Here it really depends on whether you believe that terrorists are more encouraged by strength or weakness on our part (and trust me on this one, these guys read restraint as weakness).
Have you ever wondered what is perceived as the greater weakness to the credibility and national interest of the US: the perception that we are "afraid" to confront the Islamic fundamentalists or the perception that our foreign policy in the Mideast is dictated by the pro-Israeli lobby?
U.S. Asks Sharon To End Siege at Arafat Compound
Standoff Seen as Threat to Iraq Policy
washingtonpost.com
By Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, September 28, 2002; Page A17
JERUSALEM, Sept. 27 -- President Bush has sent a personal message to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urging him to quickly end the Israeli army siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in his Ramallah compound, a Western diplomat said today.
The message, delivered by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Daniel Kurtzer, comes as the White House is growing increasingly concerned that the standoff at Arafat's compound is hurting efforts to build support for a military campaign against Iraq, according to diplomats, Israeli analysts and Palestinians.
The Bush message was followed by telephone calls from his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
The siege of Arafat's compound, including the demolition of several buildings, began Sept. 19 after a suicide bus bombing in Tel Aviv killed six people and the bomber.
The Bush administration has told Sharon that the continued blockading of Arafat, behind barbed wire in a single remaining building of his headquarters, was directly affecting the Iraq policy, the diplomats and others said.
They noted Israel's continued defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an end to the siege was undercutting Bush's attempts to build international, and particularly Arab, support for military action against Saddam Hussein for defying U.N. resolutions on disarmament.
"The Israelis know that [Iraq] is the big game in town," said the Western diplomat. "This has hurt us, no question about it."
"You had a Security Council debate on this issue," the diplomat said, referring to the Ramallah siege. "Now four days after that resolution, you don't have any compliance. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out the connection."
Sharon was also told that quick Israeli compliance with the U.N. resolution would give the Bush administration "tremendous ammunition" to use in discussions with potential allies in the Iraq debate, the diplomat said.
Sharon, however, has not budged, insisting repeatedly that the siege will not end until Arafat hands over "wanted" fugitives inside the compound. In a lengthy interview published today in the Jerusalem Post, Sharon called the current clash with Washington a "disagreement" among friends, and he disputed any connection between the Ramallah siege and the Iraq issue.
"I do not believe there is any connection between the Palestinian problem and the need to deal with Iraq as a terror center and a center for the development of weapons of mass destruction," Sharon said. "These are two completely separate issues. There is no connection between the two." He accused Palestinians and Arab countries of trying to "blackmail" Washington by linking the two issues.
Others said they believe the two issues are already linked.
"I think it's hurting their policy on Iraq," said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator. He said the Palestinians would not hand over to Israel anyone inside the Arafat compound. Erekat said that to end the stalemate, "it's really up to the Americans."
"It's up to the president of the United States to call [Sharon] and say 'enough is enough,' " Erekat said. "The Americans are really [angered] by this. They have sent the ambassador, but it really needs Bush to call."
A growing debate is taking place within the Israeli defense establishment -- reflected in reports in the Israeli press -- over the wisdom of this latest siege of Arafat. Some critics in the military reportedly have expressed reservations about the operation, saying Arafat was likely to emerge stronger at a time when his leadership was under serious challenge from the Palestinian legislature and from his own Fatah faction.
Some analysts agree that Sharon cannot afford to alienate Washington if a direct call to end the siege comes from Bush, but even that is not certain.
"If the Bush administration works itself into a state, then obviously Israel can only withstand American pressure to a point," said Yossi Klein Haveli, an Israeli journalist. "The question facing Israel today is: What is worse, defying Washington or rewarding Arafat?"
The siege appears set to continue indefinitely, with no negotiations planned and Sharon leaving Sunday for a three-day trip to Russia.
"The two sides aren't talking to each other," said one diplomat. "The word we can use is impasse."
The Associated Press reported from Jerusalem:
Defying curfews, hundreds of Palestinians marched in West Bank cities today, marking the second anniversary of their uprising against Israel and its increasingly tight grip on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
At a rally in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at rock throwing youths , but a larger group of demonstrators peacefully beat drums and chanted anti-Israel slogans.
Despite the curfews, about 500 people, many of them waving Palestinian flags, marched in Nablus and 200 others marched in the nearby Balata refugee camp to commemorate the start of the uprising and to express support for Arafat. Hundreds also gathered in Bethlehem, one of only two major West Bank cities not under curfew.
Palestinian factions said they would keep their gunmen away from the anniversary demonstrations, and a festive atmosphere prevailed among most of the 600 demonstrators in Ramallah, who sang, beat drums and brought children -- a contrast to the bitter tone of earlier protests.
In the Gaza Strip, a 15-year-old Palestinian was critically wounded after being shot in the head, and three others were injured after throwing rocks and bottles at Israeli soldiers, doctors said. The Israeli army said soldiers fired in the air after youths threw firecrackers. |
