By David Dumke
TUESDAY’S decision by the United States and United Kingdom to withdraw their monitors from the Jericho prison has all the markings of a conspiracy theory hatched in hopes of bolstering the Israeli Kadima party’s electoral fortunes while provoking the nascent Hamas government.
If they did not know about it in advance, surely the US and UK anticipated the likely heavy-handed Israeli reaction. Perhaps it was hoped that Israel’s assault would goad Hamas into abandoning its self-imposed cease-fire.
A Hamas-orchestrated retaliatory attack would almost certainly result in the Palestinian Authority’s isolation from the international community. It is hard to find any other logical explanation for the decision. If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it is probably a duck.
British and American officials strongly dismiss suggestions their unexpected move was the result of collusion with Israel. They also vehemently deny their decision was politically motivated. Instead, they insist the Palestinian Authority is to blame for not fulfilling its commitments to a 2002 agreement; they assert they did not anticipate, nor endorse, the Israeli response.
But their claims ring hollow, especially given the deep and growing credibility gap which plagues the US and Britain across the Arab world.
In the region, the best thing, in fact, that one assumes is that the two allies are recklessly naïve. Or, more likely, this situation appears painfully obvious — an ill-conceived plot to discredit the Hamas-led PA while bolstering Kadima, the so-called Israeli peace party which promises more unilateral actions should they win the upcoming election.
Unfortunately, the allies seem to have fooled few, but angered many in the Arab world once again. Certainly, it is not 1956, but the proffered plot is not much more believable.
The tragedy of Sept. 11 provided the US an opportunity to unite the world — including Arab and Islamic nations — against the scourge of terrorism. Simultaneously, optimists hoped the goodwill accrued could be used to resolve some of the world’s most difficult conflicts — most prominently the Israeli-Palestinian dispute which has retarded the entire Middle East’s political, economic, and social development.
But instead of leading by consensus, the US — with Tony Blair’s Britain acting as reliable accomplice — instead employed pressure and the gun in the volatile Arab world.
On the domestic front, the Bush administration, followed by Congress, capitalized on the public’s fear of terrorism — fears which unfortunately gave rise to xenophobia and Islamophobia.
Collectively, foreign policy and domestic sentiment led to a long list of actions, initiatives, and declarations that have alienated longstanding Arab allies and further damaged America’s abysmal standing in the eyes of the Arab public.
In the past, many Arab criticisms of US policy were dismissed as wild conspiracy theories that emerged in a region ripe with intrigue.
But it is hard to ignore a growing list of issues and grievances which even the most ardent defenders of the Bush administration cannot rationally explain.
After badgering Egypt to implement democratic reforms, the US cringed at the 2005 Egyptian electoral process.
While far from perfect, Egypt did hold its first contested presidential election. The parliamentary elections resulted in substantial gains for the Muslim Brotherhood and independents. But it was not enough.
The violence which marred the third round of the parliamentary elections, and the jailing of presidential challenger Ayman Nour - who has been lionized in the American press - led to a drumbeat of American criticism.
The Bush administrations set aside plans for a US-Egypt free trade agreement, and Congress is threatening to cut Egypt’s foreign aid program.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian elections were conducted openly and fairly. However, after zealously pressing Mahmoud Abbas to hold democratic elections, the US did not like the results.
Since the Hamas victory, the US has worked — at least publicly — to freeze all assistance to the Palestinian Authority.
With the encouragement of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Congress is poised to impose even more punitive measures on the Palestinians.
The UAE is seen by many in the West as a model of Arab modernity — both economically and culturally.
The Emirates have also proved to be a reliable and important ally, particularly in the war on terrorism. But the recent Dubai ports controversy illustrates that strong bilateral ties alone does not make one immune from Sept. 11-related suspicions.
The debate was officially fought over security, but evidence suggests a more sinister, perhaps racist, motivation.
As the contract to operate American ports was already held by a British firm, the issue was not, as some insisted, merely a question of foreign ownership.
These are just a few of the litany of issues for which the US finds itself on the wrong side of Arab public opinion and its regional allies. All of these issues, and others, painfully highlight — intentionally or unintentionally — American duplicity, hubris, and insensitivity.
For the time being, policy makers in the Bush administration and Congress have apparently opted to collectively ignore the fact that there is a price to be paid over time — economically, politically, and culturally — for these decisions. They can choose to ignore the obvious. But that does not change the fact that Tuesday’s maneuver, like the others, may not be a duck, but it sure looks and sounds like one.
Source: Arab News
Date: Thursday, 16, March, 2006
Uh huh. Does anyone else think this is the dumbest comment they have heard on this subject in some time? Who forced the withdrawal of the monitors? That would be the Palestians who threatended them and the Palestinians who could not protect them.format_quote Originally Posted by aakhirah
^^^ yh of course palestinians are always to blame innit
admit that the us n uk were together with israel on this
salam
yeah true sis, and well said, am with sis amani on this one
wasalam
Why, and how, did I know when I posted this article who would respond first and what kind of response it'd be?! IslamicBoard forum users have learnt not to expect anything else...
Actually no, Palestinians are not always to blame for everything.format_quote Originally Posted by amani
Why would I admit such an absurd thing? What is in it for anyone here?
Excellent. But was I wrong? Can anyone explain to me the logic of this all being some vast international conspiracy? What is in it for anyone?format_quote Originally Posted by aakhirah
Here is an article from the Times (London). Who would dispute a single word of it? It presents a logical coherent rational explanation for what happened. What is the alternative but some weird conspiracy with no benefits for anyone?
Middle East
The Times March 15, 2006
Palestinian fury after Israelis seize leader from Jericho jail
From Ian MacKinnon in Jericho and Stephen Farrell in Jerusalem
GUNMEN set light to British offices and kidnapped foreigners in Gaza and the West Bank yesterday in a frenzy of violence triggered by an Israeli army assault on a Jericho prison holding the suspected killers of an Israeli Cabinet minister.
The Palestinians accused Britain and the United States of colluding with the Israelis. Minutes before the assault the two countries had withdrawn their international monitors from the jail, saying that their safety could no longer be guaranteed.
A Palestinian security guard and a prisoner were killed, and dozens more wounded, as the Israelis smashed the prison walls with tanks and bulldozers and mounted a ten-hour siege until the prisoners surrendered.
As the crisis unfolded, enraged Palestinians kidnapped at least nine foreigners, burnt the British Council office in Gaza City and attacked an American cultural centre and an HSBC bank in Ramallah.
As gunmen stormed into hotels looking for hostages, westerners fled the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) temporarily withdrew their international staff from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised all Britons to leave.
Those kidnapped included a Swiss ICRC representative in Khan Yunis, two French humanitarian workers with Médecins du Monde, two French and one South Korean journalist, two Australian teachers from an American school in the Gaza Strip, an American in Jenin and another in Gaza City. Most were later released.
Last night thousands of Palestinians mounted demonstrations, chanting “Death to the Americans, Death to the British”. Militant leaders threatened severe reprisals.
The violence followed the collapse of a four-year-old deal under which British and US officials supervised the detention of Ahmed Saadat, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, accused by Israel of ordering the assassination of Rehavam Zeevi, its Tourism Minister, in 2001.
The Palestinians refused to hand Saadat and his alleged accomplices to Israel, but agreed to hold them in the jail under internationalsupervision. Last night Israeli judges said that he would now be put on trial.
British officials had long expressed concern about the security of the monitors and the freedoms granted to the prisoners, who were reportedly allowed mobile phones and conjugal visits. They were particularly alarmed by remarks from the incoming Hamas Government and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, supporting their release.
Yesterday the Foreign Office released a March 8 letter to Mr Abbas from John Jenkins, the British Consul-General in Jerusalem, protesting that the Palestinian Authority had never fully complied with the agreement. “The pending handover of governmental power to a political party that has repeatedly called for the release of the Jericho detainees also calls into question the political sustainability of the monitoring mission,” it read.
The three British monitors left Jericho yesterday morning. British officials denied that they had co-ordinated their departure with Israel, but troops moved in as soon as they left.
An Israeli commander waiting outside Jericho decided that the monitors’ departure rendered the agreement void. A 100-strong force backed by tanks and helicopters sped to the prison to seize Saadat and his colleagues, but was confronted by Palestinian guards, and a gun battle erupted.
Troops using loud-hailers warned those inside to come out or be killed. Tank shells and missiles demolished the outer walls of the prison. More than 180 prisoners emerged, stripped to their underwear, blindfolded with their hands aloft. Israeli troops estimated that another 80 remained inside the compound as forces pounded it with tank shells and heavy machine guns.
From inside the prison Mr Saadat spoke defiantly to TV stations during the day, insisting that he would not be captured alive. But after nightfall he and the other remaining prisoners surrendered, and were led away by the Israelis.
Palestinian leaders accused the British of collusion with Israel, and the acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Government of acting tough in advance of Israel’s general election on March 28.
Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian negotiator, called the siege a “massive provocation that could likely lead to unprecedented unrest in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Territory”.
Mark Regev, an Israeli spokesman, blamed the Palestinian Authority for allowing the monitor agreement to fail. “We couldn’t have a situation where murderers would be walking around free instead of being under lock and key.”
This thread will die now. When shown their follie they stop responding and let the thread slink away. Move along nothing to see here.
Salaam,
A test for Hamas,to follow with their word to secure the soveriegnity of Palestine or to allow Isreali to come and go as they please.
As the Isrealis were humbled by Hitler,so not do they seek to humble the Palestinians.
But as they themselves prove,that froma dversity comes strenght and will to live and survive.
Hitler has taught the Jews to survive and fight for their desire,and now so do the Palestinian rear ther head.
Should Hamas order the attack of Israel with all of it weapons.
It is said that thru war,men are humbled for the pain of war
It is said that power of men untouched casued man to be proud and vain adn thus think too highly of themselves.
In such case,both need a lesson that has always been in mankind history.
roman/greek egypt...all civilization wither aways and those oppresed are free to oppress others.
A circle.
They weren't humbled by Hitler. They were gassed and fed into ovens by Hitler. Where are the Israeli gas chambers? As for HAMAS attacking with all they have, Do you think that's wise? The Pals would cease to exist after 20 minutes.format_quote Originally Posted by Zulkiflim
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