An Israeli takes on the Israel lobby:
Avnery: A Question of
Guts
Wednesday, October 31 2001 @ 03:20 AM GMT
The Taliban can rely on three formidable sources of
strength: tough Afghan patriotism that has in the past
beaten the British Empire and ..
By Uri Avnery
The United States is about to be entangled in
Afghanistan.
Gone is the idea that it is possible to vanquish the
Taliban by aerial bombardment. Gone is the illusion
that some tribal fighters, who were given the
grandiose name of the "Northern Coalition", could put
up a real fight, much as the Israelis lost the illusion
that the Phalangists would really fight for them in
Lebanon. Gone is the hope that local warlords would
betray the Taliban and join the Americans.
The Taliban can rely on three formidable sources of
strength: tough Afghan patriotism that has in the past
beaten the British Empire and the Soviet superpower;
extreme Islamic fanaticism; and the tribal loyalty of the
Pashtun, the largest group in the country.
The very poverty of the mountainous country
constitutes a forbidding obstacle to any invader.
Afghanistan may turn out to be a second Vietnam. It
may suck the American army in, causing it to sink into
the morass of an exhausting war of attrition. The aim is
too elusive, with no end in sight. And in the meantime
Osama bin Laden – he or someone else of his kind –
will exploit the growing sympathy for him in the Arab
and Muslim world in order to commit more and more
severe acts of terrorism in the vulnerable United
States.
In this situation, America will need even more to attract
to its side the Arab masses and to fortify the
pro-American Arab regimes that are needed for the
war-coalition. That means: putting an end to the Israeli
occupation that poisons the region and settling, once
and for all, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Arial Sharon has already shown that he is determined
to sabotage this process. He openly challenges the
Bush administration and tells him: Let’s see who’ll blink
first.
One could argue that this is direct help for the Taliban,
spiking the wheels of the American war machine at a
critical time. Sharon doesn’t care. It is much more
important for him to keep the settlements where he
put them and to prevent the establishment of the
Palestinian State Bush spoke about.
Thus the Bush-Sharon contest joins the Bush-Taliban
one. But perhaps the decisive contest will take place in
America itself: between Bush and the pro-Israel lobby.
This lobby is indeed a mighty force. It is enough to stay
a few days in New-York and Washington to gain a
healthy respect for its potency. Just as an illustration:
last week I took part, as an Israeli peace-camp activist,
in a press-conference arranged on Capitol Hill with the
participation of members of Congress. The aim was to
support the appeal by Israeli and American-Jewish
peace organizations urging the US government to
come forward with a resolute peace initiative for the
Middle East, as a part of the war against terrorism.
Dozens of Congressmen and Congresswomen had
promised to attend, but in the end only four gave their
support. The others were frightened off by the lobby.
When I got to the place, I was astounded by the
number of reporters who were there. A battery of TV
cameras was focused on the podium, the
representatives of some of the most important media
had come, too. The press conference itself was not
enough for them, they stood around for a long time
afterwards, asking me questions.
The same thing happened the next day. At the Press
Club, journalists from almost all the important American
newspapers and newspaper-chains came and
questioned me at length about our analyses and
proposals.
What of all of this appeared in the media? You have
guessed right: not a single word. The lobby has
frightened the glorious, free American media,
notwithstanding the fact that the subject concerns the
basic national interest of their country at this critical
juncture.
That is Bush’s real test: Does he have the guts to fight
Sharon and his supporters in the Congress and the
media?
When I visited the State Department on the same day,
I found that people there were skeptical. They all
understood where the essential interest of the United
States lie, but not all were convinced that Collin
Powell’s determined attitude would win the day.
If Bush remains steadfast, he will perceive that all over
the United states new Jewish peace groups have
sprung up to challenge the lobby, demanding an
American peace initiative. The voice of the Israeli peace
movement is also attracting attention.
But at the end of the day, there remains a simple
question: Is there enough political courage in
Washington for the start of a peace initiative that will
serve the national interests of the United States, as
well as the real interests of Israel and Palestine? |
