26 April - 2 May 2001
Issue No.531
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 April - 2 May 2001 Issue No.531 |
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Imminent war
Many have dismissed the possibility of a regional war breaking out in the Middle East as a result of the collapse of the peace process and Israel's military operations against the Intifada. Their argument is that the US would intervene to prevent it. Perhaps Israel's outrageous military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, and those it has undertaken against Lebanon and Syria, do not qualify as war in the open, public sense of the word. In fact, they are far worse than systematic war, closer in nature to ultra-modern guerrilla warfare where whole armies (complete with advanced missiles, tanks and aircraft) are employed in a ceaseless series of hit-and-run operations.
In this war Israel has shamelessly exploited its sweeping military superiority over unarmed youngsters, bringing them down with machine guns, invading lands under Palestinian sovereignty, razing houses and police stations, then withdrawing a few hours later as if nothing had happened -- as if brutal military force had not been used against unarmed civilians.
Last week, after US Secretary of State Colin Powell made so bold as to accuse Ariel Sharon (a known war criminal, let it be remembered) of using excessive force against the Palestinians, Israeli forces finally withdrew from Palestinian lands, switching instead to a new tactic: an indefinite series of limited-range, short-term operations to destroy the infrastructure of Gaza and West Bank towns, terrorise civilians, assassinate "suspects" and curtail the sovereignty of the Palestinian Authority with a view to destroying it. Following each attack, Israeli forces make a speedy exit. The tactic thus enables Israel to occupy and reoccupy Palestinian territory, inflicting the greatest possible losses on the Palestinians without any risk to itself.
This continues despite Sharon's shrieks, echoed by the US, that Israel is defending itself against Palestinian violence.
Such tactics, which America permits by blocking any attempt on the part of the UN Security Council to send protection forces or even international observers to the Israeli-Palestinian borders, are far worse than war, since they permit Israeli aggression to proceed unchecked, blaming those who are defending themselves instead. More importantly, Israel is escalating violence in the region, making it likely that war will break out before the US can do anything to stop it. President Bashar Al-Assad's warning that Arab self-control is pointless if President Bush and his administration cannot recognise Israel's acts of aggression and violations of international law was appropriate. Syria has rightly reserved the right to counter Israel's attack on a Syrian radar station in the Lebanese Beqaa Valley.
Still, nobody expects Bush's administration to come out and condemn Israeli aggression. It is also wrong to believe that a word from Colin Powell can make Sharon stop his murderous antics. It was no more than a little friendly advice, a suggestion that Israel should alter its tactics to suit American strategy in the region, which evidently sees no harm in a quiet little war masquerading as unspecified "violence," or as nothing at all.
The Arabs possess nothing more than the power to condemn, but we should at least call things by their names and denounce the US endorsement of Israeli violence. Commentators have said that Bush has washed his hands of the matter. In reality, of course, the president is merely hiding his blood-stained hands behind his back. The Arabs who contributed to his electoral campaign can only blame themselves.
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