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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tekboy who wrote (27066)	4/25/2002 10:46:34 PM
From: Zeuspaul	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

There's a lot of stuff in there that's horrible, that should not have happened There should be a full investigation. Israel should conduct the investigation. However Israel has denied access to the press and has denied access to the UN. It is obvious Israel has something to hide and will not conduct an unbiased investigation. Israel made the decision to hide from the press and should now pay the consequences. IMO the burden of proof now lies with Israel to prove war crimes were not committed. If war crimes are uncovered there should be prosecutions. Israel demands that the Palestinians prosecute their own for their war crimes. Israel should do no less with themselves.

To: tekboy who wrote (27066)	4/25/2002 10:55:53 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

It is devoutly to be wished that neutral third parties, to the extent this is possible, investigate. I am resolved to withhold judgment until that is accomplished.

To: tekboy who wrote (27066)	4/25/2002 11:07:14 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Respond to of 281500

tb, I agree with your comments and add a third 3) Assuming these reports are accurate, and not more rumor-mongering by the Independent. Considering their previous coverage, they don't inspire much confidence. Any rumor will do if it looks bad for Israel. A single pathologist looking at the placement of two bullet holes in a corpse is enough. Turning military defeats into diplomatic victories with the connivance of the press is an old game in the Middle East.

To: tekboy who wrote (27066)	4/26/2002 6:27:33 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

The Saudi message A BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL 4/26/2002 boston.com THE SAUDI royal family was engaged in a certain amount of posturing when it had highly placed sources leak authoritative warnings about a rupture in Saudi-US relations during the run-up to Crown Prince Abdullah's visit yesterday with President Bush at his Texas ranch. The Saudi royals can hardly risk a break with their ultimate protectors in Washington. Their true intent - to show that they have the clout to persuade Bush to cease identifying the United States with the policies of Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon - was evident in their lobbying with old American friends. On Tuesday Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal and veteran Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan lunched with former President George Bush, who in 1990 and 1991 saved them from Saddam Hussein. On Thursday, while Prince Abdullah was conversing with the current President Bush and his advisers, a Saudi Embassy spokesman denied a report in The New York Times that Riyadh was threatening to suspend oil exports to the United States, as Saddam has done. Despite the royal family's dependence on a partnership with Washington that dates back more than a half-century, it would be a mistake for the current administration to ignore the message of anxiety coming from the Saudi monarchy. The Saudi leaders are trying to warn the administration that day after day, their youthful, discontented population is watching awful images on Arab satellite television of Sharon's assault on Palestinian cities and refugee camps. Those images induce a deep anger - emotion that can easily be turned against the monarchy. The crux of the Saudi message is that if the administration wants to keep its royal friends in power, Bush must demonstrate that he is willing and able to rein in Sharon. Otherwise the Saudi royals will be exposed before their subjects not merely as rapacious, unrepresentative rulers but as dupes of their American allies. The Saudis certainly have the entree necessary to make their panic attack known at the highest levels of the American government. What is less certain is Bush's readiness to grasp the gravity of the threat to American as well as Saudi interests. In this instance, American interests as well as the genuine long-term interests of Israel and the Palestinians converge. There are dovish members of the Israeli Knesset who want Bush to stop Sharon from driving Israelis, Palestinians, and their neighbors toward an avalanche of regional instability. Bush needs to intervene forcefully in the Mideast, as his father did when preparing the Madrid peace conference of 1991. An American peace will have to be imposed on the region - not for the sake of the Saudi royals but for all the children of Palestinians and Israelis. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.