| It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood |
|
|
|
By Jay Bushinsky But a visit to the Jewish state and a foray into the Palestinian Authority were not on his diplomatic agenda neither then nor now. One gets the impression that Israel has been sidelined at best or is being pushed out of the loop at worst. The Obama Administration seems to prefer tough talk to social grace in dealing with the Israelis while its attitude toward the Palestinians apparently needs little if any personal backup. It believes they are ready for a state of their own and that its establishment is a strategic American interest -- the sooner the better. This was made crystal clear to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his tense and partly discordant meeting with the President May 18. The vision of a "two-state solution" inherited from his predecessor was revoked with unprecedented vehemence, not only by the chief executive, but also by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. To help make it come true, the U.S. has been building a military infrastructure for the projected Palestinian regime -- investing millions of dollars in arming and training a Palestinian police force partly modeled on Israel's quasi-military border police force. Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, who is is in charge of this project, already has three brigades ready to go into action and hopes to have seven more up to speed by the time his newly-extended assignment is completed in 2011. During the remaining two years of his stint here, Gen. Dayton reportedly will serve as U.S. Peace Envoy George Mitchell's deputy. Mitchell is opening a permanent office here for the duration of his mission. According to the daily Yediot Aharonot's astute military affairs columnist, Alex Fischman, these contingents will not be able to challenge the Israeli armed forces or prevent them from operating in the West Bank whenever Israeli security requires such action, but they could be a dangerous obstacle. Netanyahu does not believe that the current situation justifies the Presidential dream -- not with the pro-Iranian Hizbollah deployment in southern Lebanon, "Hamastan" in the Gaza Strip (the same Iranian-backed Islamic extremist regime that expelled Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' "Fatah" personnel after Israel's ill-considered pullout in 2005, not with the possibility that Hamas may gain control of the West Bank and replace Abbas' dissent-ridden "Fatah" regime and not with the Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear ambitions destabilizing the region. Nor is there unanimity among the West Bank's Palestinians that statehood and sovereignty is their overriding need. Time magazine's Jamil Hamad, a Palestinian who has served as its Jerusalem correspondent for more than two decades, says the infrastructure for statehood simply does not exist. "We need more hospitals and other medical facilities, highways, social services and better schools," he said, referring candidly to the 28-year run up to Jewish statehood during which the requisite institutions were created. Several political analysts contend that Abbas' control of the PA is tenuous if not flimsy, that his "Fatah" supporters are weakened by dissension and that corruption is rampant. They doubt that he will be able to convene the equivalent of a party convention or that the projected West Bank election will be held on schedule. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has decided to defy President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton by refusing to prevent the West Bank's Jewish settlers from building additional homes, clinics and schools within their existing communities. Regardless of whether one favors or opposes settlements it is unreasonable to demand that the normal course of human life -- marriage, childbirth, education and illness -- not be accommodated. That is why it would be a good idea if President Obama deigned to drop by and have another first-hand look at the situation in Israel rather than having to rely on seemingly hard-nosed advisers to shape his policy. He ought to bear in mind the Israeli maxim that guided former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: "What you see from here you can't see from there!"
|
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|