SPEAKING
FREELY How Palestine is dying in
Iraq By Sadi Baig
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"The
more aggressive the [Iraq] attack is, the more it will
help Israel against the Palestinians. The understanding
would be that what is good to do in Iraq, is also good
for here." - Gideon Ezra, Israeli cabinet minister
(Christian Science Monitor, August 2002)
With the Iraq war, a fusion of US and Israeli
interests, intended or not, has come about. The most
important from an Israeli viewpoint is the issue of a
Palestinian state comprising some or all of the occupied
Palestinian territories. With US policy reversal on the
occupied territories, its open and sometimes tacit
support for moves such as building of the "Wall",
assassinations of Hamas' political leadership, and
destruction of Palestinian homes and economic life,
Washington has now tied itself too closely to dissociate
itself from Israeli actions. The ambiguity cultivated so
painstakingly over the years in the Arab mind toward the
US role in the region has all but vaporized.
The
US public perception has never been more unfavorable
toward the Arab and Muslim world as it is now. There is
no dearth of incendiary speeches in the media, which are
manifesting themselves in predictable ways.
Domestically, the Council on American Islamic Relations
reports the number of hate crimes against Muslims in the
United States to have doubled since last year. The Iraq
war widens this chasm with commentators such as Michael
Savage, who runs the third-most-popular radio show in
the US, Savage Nation, openly calling for killing
the "non-human" Arabs and "nuking" Arab capitals,
without fear of the authorities bearing down on him. In
the din of incessant reporting of the incident, Bill
O'Reilly of Fox News called for the US military to "rip
the place apart" when four of its contractors were
killed by a mob in Fallujah. Unsurprisingly, there was
hardly any sympathetic sentiment in the media or
political leadership over the siege and bombardment of
Fallujah in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions,
which resulted in 600-700 fatalities, according to the
Associated Press.
There is no political leader
in the US who can even dare to rap the Israeli
leadership on its knuckles - not that such superficial
measures are going to improve the United States' image
in the Middle East anyway. Recent US abstention from the
United Nations Security Council resolution condemning
the Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in Gaza
looks more a good cop-bad cop routine than a genuine
policy change. In fact there is a precedent, with the US
abstaining many times in the past on council resolutions
critical of Israel. The last such abstention was
regarding Resolution 1435 adopted in September 2002
condemning Israeli attacks on Ramallah. This was around
the same time that war preparations against Iraq were in
full swing, as has been reported widely in the press.
Anti-Israeli resolutions in the Security Council have
never had any moderating influence on Israeli actions,
as they are viewed by Tel Aviv as publicity moves
designed to relieve pressure in the Arab and wider
Muslim world, rather than enduring policy shifts.
Moreover, such condemnations are crucial for permanent
Security Council members France and Britain, the twin
architects of the present-day Middle East, to protect
their political and economic interests by appearing to
support the Arab cause against Israel.
The way
and the speed with which events have unfolded in the
occupied Palestinian territories signal a realization on
the part of the Israeli leadership that it may be time
to begin an incremental purge of the Palestinians from
their homeland. The demographics in the occupied
territories clearly threaten the future of the Jewish
state, and therefore must be changed in Israel's favor.
Israel is therefore not a status quo power, and must
continually strive to alter the status quo to ensure the
protection of its interests. Taking a twisted view of
the prophetic theology of "dispensationalism", Christian
Zionists hold such extreme measures in line with
preparation for the second coming of Christ. Resolutions
in the US House of Representatives and public statements
by Republican leaders such as the now-retired Dick
Armey, the current majority leader Tom Delay, and
Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, openly quoting the
Bible to support his views, speak volumes on the extent
of their support for such actions.
With the
might of the US military encircling them and daily
threats of sanctions, it is unlikely that governments in
the Middle East can and will do anything to stop the
escalating dislocation of Palestinians. US military
presence in the region has a restraining effect on the
regional governments, as the actors would find it
difficult to keep the US out in a possible conflict with
Israel. The US presence is more effective in its
restraining power than its active involvement. It is in
the backdrop of such support that Israel can undertake
drastic actions without inviting armed conflict with its
neighbors. In fact, any subsequent US departure from the
region may even be timed to ensure achievement of
Israeli objectives vis-a-vis the occupied territories.
There is little danger of Israel's neighbors aggregating
into anything formidable, as militarily they are too
weak and are politically divided.
But even if
hostilities were to be feared, Israeli strategists can
be counted on to deliver a pretext that portrays the
conflict as a legitimate defensive action by the US,
with acceleration in driving out the Palestinians as the
desired side-effect. One easy rationale would be covert
Syrian assistance to the Iraqi insurgency, as is being
alleged in the recent bombing of a wedding party in
Mukaradeeb, near the town of al-Qaim in western Iraq
close to the Syrian border. The same can be used against
Iran, along with nuclear allegations, though the
likelihood of Iran getting involved seems low as there
are signs that it is closer to a strategic detente with
the US than ever.
Sure, there is going to be a
lot of fallout in the worsening of public mood toward
the US and Israel in the region over the displacement of
Palestinians. Moreover, governments in the area will
come under great strain to respond to the outcry of
their populace. But in the end the turmoil that will
ensue will have little negative impact, and such
instability may even be beneficial from a strategic
standpoint. Barring drastic reversals in current
policies, this may indeed be the beginning of the end
not just for the hopes of a Palestinian state, but for
the Palestinians as a people in their own land.
As for winning the hearts and minds of Arabs and
Muslims, image-marketing measures offer little help if
the intention is to take what you hold most dear. Such
talk seems to be directed more toward the international
community than Arab and Muslims societies themselves.
Anarchy is not freedom, and democracy sans
sovereignty is a conflict in terms. Positive perception
of the US was central to the grand plan of democratizing
the Middle East. Yet it is utterly confounding that with
Israeli-style search and seizure operations, lack of
transparency regarding oil revenues, bombing of civilian
populations, and widespread prison torture, the US seems
to be undermining the central plank of its own strategy.
Would it be unreasonable to conclude that the stated
policy blocks from view motives too unacceptable to be
publicly revealed?
Israel has never tried to win
any publicity contests in the Arab world, and has always
gotten what it wanted while ignoring international
opprobrium reflected in countless UN General Assembly
and Security Council resolutions. Why can the US not do
the same by doing away with policy decisions of the Cold
War era laden with multilateral niceties, in a clearly
unipolar world?
Sadi Baig is a
freelance political analyst.
(Copyright 2004
Sadi Baig)
Speaking Freely is an Asia
Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say. Please click hereif you
are interested in contributing.
