MiddleEast.org - Mid-East Realities

NEWEST POLITICAL SCAM -
GAZA 'withdrawal'

And Dem Party Propagandists Email American Jews

MIDDLEEAST.ORG - MER - Washington - 27 October: It's another big-time Israeli-designed and U.S. "approved" political scam regarding "peace" in the Middle East. There's a long history of this now and people in the region, especially the Palestinians, are well-aware of what is going on; even if at this point in history they feel quite helpless to do much about it.

But people in Western countries, especially in the United States, remain terribly misinformed and ignorant of the actual realities of the situation. And this is largely because of the complicity of the major corporate media in falsely reporting what is really up with such things as yesterday's vote in the Knesset to approve Ariel Sharon's latest scheme. Amazingly -- thanks to massive Israeli, U.S., and Jewish media propaganda -- this latest political scam is being played up in a big way and worse yet in a ridiculously positive way.

The first reality is that with this latest ploy the Israelis have completed turning Gaza into the world's largest and most densely populated prison and concentration-camp; while in recent years taking steps to emulate what they have done to Gaza to nearly all Palestinians towns and cities in the West Bank as well. Nothing like this has been done to any other people any place else in the modern world. And this situation will be worsened, not improved, when the small number of 8000 settlers have been relocated outside of Gaza ghetto.

The second reality is that the Palestinians are collectively being quite literally imprisoned, starved, bombed and tortured into greater misery and submission than ever before. As Mahatma Gandhi's grandson recently said upon his first visit to the occupied territories, "this is ten times worse than Apartheid was."

The third reality is that while the Israeli 'left wing' worked hard with it's own 'peace' scam of the last decade to bring about a shrunken, quisling, permanently crippled, Palestinian statelet...the Israeli 'right wing' has now totally aborted even that effort -- bad as it was for the Palestinians -- making all but impossible any real Palestinian State short of Israel's destruction.

Just watching once again none other than Shimon Peres teaming up with Ariel Sharon for this latest historic deception is maddening to many. But don't expect to see anyone with such awareness and perspective on any of the many corporate media's talk shows or on the major newspaper Op Ed pages.

The price for the past political trickery has already been very high. The poison of the Israeli-Arab conflict has spread continually for decades now and played a substantial role in bringing about today's 'Clash of Civilizations' whose end is yet in sight. The eventual future price for what is happening these days threatens to be higher yet, potentially catastrophic.

Meanwhile...in the United States...there are other basic political realities nearly always overlooked by the complicitous and usually cowardly corporate 'mass media'. While today's Republican Party is very much in bed with both the extremist 'fundamentalist' Christian Evangelicals as well as with the Sharon-connected Jewish neocons, the Democratic Party is nearly totally mortgaged to the other wing of the Israeli-Jewish lobby long-associated with Israel's Labor Party and Peres.

Trying hard to court both Jewish support and influence the following letter is being distributed to American Jews in a surreptitious way by operatives in the Democratic Party hoping to frighten them to vote for John Kerry because he is even better for Israel than George Bush.

BUSH BAD, KERRY GOOD - FOR ISRAEL

The following article is being distributed to American
Jews by crafty public relations operatives and public relations
firms working with the Democratic Party and John Kerry:

"I am a Washington lawyer -- but with a difference. Twenty years ago, I made aliyah. Ever since, I have lived in Jerusalem about half the year.

As you might well guess, I care deeply about the security of Israel. I am a member of Likud, the party of Prime Minister Sharon. Like a majority of Likud and unlike Sharon, I oppose giving back Gaza and a portion of the West Bank unilaterally. While I would support substantial territorial concessions in the context of a full settlement and full peace, I cannot agree to giving back land in return for nothing.

Because of this -- not despite it -- I strongly support the election of John Kerry.

Why? Hasn't Bush been good for Israel? That is what many American Jews and many Israelis believe. While superficially there is some truth to this conclusion, Bush's actions deeply undermine the strength of the United States and thereby the security of Israel.

Bush has made many statements supporting the right of Israel to protect itself against terrorism. Unfortunately, many of these statements have been followed by statements from the State Department saying exactly the opposite. In this way, the Administration has tried to support two irreconcilable positions. Talk of flip - flopping.

Bush has taken the position throughout the world -- Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere -- that terrorists must be crushed by force, not negotiated with. The Republican platform states unequivocally that a second Bush Administration promises "no negotiation with terrorism***. As a result, there was no negotiation with al Queda or the Taliban or Saddam, simply the use of overwhelming military might.

Compare the Bush Administration's position on Israel. While there have been no negotiations with Arafat, Israel has been pressured repeatedly to negotiate with his underlings who are terrorists as well. The Administration's road map requires Israel to concede most of the territories in return for little more than promises of peace. How good are promises from people who have spent their lives as terrorists?

The Bush Administration has repeatedly criticized Israel for targeting Palestinians who had been directly involved in terrorist attacks because of the collateral harm to civilians that resulted. Yet this Administration's has over and over again used far more firepower in attempts to kill bin Laden and Saddam, despite far greater civilian casualties.

In other words, despite all the rhetoric, the Bush Administration has proposed one set of principles for the United States and an entirely different set for Israel.

Even though Senator Kerry has been a steadfast supporter of Israel his entire political life, I am not saying that President Kerry would have a substantially different policy. Because of the desire not to alienate Muslims anymore that they already have been, President Kerry, like Bush, will undoubtedly try to square a circle, to support Israel without stirring up America's few Muslim friends. The major difference will be to end the hypocrisy that Bush has a consistent policy of defeating terrorism by military means.

However, while the words of a Kerry Administration may not be significantly different than the words of the Bush Administration, the security of Israel will be far better served. Israel's security depends on the strength of the United States. Sadly, Israel has virtually no other friend in the world. Europe almost always opposes Israel's need to defend itself. Third-world countries almost always support Arab positions. And the situation would surely be much worse if the United States were not vetoing one-sided Security Council resolutions and pressuring its friends to at least pretend an even-handed approach.

Unfortunately, George Bush has in less than four years enormously weakened the United States in numerous ways.

First, he has made the United States a virtual pariah in the world. For almost a century, the United States has had not only the strongest military but it has been widely admired. Today, even our closest friends in Europe are doubting our leadership. I am not talking about the French and German governments. Those leaders and their policies will inevitably change. I am talking about the people of Europe and other countries who have been deeply estranged by this Administration. Who would have imagined only a few years ago that American athletes would be booed at the Olympic Games? Who would believe that a majority of the population in many European countries would no longer admire the United States?

This did not come about just from the Iraq war. Even before the war, the Bush Administration had made clear that it had no respect for other countries by repudiating previous American positions on climate change and other important agreements. With regard to the Iraq war itself, the Administration made clear that it would not take seriously the opinions of even American's best friends. It is therefore hardly surprising that when Bush wanted help from other countries to suppress the violence after the war, few countries would provide substantial assistance.

Second, the Bush Administration has not only alienated other nations but it has divided Americans. Far from being a uniter, Bush has deliberately been a divider. It is doubtful that the country has been so badly split since the Civil War. American's do not jut disagree; all too often they hate their political leaders and each other. The results can be seen in Congress where no legislation of consequence has been passed this year. While this division among Americans has not yet harmed Israel, such harm is virtually certain to occur if the United State continues to be weakened by those who believe division aids their political fortunes.

Third, the American military has been seriously weakened. At the same time that it has inadequate forces in Iraq to suppress the rebellion, it has had to force the National Guard and reserve troops to extend their service in Iraq well beyond their original assignments. As a result, Bush is reducing the number of American troops in other places overseas, including in Asia where North Korea poses a serious danger.

The result of the weakening of the American military is that American power in the world has been seriously diminished. For example, after the Iraq invasion, Iran and Syria seemed more accommodating because they had seen the overwhelming power of the United States. However, Since it is now obvious that the United States cannot act militarily against Iran and Syria, they are ignoring American demands. Iran's refusal to stop the development of nuclear technology is a far more serious threat to Israel and the world than Saddam ever was.

Fourth, Bush has severely weakened the American economy. The most serious danger is not the slow recovery from the recession but the huge deficits which exist today and will continue far out into the future because of tax cuts for the rich. Whereas when President Clinton left office, economists were worrying about the minor possible economic harm if the entire national debt were eliminated in a decade, the problem today is that there is no money even for serious national problems -- social security, health care, education and the military.

But hasn't the Iraq war increased Israel's security? Of course, Iraq under Saddam was an enemy of Israel. Therefore, no Israeli (and few other people) are going to be sorry that he is gone. But Israel's security has hardly improved. If one were to list the Middle Eastern countries most dangerous to Israel and to world peace when the Iraq war began, Iraq would have at best ranked fourth. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Syria were certainly far more dangerous. The Administration has real evidence that Iran is working on nuclear weapons and there can be no doubt that it has long-range missiles which can easily reach Israel. However, Iran knows that the United States is so tied up in Iraq that it cannot take military action against it. So it is ignoring American demands for international inspection. Saudi Arabia has been the financier of extreme Islamic groups throughout the world.

In short, the United States is a far weaker country today than it was four years ago. And because its only friend is weaker, Israel is much weaker too. George Bush's statements in support of Israel are not nearly enough to make up for this reality."

Bruce Terris

October 2004