What could bring peace
Leslie Gelb does a great job of explaining a theory of why President Obama is so hung up on making peace break out between Israel and the 'Palestinians' and what's totally wrong about Obama's approach to it. From the earliest days of his tenure, Obama has appeared mesmerized by the dream of creating harmony between Muslims and Americans. His speeches and private musings testify to this. Somehow, he’s got it in his head that the key to nirvana is to make peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In other words, he seems to believe that the main reason for Muslim hatred or dislike of America is its support for Israel and, in turn, Israel’s denial of a Palestinian homeland. Fix those problems, Obama seems to feel, and the walls of Muslim hatred will come tumbling down.But we all know Abu Bluff will never do this, and even if he did, no one would believe him unless he said it in Arabic. Of course, if he said it in Arabic, he might have a small chance of living out the month, depending how much of the month was left.
Without doubt, these feelings are part of the anti-American, anti-Israeli story among Muslims. But more important is Washington’s long history of support for people like the shah of Iran, the kings of Saudi Arabia, and the authoritarian presidents of Egypt. Personally, I don’t think American leaders have had much choice but to back these leaders. The alternatives were always far worse, far more extremist. But a price had to be paid for this realism, and America has been paying it. Also, whatever Americans may feel about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, America’s role is extremely unpopular among Muslims. These attitudes will not disappear, no matter what happens between the Israelis and Palestinians. That is one among many irritants.
Based on my reading of this torturous history, I would not try to start negotiating between Israel and Palestine by leaning on or bribing Israel for the umpteenth time. It hasn’t worked. It won’t work. What might succeed is a dramatic step not by the Israelis, but by the Palestinians. Their leaders should be emulating Anwar Sadat, the great Egyptian president who went to Jerusalem in 1977. His nation had been defeated in the 1973 war, and Israel occupied the entire Sinai Peninsula, a historic Egyptian territory. There was no prospect that Israel would return this land after Egypt had attacked Israel in 1973. But President Sadat took his pride and his great dream for peace with Israel and stood before the Israeli Knesset. In effect, he put his life, not to mention his popularity at home, on the line and conferred recognition and legitimacy upon the state of Israel. In return, Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt, every square inch.
No, the 'Palestinians' don't want peace. The Egyptians didn't want peace either, but Sadat was a strong leader who forced it on them, and Mubarak has made it stick if quite coldly. Whether the Egyptian peace will survive Mubarak is far from certain. But Abu Mazen is no Mubarak.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Anwar Sadat, Barack Obama, Israeli Knesset
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:21 PM
3 Comments:
It's a shame that people like Gelb fail to see the truth. Obama doesn't aim to make Muslims happy by negotiating a Falacstinian state. He aims to make them happy by following the advice of his mentors, Edward Said and Rashid Khalidi, that the modern state of Israel was a historical mistake that needs to be corrected by forcing it to accept an Arab state on the '49 armistice lines.
And Sadat did not have a great dream of peace. He wanted the Sinai. He was as genuine then as Abbas is now. In my opinion she is not only wrong about what's wrong with Obama's approach, she's wrong about the basis of what she thinks should be done.
It will be very refreshing when the conversation becomes, "Why does there need to be yet another Arab state?"
The Palestinians lack someone who can level with them and tell them the truth that Israel is here to stay and that they can't have everything they want.
That's not going to happen in our lifetime and Abu Bluff is not the leader who will send them that message.
another reason for Arab and Islamic dislike of Israel and America--all too many are self-righteous victimhood-pleading gobsmackingly deluded goobers, but this is the first President who was more sensitively and delicately attuned to the music of their souls than to, say, his fellow citizens in Arizona, or much anywheres else in flyover country.
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