Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Avnery: A Trap for Fools

A Trap for Fools 
 
by Uri Avnery 
In a classical American Western, the difference is as glaring as the
midday sun in Colorado: there are Good Guys and Bad Guys. The good ones
are the settlers, who are making the prairie bloom. The bad ones are the
Indians, who are bloodthirsty savages. The ultimate hero is the cowboy,
tough, humane, with a big revolver or two, ready to defend himself at all
times. 
George Bush, who grew up on this myth, sticks to it even now, when he is
the leader of the world's only superpower. This week he presented the
world with an up-to-date Western.
In this Western – or, rather, Middle Eastern – there are also Good Guys
and Bad Guys. The good ones are the "moderates," who are the allies of the
U.S. in the Middle East – Israel, Mahmoud Abbas, and the pro-American Arab
regimes. The bad ones are Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, and al-Qaeda.
It is a simple script. So simple, indeed, that an 8-year-old can
understand it. The conclusions are also simple: the good guys have to be
supported, the bad guys have to bite the dust. At the end, the hero –
George himself – will ride off into the sunset on his noble steed, while
the music reaches a crescendo.
The classical Western, of course, does not show us the heroic pioneers
stealing the land from the Indians. Or the United States Cavalry attacking
the camps of the Indians, burning down the tents and killing their
inhabitants, men, women, and children. How the U.S. government, after
signing formal treaties with the Indian nations, breaks them one after
another. And how it drives the remnants into desolate regions, long before
the term "ethnic cleansing" was first used.
Denial runs through the classical Western like a purple thread, as it does
through this speech of Bush's. This finds its main expression in a simple
fact: the occupation is hardly mentioned at all.
In the Palestinian community, for example, there is a struggle between the
"moderates" and the "extremists." The extremists are killers. Why are they
killers? There is no why. They are killers because they are killers. It's
in their nature. They were just born that way. The moderates are moderates
because they are moderates. Some people are just born good.
So the whole problem is a Palestinian problem. They must decide. They must
choose between moderates and extremists. If they choose the moderates,
they will get everything they can imagine: colorful glass beads and
gallons of whisky. If they choose the extremists, their end will be bitter.
The Jewish Israelis do not have to choose between good and bad. Why?
Simply because there are no Bad Guys among them. They are just good. They
must help the good Palestinians. "Release" the Palestinian tax moneys and
give them to "Prime Minister [Salem] Fayad." Not to the Palestinian
government, but to one specific, named person, the darling of Bush.
What else is required from the Israelis? They must understand that their
"future lies in developing areas like the Negev and Galilee – not in
continuing occupation of the West Bank." (That's the only time the
occupation is mentioned at all.) They should remove unauthorized outposts
and end settlement expansion. Also, they may "find other practical ways to
reduce their footprint [in the West Bank] without reducing their
security." Meaning: the occupation can continue, but it would be nice if
we take some steps to make it less visible.
A long time ago, the United States viewed all settlements as illegal. When
the Israeli government continued to expand them, James Baker, the
secretary of state under Bush the father, imposed financial sanctions upon
Israel. Bush the son at first demanded that all settlements established
after January 2001 be dismantled. Later he withdrew all opposition to the
settlement blocs ("centers of population"). In the "Road Map," he decreed
that Israel must immediately freeze the enlargement of the settlements.
Now he is satisfied with a sanctimonious request to "remove unauthorized
outposts" (with no article) – that's to say, some of those put up without
the official authorization of the Israeli government itself. All this
without "or else" or any mention of sanctions.
In the last few years, only one such outpost, Amona, has been dismantled,
and this week Ehud Olmert decided to pardon all the fanatics accused of
attacking the police during that event. The Israeli government knows that
Bush is only paying lip service, and it does not take him seriously.
In many classical Westerns there appears a crook selling a patent medicine
to heal all ills: headaches and hemorrhoids, tuberculosis and syphilis.
George Bush has his own patent medicine, which appears in the speech again
and again. It will heal all diseases and ensure the final victory of the
Sons of Light over the Sons of Darkness.
The label on the bottle says "Building Palestinian Institutions."
How come we didn't think of this until now? Why did we go chasing off
after all kinds of solutions and not find this one, so simple, lying in
front of us for all to see?
It is an egg of Columbus, with a whiff of Alexander the Great's sword
cutting the Gordian knot. The Palestinians have no institutions. The two
good people, "President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayad … are striving to
build the institutions of a modern democracy." This means: "security
services … ministries that deliver services without corruption … steps
that unleash the natural enterprise of the Palestinian people … the rule
of law…"
All this under occupation, behind roadblocks, walls, and fences, while the
main roads are barred to Palestinians, while the West Bank is chopped into
pieces and cut off from the rest of the world. By the way, in this matter
Bush has another patent medicine: all Palestinian exports will in future
go through Jordan and Egypt, not Israel.
In order to realize the vision of "building Palestinian institutions,"
Bush is sending along his poodle. According to Bush, the sole task of Tony
Blair is indeed this: "to coordinate international efforts to help the
Palestinians establish the institutions of a strong and lasting free
society." (Like which example? Egypt? Saudi Arabia? Jordan? Pakistan?
Morocco? Or perhaps even Iraq?)
Let's hope no one is rude enough to mention the fact that the Palestinians
held democratic elections for their parliament, not so long ago, under the
strict supervision of ex-president Jimmy Carter. As far as Bush is
concerned, that just did not happen, since the majority of the people
voted for Hamas. Therefore, Bush mentions only the elections held before
that, when Mahmoud Abbas was elected president, practically without
opposition. Everything else has been wiped off the slate.
So this is the up-to-date vision: "democratic Palestinian institutions"
will be in place, free of corruption (as in the U.S. and Israel), and
"capable security forces" will be functioning, and Hamas will be
eliminated, and the armed factions will be dismantled, and all attacks on
Israel will be stopped, and the security of Israel will be ensured, and
the incitement against Israel will end, and everybody will recognize
Israel's right to exist as "a Jewish state and a homeland for the Jewish
people," and all the agreements that were signed in the past will be
accepted – then "we can soon begin serious negotiations towards the
creation of a Palestinian state." Wow!
What a wonderful sentence! "Soon" – without a timetable. "Serious
negotiations" – without fixing a date for their conclusion. "A Palestinian
state" (again, without the definite article, which Bush seems to detest) –
without specific borders. But a hint is given: "mutually agreed borders
reflecting previous lines and current realities, and mutually agreed
adjustments." Meaning: the settlement blocs and much else will be annexed
by Israel.
IT SEEMS as if the speechwriters, after finishing the product, noticed
that it was pitifully devoid of content. Nothing new, nothing that could
cause a self-respecting newspaper to give it a headline.
I imagine the media adviser saying: "Mister President, we must add
something that will look new." Thus the "international meeting" was born.
"So I will call together an international meeting this fall of
representatives from nations that support a two-state solution, reject
violence, recognize Israel's right to exist, and commit to all previous
agreements between the parties. The key participants in this meeting will
be the Israelis, the Palestinians, and their neighbors in the region.
Secretary Rice will chair the meeting."
Wonderful. A meeting that has no date yet, but has a season of the year.
And for which no location has yet been fixed. And no list of participants.
And no planned conclusions, except the general statement: "She
[Condoleezza] and her counterparts will review the progress that has been
made towards building Palestinian institutions. They will look for
innovative and effective ways to support further reform. And they will
provide diplomatic support for the parties in their bilateral discussions
and negotiations, so that we can move forward on a successful path to a
Palestinian state." The meeting will not review the progress made toward
the removal of the outposts, for example.
It is not by accident that Bush omitted to identify the governments he
intends to invite. Clearly, he will try to fulfill one of the most
cherished dreams of Olmert: to meet publicly with a top representative of
Saudi Arabia. For Olmert this would be an immense achievement: an official
meeting with the most important Arab country which has no peace agreement
with Israel. A meeting for which he will not have to pay any price. A free
lunch.
It is dubious whether this wish will be fulfilled. The Saudis are very
cautious. They do not want to quarrel with any party in the region – not
with Syria (which will not be invited, though it is a "neighbor" of the
Israelis and the Palestinians) and not with Hamas. Unlike Egypt, Jordan,
and the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia cannot be bribed with money.
It has enough of its own.
The final objective is a "Palestinian state," the "two-state solution."
That is a far-far-off aim. Not for nothing is it called a "political
horizon," since a horizon, as is well-known, recedes in the distance as
one tries to approach it.
In his poem "If," Rudyard Kipling describes all the tests an Englishman
has to endure in order to be considered a "man." One of them is: "If you
can bear to hear the truth you've spoken/Twisted by knaves to make a trap
for fools…."
We, the small group of Israelis who raised the banner of the "two-state
solution" more than 50 years ago, now have to endure George Bush turning
it into a rag to cover his nakedness. In his mouth, it is an empty,
deceitful, and mendacious slogan. Only a fool will fall into this trap.
As Chaim Weizmann, the prominent Zionist leader and first president of
Israel, once said: "No state is given to a people on a silver platter."
The Palestinians, too, will not get their state without struggle, not as
baksheesh from Bush nor as a '"gesture" from Olmert. Nations achieve their
freedom by political or military struggle. Every struggle, violent or
nonviolent, is a matter of power.
And power means first of all: Unity.
 
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Capito un caiser! :D
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R.

 Capito un caiser! :D
tiè rileggilo e concentrati di piu'. Riposa tra un rigo e un altro eh mi
raccomando.


 midday sun in Colorado: there are Good Guys and Bad Guys. The good ones
Certo, certo...
*Pat Pat*
Disse il bue... :D
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R.