same time, Arabs and indeed Muslims worldwide
grow increasingly restive under an insensitive, aggressive American
official refusal to recognize that anything is wrong in Palestine or
amiss in US behavior toward the Islamic peoples. For a small number of
Muslims, especially for Osama bin Laden and al Qaida, those persistent
policy blind spots are at once terrorism generators and recruitment
posters.
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- There is no way a Kerry administration can avoid
coming to grips with this situation. Bush 2 will have left it in an
acutely abscessed state. But success on all the core objectives of
Kerry,s announced foreign policy will require that he not only address
this situation but succeed in fixing it. There simply is no solution to
the Middle East problem that does not recognize and respond to fifty
years of repression for the Palestinian people.
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- There is no way that problem can be resolved while
catering exclusively to the demands of Zionist extremists. Kerry has no
choice, therefore, but to confront the Israeli extremists with an
imperative need for real balance in American policy toward Palestine.
Phony even-handedness will not serve. Buzz phrases like the "Road Map or
"the peace process will not be believed, especially when placed
alongside the stark reality of political commitments to the Israeli
hardliners.
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- If Kerry does not recognize this reality and move to
correct America,s course in Palestine, then his presidency will join
five others that have failed to protect American interests in the Middle
East or to honor the rights of more than three million people in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip. But we, the people, will be to blame for
this continuing tragedy, if we do not insist that out of fairness and
urgent attention to our self interest, Kerry or whoever is the next
President wake up and solve this problem.
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- Solving the problem means confronting the Israeli
hardliners with a greater reality than their political clout:
Fundamental American interests are threatened by exclusive support for
Israel. There are enough radiological, toxic agent and biological
substances loose in the world, and enough technology readily available
to make weapons from them. The world,s best armies, ours, Israel,s or
any others, cannot stop a determined individual or small group from
compounding and using such devices. As the frustration, anger, and
hopelessness of the Palestinian people mount, their tormenters may well
bring upon themselves a holocaust that will take only seconds. America
and Israel are threatened by this prospect, and if it happens, we will
have brought it upon ourselves.
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- John Kerry must face this, but ultimate responsibility
lies with us. If Kerry becomes President, he works for us, and if we do
not tell him what to do on this, the blame is all ours. Throughout this
campaign, in the vote this November, and in contacts with our Senators
and Representatives, we must make it clear that we want justice and
fairness for all the people in the Holy Land.
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- The writer is a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer
of the US Department of State. He will welcome comments at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans
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