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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Yaacov who wrote (20427)	9/19/2003 10:40:38 AM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23908

Why Oslo has failed September 19, 2003 worldnetdaily.com This past week marked the 10th anniversary of the Oslo Agreement that set the groundwork for the rapidly folding roadmap to peace. It is doubtful that the many who watched approvingly as Yitzhak Rabin shook the bloodstained hand of Yasser Arafat on the rose garden lawn expected it to end with the worst wave of terrorism in Israel's history. I have to admit that I wept when I heard of the Oslo Agreement. I knew exactly where it would lead. I knew that it would only open the doors for thousands of Palestinian terrorists to finally get inside Israel proper with deadly weapons. In the aftermath, the only thing Israel has learned from this experiment is a lesson for the new generation of Israelis. It was a lesson their fathers were taught in the blood and suffering of five major wars. They learned that peace cannot be negotiated with terrorists. Every prediction made by the political right in 1993 has come true with a vengeance. The more land Israel turned over, the more Yasser Arafat demanded. The more compromises given, the more Arafat was emboldened to go for all of Jerusalem and the whole of Israel. The restraint Israel has been forced to display because of outside interference – led by the United States and the United Nations – the more the Muslims interpreted it as weakness. And this is the most dangerous miscalculation that can be given to them. The most enduring obstacle to peace, according to the Palestinians, is Israeli settlements, like the one in Hebron. Isn't it interesting how the ethnic cleansing of their territory of Jews can be an acceptable obstacle to peace to the international community? The Palestinian policy of driving all Jews out of what they call their territory is a blatant demonstration of "ethnic cleansing." Just imagine the international repercussions if Israel sought to ethnically cleanse its territory of all Arabs. Doesn't this make you think about how unbalanced things are? But for most people, this kind of thing just goes right over their heads. Here is the real problem why Oslo and all other attempts to negotiate peace with the Palestinians have failed. It isn't the Jewish settlements in Hebron that are the obstacle to peace. It is the Jewish settlements in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tiberius, Caesarea, and everywhere else that are the real barrier to peace, according to the predominant Muslim view. As long as there are Jews anywhere, except floating face down in the Mediterranean, Arafat will call their presence an "obstacle to peace." Oslo envisioned a Palestinian state emerging after a gradual process of reconciliation. Instead, the opposite has happened. The Palestinian leadership made a strategic decision to create a Palestine not through negotiations, but through blood and fire. The Palestinian goal of the last three years has been to demoralize the Israeli people through terrorism and force a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the territories. So far, the Palestinian strategy has failed dismally. The result of Palestinian aggression has been the hardening of Israeli resolve and the near-total destruction of the infrastructure of a future Palestinian state. And as long as Yasser Arafat remains on his throne in Ramallah, Israel has little choice but to fight the war that is constantly forced upon them. The current war isn't a "cycle of violence." It is the Israeli response to the relentless murder of its civilians by Palestinian terrorists. It is also Israel's necessary response to convince the Palestinians that terrorism will not lead to Israel's destruction, but to the Palestinian's. Thus far, Israel has shown superhuman restraint. But if Israel is finally forced to fight for its survival, it has the capability of obliterating the Palestinian elements who will not forsake terrorism – including the Muslim patrons of terror in the surrounding countries. And that day is fast approaching.

To: Yaacov who wrote (20427)	9/22/2003 8:46:11 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 23908

Iran Shows Off Missile Might Amid Nuclear Fears Mon Sep 22,11:33 AM ET By Christian Oliver story.news.yahoo.com. TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran, under pressure to dispel fears it is developing nuclear arms, Monday paraded six of its newly deployed medium-range missiles, which military analysts say could reach Israel or U.S. bases in the Gulf. It was the largest number of Shahab-3 ballistic missiles put on public display since Iran announced in July it had finished testing the weapon and deployed it to the Revolutionary Guards. The sand-colored Shahab-3 ballistic missiles, towed along to the accompaniment of rousing military music, were the climax of a lengthy parade to commemorate the start of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq (news - web sites) war. Iran's reformist President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) said the show of strength should not be read as saber-rattling. "The Islamic Republic of Iran's policy is based on detente," he said at the parade led by disabled war veterans. "We are opposed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons but we insist on our absolute right to be powerful in the scientific and technological arena." Uzi Rubin, former director of Israel's Arrow anti-ballistic missile system program, said Iran's Shahab-3 was a clear threat to the Jewish state. "The (Shahab's) increased range covers the whole of Israel, north to south, from deployment areas deep within Iran, and thus increases concern as to what would happen if such missiles were armed with WMD warheads," he told Reuters. Television pictures showed one of the missile carriers displayed a defiant message in bold letters on a giant yellow banner facing Khatami. "We will stamp on America," it read. NO NUCLEAR ARMS PROGRAM Iran insists its nuclear scientists are not working on a weapons program but trying to meet soaring electricity demand. U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declined to comment on the missiles. The IAEA Governing Board has given Iran until the end of October to dispel doubts that its stated policy of developing nuclear energy was not a cover for building atomic arms. Hard-liners in Iran say Tehran should follow North Korea (news - web sites)'s example and pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty rather than cave in to international pressure. But Mohsen Aminzadeh, deputy foreign minister for Asia-Pacific affairs and seen as a close aide to the reform-minded Khatami, said Iran must regain international trust by signing the NPT Additional Protocol for snap inspections of nuclear sites. "America accuses us of having a clandestine nuclear program. We deny it but that is not enough to neutralize America's plots against us," he said. "If there is no other way to change the negative atmosphere created by America against Iran but accepting the Additional Protocol, then accepting the protocol is beneficial for us," he told the official IRNA news agency. Based on the North Korean Nodong-1 and modified with Russian technology, the Shahab-3 is thought to have a range of 810 miles. Iran says it is intended to serve purely as a deterrent and has not declared how many Shahab-3 it has been able to manufacture. Military analysts say questions remain about its reliability and accuracy. It was the largest number of Shahab-3 ballistic missiles put on public display since Iran announced in July it had finished testing the weapon and deployed it to the Revolutionary Guards. The sand-colored Shahab-3 ballistic missiles, towed along to the accompaniment of rousing military music, were the climax of a lengthy parade to commemorate the start of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq (news - web sites) war. Iran's reformist President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) said the show of strength should not be read as saber-rattling. "The Islamic Republic of Iran's policy is based on detente," he said at the parade led by disabled war veterans. "We are opposed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons but we insist on our absolute right to be powerful in the scientific and technological arena." Uzi Rubin, former director of Israel's Arrow anti-ballistic missile system program, said Iran's Shahab-3 was a clear threat to the Jewish state. "The (Shahab's) increased range covers the whole of Israel, north to south, from deployment areas deep within Iran, and thus increases concern as to what would happen if such missiles were armed with WMD warheads," he told Reuters. Television pictures showed one of the missile carriers displayed a defiant message in bold letters on a giant yellow banner facing Khatami. "We will stamp on America," it read. NO NUCLEAR ARMS PROGRAM Iran insists its nuclear scientists are not working on a weapons program but trying to meet soaring electricity demand. U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declined to comment on the missiles. The IAEA Governing Board has given Iran until the end of October to dispel doubts that its stated policy of developing nuclear energy was not a cover for building atomic arms. Hard-liners in Iran say Tehran should follow North Korea (news - web sites)'s example and pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty rather than cave in to international pressure. But Mohsen Aminzadeh, deputy foreign minister for Asia-Pacific affairs and seen as a close aide to the reform-minded Khatami, said Iran must regain international trust by signing the NPT Additional Protocol for snap inspections of nuclear sites. "America accuses us of having a clandestine nuclear program. We deny it but that is not enough to neutralize America's plots against us," he said. "If there is no other way to change the negative atmosphere created by America against Iran but accepting the Additional Protocol, then accepting the protocol is beneficial for us," he told the official IRNA news agency. Based on the North Korean Nodong-1 and modified with Russian technology, the Shahab-3 is thought to have a range of 810 miles. Iran says it is intended to serve purely as a deterrent and has not declared how many Shahab-3 it has been able to manufacture. Military analysts say questions remain about its reliability and accuracy.