4 -10 April 2002
Issue No.580
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 4 -10 April 2002 Issue No.580 |
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They speak as one
Arab leaders' extensive contacts with the US administration have failed to stop Israel's monstrous attacks on Arafat or prevent Israeli soldiers from raiding his home and offices, killing his guards, capturing his assistants and subjecting him to the humiliation that has given Sharon such pleasure in the past few days.
Appalled by the course of events, every Arab leader has spoken to President Bush and received reassurances that of course the Israeli violence must stop, Sharon's soldiers must be prevented from harming Arafat and the mayhem Israel's troops and tanks have caused in Palestinian towns and camps must come to an end. The implementation of the latest Security Council resolution stipulating Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and the cessation of violence from both sides was also stressed during each contact.
However, it has become clear that there is a communication problem between Bush and the Arab leaders, none of whom understand the American president's way of thinking. After every crisis, Bush's statements contradict what he told the Arab leaders, and justify Sharon's murderous rampage, stress the US administration's intention to back Israeli plans, blame Arafat and reiterate the imperative need to "fight terror everywhere." One would think Sharon was speaking.
Early this week, as Israeli tanks besieged Arafat's headquarters and menaced the Palestinian leader, Bush was making statements from his Texas ranch that revealed he had no idea what was happening on the ground. Then again, maybe he does understand, but refuses to take any action that would hinder Sharon's plans of getting rid of Arafat. Anthony Zinni, who allegedly came to the region to help both sides stop the violence and implement the Mitchell recommendations, only paved the way for Israel's military operations after trying to make arrangements different from the ones Tenet had put in place.
Bush's and Sharon's aims meet to a large degree. From the very beginning, Bush's unilateralist tendencies have shocked his European allies. He takes decisions and wages wars without consulting his allies or taking their interests into consideration. Former US President Jimmy Carter described Bush's evaluation of the US strategic position as naive and shallow, and warned it will take years to undo the diplomatic damage he is causing.
After 11 September, Bush's anachronistic knee- jerk patriotism bloomed. Instead of attempting to eliminate the political, social and economic roots of terrorism, Bush has declared war on a phenomenon that has no armies or weapons -- a problem fostered by desperation, oppression, neo- colonialism and US hegemony.
In this context, he could find no better ally than Sharon. Israel's right wing has proved the best ally of the new US policy. Sharon has always been a staunch supporter of force to solve the Palestinian problem and regards Arafat and the PA as terrorists to be expelled or extirpated. Israel needs no peace treaties -- it has enough military power to face the Palestinians and the Arab countries combined.
In this light, of course Bush "understands" Sharon's military campaign against the Palestinians. After all, Bush is pursuing precisely the same policy in what he calls the war against terrorism and the axis of evil. Bush and Sharon speak the same language -- a language the Arab leaders are still unable to understand, and which will have very serious repercussions on the Arab world.
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