| Author | Message | | sharkman | | Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2002 11:22 pm Post subject: president jimmy carter's op-ed piece in the new york times |
| new york times
April 21, 2002
America Can Persuade Israel to Make a Just Peace
By JIMMY CARTER
TLANTA — In January 1996, with full support from Israel and responding to the invitation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the Carter Center helped to monitor a democratic election in the West Bank and Gaza, which was well organized, open and fair. In that election, 88 members were elected to the Palestinian National Authority, with Yasir Arafat as president. Legally and practically, the Palestinian people were encouraged to form their own government, with the expectation that they would soon have full sovereignty as a state.
When the election was over, I made a strong effort to persuade the leaders of Hamas to accept the election results, with Mr. Arafat as their leader. I relayed a message offering them full participation in the process of developing a permanent constitutional framework for the new political entity, but they refused to accept this proposal. Despite this rejection, it was a time of peace and hope, and there was no threat of violence or even peaceful demonstrations. The legal status of the Palestinian people has not changed since then, but their plight has grown desperate.
Ariel Sharon is a strong and forceful man and has never equivocated in his public declarations nor deviated from his ultimate purpose. His rejection of all peace agreements that included Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands, his invasion of Lebanon, his provocative visit to the Temple Mount, the destruction of villages and homes, the arrests of thousands of Palestinians and his open defiance of President George W. Bush's demand that he comply with international law have all been orchestrated to accomplish his ultimate goals: to establish Israeli settlements as widely as possible throughout occupied territories and to deny Palestinians a cohesive political existence.
There is adequate blame on the other side. Even when he was free and enjoying the full trappings of political power, Yasir Arafat never exerted control over Hamas and other radical Palestinians who reject the concept of a peaceful Israeli existence and adopt any means to accomplish their goal. Mr. Arafat's all-too-rare denunciations of violence have been spasmodic, often expressed only in English and likely insincere. He may well see the suicide attacks as one of the few ways to retaliate against his tormentors, to dramatize the suffering of his people, or as a means for him, vicariously, to be a martyr.
Tragically, the policies of Mr. Sharon have greatly strengthened these criminal elements, enhanced their popular support, and encouraged misguided young men and women to sacrifice their own lives in attacking innocent Israeli citizens. The abhorrent suicide bombings are also counterproductive in that they discredit the Palestinian cause, help perpetuate the military occupation and destruction of villages, and obstruct efforts toward peace and justice.
The situation is not hopeless. There is an ultimate avenue to peace in the implementation of United Nations resolutions, including Resolution 242, expressed most recently in the highly publicized proposal of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah. The basic premises of these resolutions are withdrawal of Israelis from Palestinian lands in exchange for full acceptance of Israel and Israel's right to live in peace. This is a reasonable solution for many Israelis, having been accepted in 1978 by Prime Minister Menachem Begin and ratified by the Israeli Knesset. Egypt, offering the greatest threat to Israel, responded by establishing full diplomatic relations and honoring Israeli rights, including unimpeded use of the Suez canal. This set a pattern for what can and must be done by all other Arab nations. Through constructive negotiations, both sides can consider some modifications of the 1967 boundary lines.
East Jerusalem can be jointly administered with unimpeded access to holy places, and the right of return can be addressed by permitting a limited number of displaced Palestinians to return to their homeland with fair compensation to others. It will be a good investment for the international community to pay this cost.
With the ready and potentially unanimous backing of the international community, the United States government can bring about such a solution to the existing imbroglio. Demands on both sides should be so patently fair and balanced that at least a majority of citizens in the affected area will respond with approval, and an international force can monitor compliance with agreed peace terms, as was approved for the Sinai region in 1979 following Israel's withdrawal from Egyptian territory.
There are two existing factors that offer success to United States persuasion. One is the legal requirement that American weapons are to be used by Israel only for defensive purposes, a premise certainly being violated in the recent destruction of Jenin and other villages. Richard Nixon imposed this requirement to stop Ariel Sharon and Israel's military advance into Egypt in the 1973 war, and I used the same demand to deter Israeli attacks on Lebanon in 1979. (A full invasion was launched by Ariel Sharon after I left office). The other persuasive factor is approximately $10 million daily in American aid to Israel. President George Bush Sr. threatened this assistance in 1992 to prevent the building of Israeli settlements between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
I understand the extreme political sensitivity in America of using persuasion on the Israelis, but it is important to remember that none of the actions toward peace would involve an encroachment on the sovereign territory of Israel. They all involve lands of the Egyptians, Lebanese and Palestinians, as recognized by international law.
The existing situation is tragic and likely to get worse. Normal diplomatic efforts have failed. It is time for the United States, as the sole recognized intermediary, to consider more forceful action for peace. The rest of the world will welcome this leadership.
Jimmy Carter, the former president, is chairman of the Carter Center, which works worldwide to advance peace and human health. | |  | | sharkman | | Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2002 11:30 pm Post subject: |
| Houston Chronicle
We bought and paid for carnage of Palestinians
By ROBERT JENSEN
I helped kill a Palestinian today.
If you pay taxes to the U.S. government, so did you.
And unless the policies of the U.S. government change, tomorrow will be no
different. It is easy for Americans to decry the "cycle of violence" in Palestine, but
until we acknowledge our own part in that violence, there is little hope for a
just peace in Palestine or the Middle East.
The first step is to abandon the mythology that the United States is a
"neutral broker for peace" in the conflict. A new report by the Institute for
Southern Studies shows that in the one-year period after the Sharm el-
Sheikh peace agreement in September 1999, the U.S. government pumped
$3.6 billion worth of arms into Israel -- an odd policy for a country playing a
supposedly neutral role. So, when we hear on the news that Israeli tanks are rolling through the cities and refugee camps of the West Bank, we should remember those tanks were made in the United States and purchased by Israel with U.S. aid. The Israeli jets and helicopters used in the assault are American F-16s,
Blackhawks and Apaches. Machine guns, grenade launchers, missiles and
bombs -- made in the USA, paid for with our tax dollars -- are being used to
crush the Palestinian people. That means we must face two realties:
·First, the current Israeli attack on West Bank towns is not a war on
terrorism, but part of a long and brutal war against the Palestinian people for
land and resources. If Israel is serious about ending terrorism, it would end
its 35-year illegal military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Until it
demonstrates a willingness to do that, Israeli calls for peace ring hollow and
its attempts to achieve security through force will only make it less secure.
·Second, Israel's war against the Palestinians would not be possible without
U.S. military and economic support -- $3 billion a year in direct aid. While
the whole world stands against Israel's occupation, our government provides
the political and diplomatic cover that allows Israel to flout international
law. Specific Israeli policies sometimes draw mild criticisms from U.S. leaders,
and those criticisms have grown stronger in recent days as Israel has
ignored calls for a pullback of forces. But Israel can continue to ignore the
international consensus -- and the U.N. Security Council resolutions calling
on it to end the occupation -- because of U.S. support. U.S. officials recently have distanced themselves from the extreme violence of the Sharon government and the Likud Party, but it is folly to think all would be fine if only a Labor Party government were in power. The differences between the two major parties in Israel are more of style than substance. Take the question of settlements in the occupied territories.
We are told repeatedly that Israel desperately wants peace. If that is true,
why has the number of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank and Gaza
almost doubled since the Oslo peace process began nearly a decade ago?
Given that those settlements are one of the most serious obstacles to a
peaceful solution, why would the Israeli governments -- Labor and Likud alike
-- expand settlements in territory it illegally occupies during a so-called
peace process? The ultimate solution to the conflict in the Middle East is a regional peace conference under an international banner that takes seriously international
law. There must be regional arms control, which should be part of a
movement to reduce the insane levels of armaments globally (of which the
United States is the leading salesperson). The most important contribution
the United States could make is to stop blocking that process.
But right now, the United States can help defuse the immediate crisis by
using the leverage its aid to Israel provides. We the American people should
pressure our government to make a clear statement: Israel must not only
end its current brutal offensive but also must take meaningful steps to end
the occupation, and the United States must withdraw support from Israel
until it agrees to do so. If we fail to do that, then we cannot escape the knowledge that Americans are partly responsible for the next missile fired into a Palestinian town, the next shell lobbed into a Palestinian home, the next Israeli bullet that cuts
down an innocent Palestinian. | | | | sharkman | | Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2002 11:32 pm Post subject: |
| Subj:Re: your excellent article in the houston chronicle
Date:4/28/02 6:19:26 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From:rjensen
thanks for the note about my article. it is especially welcome these
days; not all my mail has been so positive.
fyi: other pieces i have written are online at:
http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rjensen/freelance/freelance.htm
solidarity, bob jensen | | | | sharkman | | Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2002 11:51 pm Post subject: america as dr. frankenstein |
| AMERICA AS DR. FRANKENSTEIN
The monster that Dr. Frankenstein created can't hold a horrific
candle to the monster that the United States was instrumental in
creating that is the present Zionist state of Israel, an Israel born
out of the oppression by the Nazi regime, and whose tactics are
directly derived from that same gaggle of goose-stepping goons.
Ever since the artificial state of Israel was thrust on the
Palestinian people and the land that they owned, had deeds to,
the career butcher Ariel Sharon and his SS wannabes have
utilized the precepts of Adolf Hitler, Herman Goering, Martin
Bormann, Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, and of their
other counterparts and ideologues.
The Israeli blitzkrieg on Palestine, the scorched earth policy in
Jenin, the reign of terror against civilians, the outright murders of
teenage Arab kids and their parents, the unspeakable horrors of
the incursions against Palestinian towns simply for the exercise
of the United States supplied military power, all of these are
reminiscent of the manner in which Nazi tanks, planes, and
troops invaded Poland, France, Belgium, Holland, Norway, and
Luxembourg, and that had a good try at an invasion of Britain..
Perhaps there are some blitzkrieg differences, the main ones
dealing with the scale of the operations, and the fact that this
was an Israel wermacht that was supplied by the United States
in the form of tanks, attack fighters and helicopters, APC's,
heavy artillery weapons, rockets, grenades, small arms and
ammunition, a destroyer, and three submarines. Three
submarines? Just what is needed for desert travel.
But how did this all come about? And what is driving it this day?
But before we go on, let us identify the actors in this black
theater drama.
1. First we have the loyal American citizens who put their nation
above all others, who are fine, hardworking people who happen
to be of the Jewish religion. And in other nations of the world we
also have citizens of those nations who are loyal to their country
and who also are of the Jewish religion. Bless them!
2. Then we have the pro-Israelis, the perpetual zionists, who,
no matter in which country they live, or are citizens of, are only
loyal to the state of Israel and no other, who work for the
advancement of Israel's benefit at the expense of whatever
nation in which they live. They will act as espionage agents,
attempting to learn and divulge sensitive and critical secrets
from the military and industrial sectors of governments in the
nations in which they live, and pass them on to Israel for use or
for sale to others. Their infamous work in America is a good
example of this.
Then there are the pro-Israelis in the media, American or
otherwise. They will propagandize in favor of Israel at every
opportunity, be it the print press, television, magazines, or any
other conduit through which they spew their pro-Israel party line.
They also claim to be of the Jewish religion, and throw up the
smoke screen of "Anti-Semitism" at any criticism. And, they are
generally anti-Arab and particularly anti-Palestinian. Remember,
Begin called them monkeys, and other lower forms of life.
2. Then we have the Zionists who rule Israel. Their arrogance
knows no bounds, especially towards the United States, who
rebuff any US attempts at peace in the region, who humiliate an
American President and his words - and why not? They already
have all the American arms and money they need to wage a war
on helpless Palestinians. It is like slingshots against tanks,
planes, and helicopters. These Zionists have their own version of
the Torah and its interpretation, and any criticism brings the
typical whine of "Anti-Semitism" from Tel Aviv and Washington.
But let us return to the question: How did this situation come
about? It began at the turn of the century, with the thousands of Jews all
over the world, that were trying to escape oppression,
subsequently arriving at these shores, the land of opportunity,
just as Emma Lazerus had eloquently rhymed. Most of those
émigrés fit well into American society, became loyal
Americans, worked hard, served honorably in America's armed
forces, and blended into American society, contributing greatly
to the economy and the welfare of the nation.
However, in that massive group was a core of hardened
Zionists, always instigating for a Zionist state that would be
known as Israel. Their cohorts in the land of Palestine, an area
under British protection, were the terrorist groups known as the
Irgun, the Stern Gang, and other clandestine mobs, who
murdered British soldiers in the attempt to have Britain wash
their hands of the protectorate and allow the artificial
development of a new Israel. Note that the picture of the British
soldier, hanging upside down from a tree, murdered by a Zionist
gang, has mysteriously disappeared from encyclopedias and
books all over the world, surreptitiously removed by Zionist
activists.
It is similar to the disappearance of James Ennes's book,
Assault on the Liberty, from libraries and bookstores in America.
It told the true story of the vicious sneak attack on a US naval
vessel by the armed forces of Israel, the murders of 34 sailors,
and the wounding of 171, by our so-called Israeli "friends."
Many of the Zionists in America became very rich, to the point
where they were able to exert their will on the American Senate
and House, simply by the vast wealth that they controlled. These
Zionists were instrumental in bringing about the formation of the
new Israel in 1948, with the connivance of the United States, the
United Nations, and other governments in which the Zionists had
an element of financial control.
In the years since 1948, pro-Israelis in the American congress
passed laws that allowed Israel to receive billions of US tax-payer
dollars and armaments, far beyond that awarded to any other
government in the entire world, sans the necessity of having to
repay. As mentioned elsewhere, references to Israeli appear 73
times in the laws of the United States, usually attached to
provisions that give largesse to Israel. And this has nothing to
do with any prejudices against those of Jewish faith, or the time-
honored religion of true Judaism..
So, what does this all mean? Here are some answers:
1. The wealth of pro-Israelis in American society, and the influence
that comes with wealth, has allowed them to exert control over
most elective office events; in fact, there are, and have been,
non-pro-Israeli presidents and congressmen who have toed the
Israeli party line because, if they did not, they knew that floods of
election year money would go to their opponents who favored
transferring American goods and services to Israel without charge.
These floods of money have elected pro-Israel Jews to our House
and Senate, and in other elective offices. This year will be no
different, but does anyone care if Jewish or Muslim candidates
are elected fairly to our institutions, on their own merit?
Of course not! If these candidates have their own positive agendas
and their own positive principles, then more power to them.
2. The immense wealth of pro-Israelis in American society, and
the influence that comes with wealth, has allowed them to buy out
and take over major news outlets in the United States, in
movies, television, the print press, magazines, and others. The
people that work for these organizations, on every level, realize
that if they were to be in any way critical of Israel their jobs could
vanish in an instant. And this is not merely in American society.
There are other nations in world that are controlled by pro-Isreali
wealth in similar manner.
3. This great wealth of pro-Israelis in American society, and the
influence that comes with wealth, has allowed them to effectively
control great industries, and great centers of financial power. By
effective use of their money they can make markets rise and fall,
have an effect on GNP and unemployment, ploys which they
use to advantage to make or break a president, a senator, a
representative, a governor, a mayor, or any elected official who
falls into their disfavor.
Thus is the wealth and power of the pro-Israelis, in our society
and in our government. They must be stopped from awarding
by congressional fiat our American taxpayers goods, services,
and treasure.
Yet, we can make no criticism of the loyal Americans in this
country who happen to be of Jewish faith, but who identify with
America and its values. They do not control vast wealth, nor do
they work against their American homeland. They are simply
loyal citizens who deserve no more or no less than any other
citizen, with all their benefits based on how hard their efforts to
achieve.
That being said, how do we unmake the monster that is Sharon
and secular Israel?
A good place to start is if George Bush pressures congress to
immediately discontinue shipping arms and money to Israel
and/or any nation in the middle east, other than those the US is
helping to rebuild as a part of the war against terrorism.
Next, Bush informs der Fuehrer Sharon and his lackeys in no
uncertain terms that if he does not halt the blitzkrieg and fully
withdraw from Palestine immediately, American military might will
help him do so. To reinforce his words, President Bush should
put a carrier group or two in the area.
Next Bush tells the pro-Israel forces in the US congress that
they should repeal those US laws that favor Israel uber alles,
and if they send up any more legislation that sends American
treasure to Israel, in any form, he will veto it.
Next, put on notice the pro-Israeli forces in the US, the
congressmen, the industrialists, the media, the Israeli PAC's,
etc., that he is the President, that he is running the country, and
that he will fight tooth and nail against any attempts by them to
denigrate or control him, his policies, and his office.
The phrase, "So help me God" fits well in there somewhere.
Only President George W. Bush has the intellect, the intestinal
fortitude, the will, and the conscience to complete a tough, but
noble, action such as this. The ordinary people of the middle
east, Arab, Israeli, and Palestinian, Muslim Christian, and Jew, will
respond with their heartfelt thanks.
Let us hope President Bush does it soon!
Dr. E.A. Richards
For more on the intentional and savage Israeli attack on the USS Liberty,
please access the following web link which is managed by jim ennes who was mentioned above
http//www.ussliberty.org
http://home.cfl.rr.com/gidusko/liberty/ | | | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
