The Bloodletting Won't Stop Until the Terrorists Decide They Won't Be Rewarded for It
The Hartford Courant published one of its typical editorials on April 21, 2002, showing both bias and ignorance. I tried submitting the following as an op-ed. After getting a reply saying they did not run op-eds in response to editorials, I asked that they publish it as a letter to the editor. Not surprisingly, they refused.It's hard to believe that the editorial "Bloodletting Continues" printed in the April 21, 2002 issue of the Courant was written by persons with any knowledge of what has happened in the Middle East in the last year, decade or half century.
You appeared surprised that "Mr. Bush admonished them [Arab governments] to show more interest in peace and denounce Palestinian suicide bombers," apparently since "they have in fact denounced the bombers as well as Israel's military invasion."
Perhaps you're unaware that they coupled that tepid denunciation of those terrorists with continued financial support, including bonuses to the families of terrorist bombers. So-called "moderate" Saudi Arabia even held a telethon to raise funds for terrorists and their families.
You note that "only a month ago, the administration had praised Arab governments after they unanimously agreed at their Beirut summit on a peace plan that would normalize relations with Israel and create a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza."
Strangely, you ignore the fact that they continue to refuse to even present that one-sided "plan" to the nation most intimately involved, Israel, and that many of the same despotic regimes that you praise for agreeing to that plan have made it clear they didn't really mean it.
You're also disappointed with President Bush for "treating the prime minister [of Israel] with kid gloves."
Perhaps he is. However, Israel's prime minister has responded, putting the citizens of his nation in danger by pulling troops out of terrorist dens prematurely. Undoubtedly, innocent Israeli civilians will pay for that accommodation with their lives, as terrorists who would otherwise have been apprehended, using explosives that would otherwise have been found and confiscated, blow themselves up in pizzerias or discotheques in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other cities.
Meanwhile, both our president and your editorial treats the world's senior terrorist with kid gloves. Yasser Arafat may have warmed your heart by renouncing terrorism dozens of times since 1993, but that has never stopped him from practicing it and now continues to give even insincere commitments to stop.
"Give the Palestinians hope of withdrawal of foreign troops from their homeland, and they will respond."
Those "foreign troops" were out of their lives a year and a half ago; the response of the Palestinian Arabs at that time was to launch their terrorist assault that continues to this day.
The government of Israel at that time offered to leave virtually all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza a year and a half ago, despite the fact that Israel has more legal, moral and historical right to that territory than any other nation or entity; the response of the Palestinian Arabs at that time was to launch their terrorist assault that continues to this day.
Perhaps you are correct, but the evidence so far is that their favorite response it terrorism.
"Give the Israelis hope that the suicide bombings will end, and they will demand that their leader show restraint."
Their leaders have shown restraint for a year and a half, and continue to show restraint. We had one day of terrorist attacks. It changed our lives forever and we have been fighting and bombing those who planned them for seven months with no end in sight. Israel has had a year and a half of constant terrorist attacks, following a half century of merely frequent terrorist attacks, but is pulling its forces back after less than a month.
You are inadvertently correct about one thing, your statement that "long-lasting security for Israel will come only after there is also security for Palestinians." Unfortunately, your implied reasoning is wrong.
Security for the Palestinians will come when they stop massacring innocent Israelis. They know that and you must know that. All Israeli military actions have come in response to Arab attacks or threats of attack. When the Palestinian Arabs are not attacking Israelis, they have nothing to fear from Israel. Thus, security for the Palestinian Arabs is ultimately under their own control and when they, by their actions, enable their own security they will be simultaneously bringing about Israel's security.
Finally, you claim "it's time to approve a fourth U.N. resolution now under consideration. This one would quickly assemble and deploy a multinational force to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli troops, separate both sides and stop suicide bombings."
The United Nations has proven itself incapable of doing anything to prevent Arab terrorism; indeed, its presence has generally been counterproductive.
In coordination with the United Nations, Israel withdrew completely from Lebanese territory about two years ago. The United Nations pledged to keep the border safe. Shortly thereafter, Hizbollah terrorists crossed the border and, while being videotaped by United Nations "peace-keeping" forces, kidnaped three Israelis, whom they later murdered. Not only did the United Nations not do anything to interfere with the terrorists, it for months denied it had a videotape of the crime and, after being caught in that lie, refused to show the videotape to Israel!
Periodically since, under the watchful eye of the United Nations peace-keepers, Hizbollah launches Katyusha missiles across the border at Israeli towns and villages and the United Nations does nothing.
Perhaps the greatest uninvestigated scandal since World War II is the way the so-called refugee camps run by the United Nations have been turned into terrorist bases.
In schools, under the auspices of the United Nations, children are taught about the glory of martyrdom.
When Israeli soldiers went into those refugee camps, whose very existence is a scandal that should bring shame upon that once great hope of mankind, it found hundreds of bomb factories and tons of weapons and munitions. In the camp in Jenin, dozens if not hundreds of homes had been booby-trapped. None of this could have been done without the knowledge of United Nations personnel, since the camps themselves encompass very small areas. Yet the United Nations did nothing, effectively turning itself into, at best, a tool of the terrorists.
Thus, to look to the United Nations as a vehicle to stop terrorist attacks is, at best, naive. Indeed, the very mention of involving the United Nations, given its record, most likely offers encouragement to terrorists around the world.
Peace will come to the portion of the Middle East where Israel lies when the Palestinian Arabs, their allies and their apologists are finally convinced that terrorism will no longer be rewarded and their violence will not enable them to dictate a solution on their terms.
Although clearly unrecognized by the editorial writers of the Hartford Courant, Israel has demonstrated time and time again that it is eager for peace and willing to make far reaching and painful compromises in order to achieve it.
Unfortunately, while peace is the primary goal for Israel and the only real internal disputes are over over how high a price its citizens are willing to pay and whether a given price will actually bring peace, the Arab world is still debating over whether it will even pretend to be interested in peace, regardless of the bribe being offered for it.
Until that changes, peace is the impossible dream; if and when that changes, it will be easy to reach a compromise and peace can come quickly.