A
TIME TO SPEAK
Vol.
V:5 (No. 53)
May
2005 -- Nissan-Iyar 5765
FAULT LINES -- Part I
"Fault
line" is a geological term for a line where two disconnected tectonic
plates meet and may clash. Such a clash can cause an earthquake.
In
politics and international affairs, theories and policies are one plate, facts
and realities are another. When they clash, the result can be dreadfully
destructive.
In June 2002,
President George Walker Bush publicly vowed that the United States would deal
with the PLO when it had a leadership "untainted by terrorism". In
May 2005, he found and embraced this pure character, in the tailored form of
current PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen).
On May 26,
in the Rose Garden of the White House, President George Walker Bush made an
avowal of affection for Abbas, before the microphones and cameras of the world:
"Thank you. Mr.
President,[1] it is my honor to welcome the democratically
elected leader of the Palestinian people[2] to the White
House.
"We meet at a
time when a great achievement of history is within reach, the creation of a peaceful,
democratic Palestinian state.[3] President Abbas is seeking that
goal by rejecting violence and working for democratic reform. I believe the
Palestinian people are fully capable of justly governing themselves, in peace
with their neighbors. [. . . . ]
"Mr.
President, the United States and the international community applaud your
rejection of terrorism.[4] All who engage in terror are the
enemies of a Palestinian state, and must be held to account. We will stand with
you, Mr. President, as you combat corruption, reform the Palestinian security
services and your justice system, and revive your economy.
"Mr.
President, you have made a new start on a difficult journey, requiring courage
and leadership each day -- and we will take that journey together. [. . . .]
"Any final
status agreement must be reached between the two parties, and changes to the
1949 Armistice lines must be mutually agreed to.[5]
"A viable
two-state solution must ensure contiguity of the West Bank,[6]
and a state of scattered territories will not work. There must also be
meaningful linkages between the West Bank and Gaza. This is the position of the
United States today, it will be the position of the United States at the time
of final status negotiations. [. . . . ]
In a subsequent
press conference, President George Walker Bush expounded on his convictions:
"Question:
Mr. President, you just spoke about the rejection of terror. Are you satisfied that
President Abbas is moving aggressively enough, doing everything he can to shut
down terror groups? [. . . . ]
"Answer:
I believe that -- and I know the President [Abbas] is committed to democracy.
[. . . .] The President ran on a peace platform; you know, maybe somebody will
run on a war platform -- you know, vote for me, I promise violence. I don't
think they're going to get elected, because I think Palestinian moms want
their children to grow up in peace just like American moms want their children
to grow up in peace.[7] [. . . . ]
"President
Abbas is a man of courage. Part of the success is going to require courageous
decision by the President. And I take great faith in not only his personal
character,[8] but the fact that he campaigned on a platform of
peace . . . . "
He accompanied
these effusions with a tip to Abbas of $50,000,000, courtesy of the U.S.
taxpayer. This is in addition to the $1,500,000,000 already bestowed on the
PLO, and an advance on the $350,000,000 more that has been promised. [See
further Issue No. 12]
In remarks on that
and other days, he made no demands or even requests of Abbas. He requested that
Arab states "take concrete measures to create a regional environment
conducive to peace". He issued harsh orders to Israel to renounce its
historic heritage, betray those who fought and died to save it, surrender its
lands and its rights, and sacrifice the lives of its people.
* * * *
* * * * * * * *
"My father chastised you with whips, and I will
chastise you with scorpions."
-- I Kings 12:14, and II Chronicles
10:14
Among the
fault lines where Rose Garden rhetoric clashes with reality:
[1] The official
title of the PLO chief is "Chairman". The self-assumed title of
"President" is no more valid than if Abbas/Mazen calls himself emperor.
[2] There is no
such thing in the history of the world as a "Palestinian people",
suddenly invented as a propaganda ploy in the 1960s. [See further Issue No. 2]
[3] The U.S.
"vision" of a Palestinian State was discovered by George Walker Bush
in 2002. The invention of such a state would raise the total of Arab states
from 22 to 23. It would rest on no valid historic claim and serve no purposes
except to reward terrorism and vastly increase the danger to Israel's survival.
[See further the Special Issue "Twelve Bad Arguments for a State of
Palestine]
It will not
satisfy Arab demands because those are for a Palestine "from the river to
the sea". That is, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea,
completely wiping out Israel. This is openly proclaimed. And it is openly
proclaimed that a Palestinian state that does not yet include all that land
will be but a springboard to complete the annihilation of Israel. [See further
Issues Nos. 5, 16]
President George
Walker Bush has spoken of the "grievance" of the Arabs against
Israel, but that grievance is that a free and independent Jewish state exists
at all, in however tiny a space. It will not be soothed by tossing it a couple
of thousand square miles to add to the near seven million square miles it already
holds.
It will not sooth
the Arab world's grievance against the United States, because Israel is only a
facade for its envy and resentment.
When the
authorities and residents of the PLO commemorate Nakba Day [Catastrophe
Day] it is keyed to the date of Israel's Declaration of Independence in May
1948. The Catastrophe they celebrate is that Israel lives.
[4] "The
United States and the international community" are applauding a
non-performance. Mahmoud Abbas/Abu Mazen has never rejected terrorism. He has declared
that he will extract as many concessions as possible by political tactics, and
when he can get no more he will turn to terrorist tactics.
Contrary to
misrepresentations by the news media, there is no "truce" and no
"quiet" on the part of these terror gangs/security services. Missiles
and mortars rain on Israeli towns. Suicide-bombers, often juveniles, are
dispatched on their missions.
Abbas/Mazen
refuses to take away the weapons of the various and often rival terrorist gangs
within the PLO. Instead, he enlists them into his "security
services", that it seems likely will be taken under the aegis of the CIA.
Terrorists if arrested at all are placed in revolving-door cells, and are
quickly free to go about their bloody business. The security services
facilitate the smuggling of weapons into PLO-land, including rockets and
missiles that can be used against civilian aircraft.
He controls the
PLO news media, whose chief item of trade is to propagate false charges against
Israel and incite hatred and violence. There has been no change in this
editorial priority.
He controls the
schools where children are taught "kill a Jew and go to heaven" He
controls the universities, where terrorism is a popular major.
He controls the
mosques in PLO-land, whose clergy are employees of the PLO, and official Friday
sermons are broadcast on PLO television. He was reportedly present to hear the
sermon delivered by Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris on 4 February 2005, that belies any
delusion that the PLO would live in peace with Israel on any terms.
Excerpts
from the translation of Palestinian Media Watch:
We tell you
Palestine, we shall return to you, by Allah's will, We shall return to every
village, every town, and every grain of earth which was quenched by the blood
of our grandparents…Our willingness to return to the 1967 borders does
not mean that we have given up on the land of Palestine. No! We might be able
to use diplomacy in order to return to the 1967 borders, . . . . but it does
not mean that we have given up on Jerusalem and Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramle,
Natanyah . . . and Tel Aviv . . . . Our approval to return to the 1967 borders
is not a concession for our other rights. No! Palestinians will return the way
Muhammad returned there, as a conqueror.
In another sermon.
Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris explained that after the destruction of Israel and the
Jews comes the fall of America and the rest of the Western World. Excerpt
from translation by MEMRI, Special Dispatch Series No. 908, 17 May 2005:
Look at modern
history. Where has Great Britain gone? Where has Czarist Russia gone? Where has
France gone - France, which almost ruled the entire world? Where is Nazi
Germany, which massacred millions and ruled the world? Where did all these
superpowers go? [Allah] made them disappear will make America disappear too,
God willing. He who made Russia disappear overnight is capable of making
America disappear and fall, Allah willing.
We have ruled
the world before, and by Allah, the day will come when we will rule the entire
world again. The day will come when we will rule America. The day will come when we will rule Britain and
the entire world – except for the Jews. The Jews will not enjoy a
life of tranquility under our rule, because they are treacherous by nature, as
they have been throughout history. The day will come when everything will be
relived of the Jews - even the stones and trees which were harmed by them.
Listen to the Prophet Muhammad, who tells you about the evil end that awaits Jews.
The stones and trees will want the Muslims to finish off every Jew.
[5] In the days before the Six-Day War of 1967, numerous Arab diplomats flaunted before the United Nations Security Council that their states would soon launch a war of annihilation against Israel. The Council did nothing to impede or even discourage that intent. After the war, however, it presumed to dictate terms of settlement. In so doing it conjured up a doctrine previously unknown in international law or historic precedence: That the nation that successfully defended itself against genocidal aggression should yield land to the defeated aggressor.
Even this peculiar doctrine as enshrined in Resolution
242 does not dictate the exact terms of a settlement. Nor did it mention or
even imagine that a party to the settlement would be a "Palestine"
that had not yet been invented. The authors and sponsors of the Resolution did
at least make clear that the final settlement would not be based on the
pre-war lines of demarcation:
President
Lyndon Johnson, September 1968: "We are not the ones to say where
other nations should draw lines between them that will assure each the greatest
security. It is clear, however, that a return to the situation of 4 June 1967
will not bring peace.
Joseph
Sisco, Assistant Secretary of State, July 1970: "That Resolution did
not say 'withdrawal to the pre-June 5 lines'. The Resolution said that the
parties must negotiate to achieve agreement on the so-called final secure and
recognized borders."
Eugene V.
Rostow, expert in International Law, Under-Secretary of State for Political
Affairs when the resolution was adopted: "It is, therefore, not
legally possible to assert that the provision requires Israeli withdrawal from
all the territories now occupied under the cease-fire resolutions to the
Armistice Demarcation lines."
The U.S. Joint
Chiefs of Staff and other experts in strategic affairs have studied the issue
of future borders of Israel and concluded that the viability of Israel demands
control of territory well beyond the pre-1967 lines.
The incumbent
President of the United States ignores both pledges and findings on Israel's
rights and needs. It should not be said that he reneges on the clear commitment
of the U.S. government not to seek a return to the 1967 lines. Rather, he has
bestowed a sudden sanctity on the even earlier and more unfavorable 1949
ceasefire line. Nor has he explicitly given the PLO full right to dictate
terms. He has merely ruled that it has right of veto over Israel's rights and
needs.
This would wipe
out Israel's heroically-fought victory in its long defense of its existence
against Arab aggression. This would wipe out every defeat suffered by the
aggressors. To the PLO and the Arab states, this means: "Attack Israel as
many times as you like. My new doctrine guarantees that you will never have to
pay any price. So, just keep on trying . . ."
[6] The current
U.S. administration repeatedly demands that its made-up State of Palestine must
have "contiguous" territory. That is, one solid and unbroken landmass
-- something that the United States itself does not have. It does not explain
how or if it can do this without chopping the remnant of Israel into
disconnected chunks.
[7] There may indeed
be some mothers who would prefer to raise their children in peace, bu they are
not the ones who make their voices heard and certainly not the ones who are
glorified by the PLO authorities as heroines to be admired and emulated. The
doctrine of the PLO, blared on its media and taught in its schools, is that the
ideal mother is one who joyously sends her child to murder Jews and thereby
achieve shahida [martyrdom].
Excerpts
from "The Joy of Killing Your
Kids", Palestinianian
Media Watch Bulletin,
16 March 2005:
Creating a supportive social environment for terrorists has
been a critical factor in the Palestinian Authority's successful promotion of
suicide terrorism. To this end, PA policy has been to honor terrorists as
Shahids (Martyrs for Allah), and to teach Palestinian mothers to celebrate when
their children die as terrorist Shahids. Categorizing these dead terrorists as
Shahids grants them the highest honor a Muslim can achieve, and is therefore
cause for a mother to celebrate, according to this PA teaching.
"This
pressure on Palestinian mothers to celebrate their dead sons as Shahids continues
under the regime of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and even increased this past
week with repeated PA TV promotion connected to International Woman's Day.
[. . . .] It is important to note that this was the first Friday sermon broadcast
since the PA announced last week that it would control and vet all Friday
sermons delivered in West Bank and Gaza strip mosques. This portrayal of the
ideal Palestinian woman as one who willingly sacrifices her sons as Shahids,
therefore, continues to represent official PA ideology –
Typical quote, from Palestinian Media Watch archives:
Interview on PLO-TV:
Host: They [Israelis] accuse the Palestinian mother of hating her
sons and of encouraging them to die.
Mother: No. We do not encourage our sons to die. We encourage them
to shahada [death for Allah] for the homeland, for Allah. We don't say to the
mothers of the shahids, ˜We come to comfort you, rather, We come to bless
you on your son's wedding, on your son shahada. . . . For us, the mourning is a
[joyous] wedding. We give out drinks, we give out sweets. Praise to Allah, our
mourning is a [joyous] wedding. [. . . .]
[8] Some highlights of
the resume of the man whose "courage" and "personal
character" inspires "great faith":
From the 1960s
onward, Abbas/Mazen was Yasser Arafat's deputy and close associate. He was
party to the PLO Charter defining the purpose of the organization as the
destruction of Israel. That charter has never been changed. He was party to the
founding of the PLO's Fatah terrorist gang. He was party to devising the Plan
of Stages in 1974; a tactic to gain land west of the Jordan to use as a base
for the destruction of Israel. This plan was reaffirmed by Arafat the day after
the Oslo Accords were signed. [See further Issue No. 5]
Abbas/Mazen has
been active or complicit in decades of terrorist slaughters perpetrated by the
PLO. He personally planned and financed the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes --
one of them a U.S. citizen -- at the Olympic Games of 1972.
He is an educated
man. He took a doctorate in history at Oriental College, Moscow, then the
capital of the late Soviet Union. His published his dissertation under the
title The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and the Zionist
Movement.
He dismisses the
notion that there was a Holocaust of the Jews. He also dismisses the notion
that there was ever a Jewish Temple on Jerusalem's Temple Mount: "I
challenge the assertion. But even if it were true, we do not accept it."
He holds sacred
the "Right of Return" -- that is, an influx of millions of hostile
Arab "refugees" and their progeny into the heart of Israel: "We
demand their return to Jaffa, to Haifa and the other regions they came from."
[On the origin and status of these "refugees" see further Issues Nos.
9 and 31]
He orders the
execution of his own subjects accused, with or without evidence, of being
"collaborators" in Israel's defense against the terrorist security
services.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Madam Doctor
Secretary Condoleeza Rice has declared that "birthing Palestine" is a
top priority for her Administration.
That would seem to
place the enterprise ahead of or at least on a par with such concerns as:
[a] the ongoing
threat to the United States of Islamist terrorism and subversion
[b] Iraq and
Afghanistan
[c] the rapid rise
of China's military and economic power
[d] the
prospective atomic weapons of Iran and North Korea and perhaps Saudi Arabia
[e] the massive
influx into the United States of illegal immigration
and its attendant
problems
[f] the crumbling
of the U.S. educational system
[g] the debasement
of popular culture and mores
[h] the
problematic condition of the Social Security system
There has yet to be a candid and cogent explanation of this odd "priority". How will the people of the United States benefit playing midwife to a terrorist state whose subjects dance and sing and cheer to celebrate the massacre of Americans?
* * * *
* * * * * * * *
Abbas's PLO, now
cherished friend and protege of the U.S. administration, sent this recent
birthday greeting to Saddam Hussein:
"We wish
him long life for the sake of Iraq and to free the Arab nation from the
enslavement of foreign imperialism. Oh, the glory of victory, with the help of
Allah!"
END