Obama in wonderland
Pres. Obama entered the Middle East fray quickly and aggressively when he went to the State Dept. yesterday on the second day of his appointment and joined Secty. of State Hillary Clinton to rouse the troops with a major address. In this he outlined his approach to the Middle East, including the committment of his Administration to a "two State solution, Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace." We have heard this mantra before and it came from George W. Bush, the first President to accept the future existence of a Palestinian State. In order to achieve this goal Obama appointed George Mitchell as his special envoy to the Middle East.
Mitchell is famous for having brought about the peace treaty in Northern Ireland, after 800 years of strife. As he said, men make wars and men can end them. But, be admitted that it would not be easy, because the conflict in the Middle East is so entrenched and complex.
Here's one complexity, Obama called for the opening of the crossings into Gaza for humanitarian aid, something that Israel has already done, and withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza, that Israel has already done, and aid to be given to the PA for reconstruction in Gaza. But, wait, the PA doesn't control Gaza, Hamas does, and giving aid to the PA for reconstruction in Gaza is therefore a non-starter. The US can't give aid to Hamas since it is a terrorist organization, neither can it negotiate with it. Those who think that Obama should start negotiations with Hamas are not dealing with reality. The US will not negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan either, who are decapitating women teachers. Why should they negotiate with Hamas which used children as shields during the recent war, and shoots people for having music at their weddings. They are part of the same Islamic extremist cult as al Qaeda that seeks to take over the world and establish a Caliphate and kill all infidels.
Now there is a race to reconstruct Gaza, by the EU and the US, but they cannot deal directly with Hamas. So how is it going to be done, particularly since the Government of Pres. Abbas is now illegitimate, as his term expired on Jan 9, and he is simply holding on to power in the absence of elections and any other alternative.
A spokesman for the PA in Ramallah (as reported in the J'sam Post) said that it was unfortunate that Israel stopped its war in Gaza short of removing Hamas from power. That's what Abbas and the PA had hoped for and then they would have been able to take over Gaza and establish their own regime there. Some Israelis also hoped for the same. But, the Israel Government wasn't going to do their dirty work for them. Also, according to reports, Hamas went around killing any Fatah members found on the street after the IDF withdrawal in case they attempted a counter-coup.
Israel's war in Gaza had two stated aims, to stop the firing of missiles into Israel and to stop the smuggling of weapons from Egypt into Gaza. Obama said that the ceasefire must be made "durable" and we shall see if this can be accomplished given the fact that Hamas set it for only one week. He also said that the US will engage with other allies in stopping the smuggling of arms into Gaza, which would trigger another round of conflict. But, although the IDF destroyed ca. 150 tunnels, there are still ca. 50 of them left, either in working order or that can be easily renovated. And although Pres. Mubarak says that he will stop the smuggling, but without allowing foreign troops on his soil, there appears to be no change in the Egyptian capability to stop the smuggling. So Obama, Clinton and Mitchell have a difficult and dangerous task before them before the mantle of peacemakers can rest on their shoulders.
Mitchell is famous for having brought about the peace treaty in Northern Ireland, after 800 years of strife. As he said, men make wars and men can end them. But, be admitted that it would not be easy, because the conflict in the Middle East is so entrenched and complex.
Here's one complexity, Obama called for the opening of the crossings into Gaza for humanitarian aid, something that Israel has already done, and withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza, that Israel has already done, and aid to be given to the PA for reconstruction in Gaza. But, wait, the PA doesn't control Gaza, Hamas does, and giving aid to the PA for reconstruction in Gaza is therefore a non-starter. The US can't give aid to Hamas since it is a terrorist organization, neither can it negotiate with it. Those who think that Obama should start negotiations with Hamas are not dealing with reality. The US will not negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan either, who are decapitating women teachers. Why should they negotiate with Hamas which used children as shields during the recent war, and shoots people for having music at their weddings. They are part of the same Islamic extremist cult as al Qaeda that seeks to take over the world and establish a Caliphate and kill all infidels.
Now there is a race to reconstruct Gaza, by the EU and the US, but they cannot deal directly with Hamas. So how is it going to be done, particularly since the Government of Pres. Abbas is now illegitimate, as his term expired on Jan 9, and he is simply holding on to power in the absence of elections and any other alternative.
A spokesman for the PA in Ramallah (as reported in the J'sam Post) said that it was unfortunate that Israel stopped its war in Gaza short of removing Hamas from power. That's what Abbas and the PA had hoped for and then they would have been able to take over Gaza and establish their own regime there. Some Israelis also hoped for the same. But, the Israel Government wasn't going to do their dirty work for them. Also, according to reports, Hamas went around killing any Fatah members found on the street after the IDF withdrawal in case they attempted a counter-coup.
Israel's war in Gaza had two stated aims, to stop the firing of missiles into Israel and to stop the smuggling of weapons from Egypt into Gaza. Obama said that the ceasefire must be made "durable" and we shall see if this can be accomplished given the fact that Hamas set it for only one week. He also said that the US will engage with other allies in stopping the smuggling of arms into Gaza, which would trigger another round of conflict. But, although the IDF destroyed ca. 150 tunnels, there are still ca. 50 of them left, either in working order or that can be easily renovated. And although Pres. Mubarak says that he will stop the smuggling, but without allowing foreign troops on his soil, there appears to be no change in the Egyptian capability to stop the smuggling. So Obama, Clinton and Mitchell have a difficult and dangerous task before them before the mantle of peacemakers can rest on their shoulders.
posted by Jack Cohen at 9:00 AM
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