Double standards

Predictably, the Bush administration refused to condemn Israel's assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

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Following worldwide denunciations of Israel's assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and relentless questions by reporters on where the Bush administration stands on the issue on Monday, US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said that Washington was "deeply troubled" by the attack.

Boucher's statement came hours after National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and White House spokespersons refused to directly answer questioning, merely reiterating that Hamas was a terrorist organisation. While denying any advance knowledge of the attack, Rice said: "Let's remember that Hamas is a terrorist organisation and that Sheikh Yassin has himself personally, we believe, been involved in terrorist planning."

Probably unaware yet of the outrage that Yassin's killing sparked throughout the Arab world, Rice said in statements to an early morning television talk show: "There is always a possibility of a better day in the Middle East. And some of the things that are being talked about by the Israelis about disengagement from areas might provide new opportunities. And so I would hope that nothing will be done that would preclude those new opportunities from emerging."

Rice was referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to unilaterally pull out from the Gaza Strip. US officials have been working on the details of this step with Israeli and Arab officials over the past few weeks.

White House Spokesman Scott McClellan stuck to the same line, refusing to address repeated and direct questions by reporters on whether the United States "condemned" Yassin's assassination. Following is one of many nearly identical exchanges. Reporter: "Does the White House condemn the attack?" McClellan: "I think that, again, what we have said is that Israel has the right to defend herself. But all parties, including Israel, need to keep in mind the consequences of their actions. Again, Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Sheikh Yassin is someone who was personally involved in terrorism."

Boucher, who was the last senior official on that day to reveal Washington's stand took matters a step further, reportedly after pressure by European and Arab allies. "There is no doubt of Israel's right to self-defence against brutal use of terror by Hamas and other organisations. At the same time, we're deeply troubled by this morning's events in Gaza. We do think that this event increases tension, and it doesn't help efforts to resume progress towards peace."

But when pressed on how the administration characterised Yassin's assassination, considering its stated opposition to Israel's policy of targeted killing, Boucher offered a bold answer to end the debate. "I'm not going to try to characterise this event. I think we've said we find it deeply troubling. We find the consequences of this action, in terms of raising tension and making it harder to pursue peace efforts -- those are things of concern to us." When the reporter concerned asked again: "Does the United States condemn the killing?" Boucher replied, "You're asking me to use different words. I've used the words that we want to use."

Although many analysts agree that Yassin's assassination might have indefinitely sidelined any attempt to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Israeli officials who visited Washington on the same day of the assassination were trying to sell US counterparts that it was a necessary step ahead of any pullout from Gaza. US officials were reportedly concerned about who would fill the vacuum in Gaza following a possible Israeli pullout, and Israel believes that Yassin's killing would weaken the militant group in the long run.

In the short to medium term, Tel Aviv is expecting a wave of suicide attacks in which scores of Israelis could be killed. But that seems to be a price the Israeli prime minister is willing to pay. Other Israeli officials said Yassin's killing was necessary in order to refute claims by the Hamas group that any possible withdrawal from Gaza was a result of Palestinian resistance, avoiding a repetition of the South Lebanon scenario, where Hizbullah claimed victory following the Israeli withdrawal in 2000.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who met on Monday with US Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell, also sought to downplay the possible repercussions of Yassin's assassination. He added that the attack was a reflection of a strategic decision Israel took not to differentiate between political and military leaders of militant groups it dubs as "terrorist", namely Hamas and Jihad. When asked whether the same strategy would apply to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Shalom said that was not on Sharon's agenda.

While some US administration officials, particularly in the State Department, said they were "shocked" by Yassin's assassination and expressed serious fears on how that move would influence Washington's agenda in the region, including Iraq and the so-called Greater Middle East Initiative to carry out political and economic reforms, informed sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that other key figures in the Bush administration were not so surprised.

According to these sources, Israel might not have given Washington a specific advance warning on its intent to kill Sheikh Yassin, but it did alert the administration that it was planning major strategic military operations to weaken Hamas ahead of any possible pullout from Gaza. According to press reports, Sharon told members of the Israeli Knesset on Monday that American officials had been aware that significant steps against terror were on the horizon.

"In all meetings with American and other international officials, it was made clear that specifically because we intend to take far-reaching (diplomatic) steps, our actions against terror would become more severe," Sharon said.

US officials said they would continue their intense contacts in coming days with concerned parties in the region, appealing mainly for self-restraint. However, that will depend to a large extent, according to most observers, on the magnitude of Hamas' expected revenge and Israel's reaction.

While aware of the blow Yassin's assassination dealt to current efforts to revive any possible moves on the Palestinian track, US officials said they would also continue to pressure Sharon to provide more details on his plan to pull out from Gaza, while linking it to the roadmap which President Bush adopted last year with the final goal of creating an independent Palestinian state by 2005.

But most observers expect this to be a very difficult task to be added to Bush's overloaded agenda in an election year in which his main priority is to win a second term in the White House. Meanwhile, Sharon's bet seems to be that within the current turmoil in the region, particularly the situation in Iraq, the impact of Yassin's assassination will be muted by other major events, and that the initial wave of Arab outrage will die down with few long-term consequences.

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See:
Focus: Ahmed Yassin