Sunday, June 19, 2005
Operation Futility
Secretary Rice is once again trying the impossible. She is in the Middle East and working to reignite the Peace Process. Considering that after the deal in Oslo there was never peace or a process, she may find it hard going.
The American agenda should have this goal: a strong defensible Israel. And the necessary step to this goal is a functioning Palestinian State. Israel will always be vulnerable with open borders and a hostile semi-anarchy to it's west. This is true whether the West Bank is occupied or un-occupied by Israeli forces. And the only way to redirect the Palestinian frustrations away from Israel and towards the true source of their misery is to create an accountable government in the West Bank.
To get there the Israelis must pull out and build a wall. They have to pull out in order to become less visible in the day to day lives of Palestinians, and to become less of a target to terrorists. The wall must be built so that immigration to Israel can be strictly controlled and terrorism thwarted long before it comes near any civilians.
Therefore, the U.S. has to foster a real democracy in the West Bank. And this is Secretary Rice's bane. The task may be impossible in the short term. But functioning democracies in Iraq and Lebanon will give the Palestinians a vision of the possible. And this will be the Secretary's best weapon.
The American agenda should have this goal: a strong defensible Israel. And the necessary step to this goal is a functioning Palestinian State. Israel will always be vulnerable with open borders and a hostile semi-anarchy to it's west. This is true whether the West Bank is occupied or un-occupied by Israeli forces. And the only way to redirect the Palestinian frustrations away from Israel and towards the true source of their misery is to create an accountable government in the West Bank.
To get there the Israelis must pull out and build a wall. They have to pull out in order to become less visible in the day to day lives of Palestinians, and to become less of a target to terrorists. The wall must be built so that immigration to Israel can be strictly controlled and terrorism thwarted long before it comes near any civilians.
Therefore, the U.S. has to foster a real democracy in the West Bank. And this is Secretary Rice's bane. The task may be impossible in the short term. But functioning democracies in Iraq and Lebanon will give the Palestinians a vision of the possible. And this will be the Secretary's best weapon.
