21 - 27 March 2002
Issue No.578
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 21 - 27 March 2002 Issue No.578 |
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The bankruptcy of force
Marwan Bishara *recommends Vice-President Dick Cheney to adopt a rather different approach to Arab politics
Attn Mr Vice-President,
Rumour has it that you enjoy more influence over your boss, George W, than any other vice-president in recent memory. A man of few words, you are also known to be a good listener. I hope that your marathon tour of the region has provided you with the opportunity to hear out the well-founded grievances against Israel and your country.
In the event that any of those complaints are unclear, allow me to sum them up. In a nutshell, the Arabs are telling you that if the Middle East is to be safe for America, it must be first safe for the Arabs. And by the same token, if Israel and the Israelis are to feel secure in the region, the Palestinians must enjoy the same fundamental rights to security and safety.
In the present circumstances, no Arab and no Palestinian feels safe or secure. America's blockade of Iraq and Israeli closures of the Palestinian territories are plunging the region into instability. Repeated Israeli invasions of Palestinian territories and the spectre of an American invasion of Iraq are only feeding the fires of hatred and conflict.
Contrary to your comments in London, in which you said that only "certain" people think that the issues of Palestine/Israel and Iraq are connected, I believe that every Arab leader that you have spoken to would have impressed this view on you. Why does the entire Arab world see the connection but you don't?
To avoid any confusion regarding this linkage, allow me to express a sentiment that is widespread among Arabs. As Arabs, we feel and believe that we are the target of a ceaseless Israeli and American assault that is at times coordinated. And regardless of the excuses for the aggression, the result is always the same: our humiliation, degradation and subjugation, as exemplified by the cases of Iraq and the Palestinians.
Each decade during the last 50 years, America (and Israel) have demonised a certain figure and then forced the region to choose: either him or us. In 1958 it was the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel- Nasser, in 1968 it was Yasser Arafat, a decade later it was the Ayatollah Khomeini and then in 1989 it was Saddam Hussein. The most recent personage is Osama Bin Laden.
The choice has become more difficult with time. It was easy for the Arabs to stand by Nasser, and later by Arafat, each of whom emerged following the Arabs defeat at the hands of Israel. Forcing the region to choose between you and your ex-client Bin Laden is ridiculous. In fact the Arabs are not really being given a choice at all when they are asked to decide between terrorism -- for which they have been the primary victims -- or your "war on terrorism," which is directed primarily against the Arabs.
There is a third option, however. Instead, the US should work to foster prosperity so as to pave the way for the creation of civil society and political representation. Such an approach is the only way to achieve and guarantee regional security for the long-term. Force will not achieve these goals.
Consequently, the Arabs are not eager for the US to address the question of Palestine if that means paving the way for another attack on Iraq. Such a move would be condemned by the majority as immoral, illegal and just plain stupid.
The US has in its Middle East policy been emulating Israel by basing its vision on the logic of force. Supporting Israel's military aggression against the Palestinians and threatening another war against Iraq will not bring peace and stability, nor will it make the region safe for Israel and America.
Despite the US's power, it cannot afford to continue supporting the aggression by a hooligan armed with nuclear weapons. It's not good for stability, and it's not good for business. Free trade, and trade in oil, is best served by a climate of stability. The Arabs will always need to sell their oil and the West requires a steady supply -- remember supply and demand?
Excessive use of force in the absence of a coherent political vision can only bring more violence and insecurity.
It has become clear in recent years that security cannot be entrusted to a weak Palestinian entity that has no intention of acting as a humiliated collaborator on land amounting to less than 20 per cent of the occupied West Bank. Similarly, it is clear that Palestinian security is not assured in the hands of a strong colonial Israel, governed as it is by religious fundamentalists and radical nationalists who act with impunity.
The proximity of Israeli settlements to Palestinian communities is drawing civilians into the low intensity warfare between the two sides. And the violence is perpetuated by consecutive acts of revenge. Unless Israel withdraws its settlements from the occupied territories, it will be impossible to separate Palestinians and Israelis. Of course, separation should not be confused with the present segregation of the Palestinians.
In the current context, a cease-fire that does not include a clear Israeli commitment for withdrawal will only reinforce the occupation and lead to further suffering and bloodshed. If the mission of Anthony Zinni, America's special envoy, focuses on a "cessation of violence," it is doomed to fail because such a goal actually translates into nothing more than maintaining the occupation. After 18 months of the Intifada, no Palestinian under occupation would accept a stipulation that an Israeli soldier or settler in the occupied territories should be protected. And if they say they do, they are lying.
The only way to end the violence in Palestine is for Israel to withdraw the settlements and for the international community to deploy a force of observers in the occupied territories. A "vision of a state" is good news, but only if such a state is viable. There is no point in speaking of a state if its land is being confiscated or the buildings on it razed. Palestinians and Iraqis have the right to exercise their right to a state and leadership of their choice -- without foreign interference.
* The writer teaches at the American University in Paris and is the author of Palestine/Israel: Peace or Apartheid.
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