A Moment of Silence
As Palestine mourns the death of their chosen leader, the White House plays politics. If Yasser Arafat was a barrier to peace, three monumental barriers remain.
PALESTINE MOURNS THE DEATH OF ARAFAT
By Jack Random
It is insensitive and demeaning to address the prospects for peace in the Middle East while Fallujah is being decimated, while Afghanistan remains under tenuous occupation, and while Palestinians are mourning the loss of their chosen leader, the only leader most have known in their lifetimes, yet that is exactly the response of the American administration.
To those who assert that the passing of Yasser Arafat is an opening for peace in the Middle East, a strong dose of realism is in order. While we may agree that Arafat, however beloved by the Palestinian people, was a barrier to peace, three monumental barriers remain: Ariel Sharon, the occupation of Iraq, and George W. Bush.
Until the arrival of the second coming of Bush, Ariel Sharon was the most hated man in the Arab world. If Sharon should slip from power in Israel, like Henry Kissinger, he will become a prisoner of his own sordid past, unable to travel freely in the world for fear of being arrested and tried as a war criminal. The Arab world will never forgive Sharon for his central role in the massacre of some 2,000 Palestinian refugees in Beirut circa 1982 – nor should they.
Sharon blamed Arafat for the failure of the Oslo Peace Accords and Arafat blamed Sharon. To a large degree, both were right.
When Sharon became Prime Minister of Israel, the path to peace was impassably blocked and all pretenses to the contrary were mere masquerades. Palestinian liberation became a pipe dream and violence became a way of life.
Ironically, that is exactly what George W. Bush wanted. He is on record as not wanting to engage in the hopeless quagmire of the Palestinian problem. Ironically, he chose the hopeless quagmire of an Iraqi occupation instead.
It is the height of arrogance to think that America can serve as an honest broker to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine now that we are the occupiers of Iraq. The prerequisites of peace negotiations are trust and respect. After our invasion of Iraq on false pretenses, in defiance of international law and order, the Palestinians may fear us (as all nations do) but there is neither trust nor respect for our moral authority.
Just as the Democrats secretly mourn the demise of Ralph Nader, no one will miss Yasser Arafat more than Ariel Sharon and George W. Bush. They have lost their excuse. They have lost their reason for ignoring the peace process and diminishing the plight of the Palestinian people.
When the American electorate (legitimately or not) sanctioned the war on Iraq and awarded this president a second term, they sealed the fate of Palestine.
There will be no peace in the Middle East – not now and not in the foreseeable future.
Let us allow the Palestinian people their time of mourning and grief. Their elected leader is dead. Let us refuse to engage in futile politicking while the body is not yet cold and the tears of Palestine are not yet shed. Let us join them, each in our own way, in a moment of solemn and respectful silence.
Jazz.
JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). HIS COMMENTARIES ARE POSTED WIDELY. SEE WWW.JACKRANDOM.COM.
By Jack Random
It is insensitive and demeaning to address the prospects for peace in the Middle East while Fallujah is being decimated, while Afghanistan remains under tenuous occupation, and while Palestinians are mourning the loss of their chosen leader, the only leader most have known in their lifetimes, yet that is exactly the response of the American administration.
To those who assert that the passing of Yasser Arafat is an opening for peace in the Middle East, a strong dose of realism is in order. While we may agree that Arafat, however beloved by the Palestinian people, was a barrier to peace, three monumental barriers remain: Ariel Sharon, the occupation of Iraq, and George W. Bush.
Until the arrival of the second coming of Bush, Ariel Sharon was the most hated man in the Arab world. If Sharon should slip from power in Israel, like Henry Kissinger, he will become a prisoner of his own sordid past, unable to travel freely in the world for fear of being arrested and tried as a war criminal. The Arab world will never forgive Sharon for his central role in the massacre of some 2,000 Palestinian refugees in Beirut circa 1982 – nor should they.
Sharon blamed Arafat for the failure of the Oslo Peace Accords and Arafat blamed Sharon. To a large degree, both were right.
When Sharon became Prime Minister of Israel, the path to peace was impassably blocked and all pretenses to the contrary were mere masquerades. Palestinian liberation became a pipe dream and violence became a way of life.
Ironically, that is exactly what George W. Bush wanted. He is on record as not wanting to engage in the hopeless quagmire of the Palestinian problem. Ironically, he chose the hopeless quagmire of an Iraqi occupation instead.
It is the height of arrogance to think that America can serve as an honest broker to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine now that we are the occupiers of Iraq. The prerequisites of peace negotiations are trust and respect. After our invasion of Iraq on false pretenses, in defiance of international law and order, the Palestinians may fear us (as all nations do) but there is neither trust nor respect for our moral authority.
Just as the Democrats secretly mourn the demise of Ralph Nader, no one will miss Yasser Arafat more than Ariel Sharon and George W. Bush. They have lost their excuse. They have lost their reason for ignoring the peace process and diminishing the plight of the Palestinian people.
When the American electorate (legitimately or not) sanctioned the war on Iraq and awarded this president a second term, they sealed the fate of Palestine.
There will be no peace in the Middle East – not now and not in the foreseeable future.
Let us allow the Palestinian people their time of mourning and grief. Their elected leader is dead. Let us refuse to engage in futile politicking while the body is not yet cold and the tears of Palestine are not yet shed. Let us join them, each in our own way, in a moment of solemn and respectful silence.
Jazz.
JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). HIS COMMENTARIES ARE POSTED WIDELY. SEE WWW.JACKRANDOM.COM.
Jackrandom.com
Home of The Jazzman Chronicles
Home of The Jazzman Chronicles
Use the feedback form below to submit your comments.
Use the form below to email this article to your friends.
- Spinning Dixie
- STARVING THE BEAST: Programmed Ineptitude
- THE WOODWARD GAMBIT: Latest Move in the Plame Game
- Senatorial Filibuster: A Curse On Both Houses
- Speculation Grows Over Bloomberg White House Bid
- Candidates Hope Primaries Point Way to White House
- High Noon in Iowa: One Small State, One Global Decision
- Candidates Will Vie to Prove Preparedness at Petraeus Hearing
- Candidates Will Vie to Prove Their Military Mettle in Questioning Petraeus
- 'Sober Moment' for White House As Us Deaths Reach 4,000
- Bloomberg Ends Rumors of White House Bid
- Democrat Vote Fears As Nader Runs Again
- Nader Enters Presidential Race
- America's Moment of Truth
- Fred Thompson Retires from White House Race
- White House Race Claims Two Casualties in a Day
- Gusto to Embarrassment - the Fall of Giuliani
- Giuliani Falters in Florida
- Thompson Withdraws From Presidential Race
- Facts about the White House
- Secret Service Takes Responsibility for White House Party Crashers
- White House Crashers Reminiscent of Balloon Boy Hoax
- Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney Visit White House
- White House Health Care Overhaul Facing More Hurdles in Congress
- History of the White House
- Mitt Romney is Getting His Political Groove on for 2012
- White House Urges Newsweek Editors To Apologize On Arab TV