By: Tashbih Sayyed
Yasser Arafat, to many in the West, is an obstacle to peace. In a clear swipe at his role in ousting former Palestinian Authority prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, George W. Bush told the UN General Assembly, "The Palestinian cause is betrayed by leaders who cling to power by feeding old hatreds, and destroying the good works of others." But the more sincere observers believe that the problem is a little more complicated than just Yasser Arafat. They are convinced that the civilized world's tendency of equating Israel with Palestinian authority's complicity with Palestinian terror machine is also a bottleneck in the realization of peace in the troubled region.
The United States and its partners did not help the cause of peace, when they called on both Israel and the Palestinians to do more "immediately and simultaneously" to address each other's concerns. In fact, they encouraged the anti-peace forces in the world to continue with their jihad against open societies by bracketing Israel with PA. The policy of being politically correct by being "even handed," is basically a flawed policy. The suggestion that it is Israel that needs to do more to end the cycle of violence has an in-built encouragement for the terrorists to continue killing with impunity.
The U. S. must realize for the sake of its own national security that it is not Israel that is determined to destroy the United states. It is radical Islam. Israel did not attack the U. S. on September 11, 200. Wahhabis did. And homicide bombers are not the Jews but the Arab zombies following the pied piper of Islamism. Also, the U.S. must see the dangers in refusing to see that the "road map," unveiled in April, was stalled not because of Tel Aviv but because of a wave of homicide bombings. So long as the U.S. and its partners will refuse to acknowledge the realities as they exist on the ground, no body is going to believe in their sincerity. Arafat is just an opportunist who exploits the historical and traditional anti-West (read anti-Semite) Arab state of mind to gain his political objectives. That's why Arab observers doubt if the removal of Yasser Arafat will help in resolving the Arab-Israel conflict. We must know that the real pitfall in the path to peace is anti-Semitism. Terrorists like Yasser Arafat will continue to appear in one form or the other, so long as there remains this yearning in the Arab psyche to destroy the Jewish state altogether. The need is to allow a sense of fairness on the part of the U. S. and its partners to call a spade a spade.
Freedom loving Americans fail to understand the logic behind the U. S. Policy of insulting a nation that shares in its values. They realize that a strong Israel is a must for the American values to overwhelm the absolutist minds. The United States of America is like a very large ship, facing the worst kind of storm. And Israel, is like an anchor that is holding this ship in place and afloat. It is certainly very doubtful if the U.S. can survive the storms of religious extremism without this anchor. The U.S. is jeopardizing its own case of waging a war against Al-Qaeda by insinuating that Israel, is a partner with Hamas in stalling the road map. By humiliating Israel, Washington, in fact, is belittling our forefathers, who established this great country to fight the anti-civilization forces everywhere.
Palestinian mind is controlled by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and Martyr's Brigade. They, under the leadership of Yasser Arafat represent the darkest forces of obscurantism. This evil cannot be reformed. It can only be eradicated. It is mind boggling to see that Washington has failed to recognize that in spite of the hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid to the Palestinian Authority, the PA continues to brain wash its people that the battle with the US is just like Islam's battle against Rome. Palestinians are brainwashed into believing that the US is the enemy who is doomed to destruction by "Islam." Ibrahim Madiras, in his sermon, telecast on official PA television on September 5, 2003, attacked the US, teaching that the coming fall of the US will be similar to the fall of ancient Rome.
He said, "If we go back 1400 years in time, we find that history is repeating itself, worshipers of Allah. The Prophet Mohammed … was besieged by two powers, Persia in the east and Rome in the west. These represent the Soviet Union and America of today. Persia represents Russia in the east, and America stands for Rome in the west. Persia fell first in the east, just as Russia fell first in the east, and America will fall, may it be Allah's will, just as Rome fell in the west. However [the fall of] Rome necessitated further challenges, closing of ranks and Muslim sacrifices. The battle with Rome, in which its power ceased, necessitated challenges and resistance from the Muslims, just as America today, her allies and protégés, the Zionists and others, necessitate further sacrifices from our side and closing ranks, oh Muslims, and we will be victorious …
By closing ranks the prophet succeeded in overcoming Rome, the strongest state, which is equivalent to America today, without the fall of even one Muslim Shaheed [Martyr] … The Prophet succeeded, through Muslim unity and arousing faith, in overcoming the America of then, just as we will defeat America, as long as it supports our enemy, as long as it adheres to its positions against our people, our issue and our holy places, and against our people and its leadership, as long as it adheres to these wicked positions. We will defeat her, may it be the will of Allah. We see America as the number one enemy, as long as it support our enemy. Aren't we killed by American planes? Are our homes not being destroyed by American tanks? Are we not being bombed by American missiles. .."
A mechanism to cleanse the Arab hearts and minds of this fascist ideology has to be found, if the world hopes to live in peace.. And such a mechanism cannot be instituted by being politically correct. The People like Jimmy Carter are misguiding the American public opinion by saying that the Israeli settlements are a violation of international law and the primary incitement to violence among Palestinians. The peace and stability will remain a dream so long as people like Carter will continue to suggest that Israel is also responsible for the cycle of violence in the Middle East. Carters are as much an obstacle to peace as Yasser Arafat.
The war against terrorism is multi dimensional campaign. It cannot be won by letting down Israel. If it is right for the U.S. to launch a preemptive strike against Afghanistan or Iraq, it should also be just for Israel to pre-empt Palestinian terror. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan indicated support for more ambitious international action to prevent an escalation of violence. He said in New York on September 26, 2003, "It seems to me that bold steps, in keeping with the road map, are now necessary to salvage peace. Small steps have not worked. They are unlikely to work in the future." The world should pay heed to Annan's words and support Israel.
In the eyes of the impartial observers, there is no confusion as to what should be those "bold steps." Palestinians should be made to ensure that a "rebuilt and refocused" security force launches "sustained, targeted and effective operations" to confront and dismantle militant groups. To achieve this objective there should not be any doubt that the root cause of conflict in the Middle East, is the obsession of the radical Islamists to erase the state of Israel altogether from the map of the Middle East. The killings of Jews like the one of a child on new year eve should be enough for the world that there is no way for the Israelis to live with Palestinians, so long as they long to kill the Jews. Life and death cannot coexist. Death's instinct is to extinguish the flame of life and the Arabs controlled by radical Islamists live to kill the Jews.
This explains the reluctance on the part of every Arab leader to denounce Hamas, Hezbollah, Martyr's Brigade and other terrorists. This also explains the inability of Palestinian authority to disband the terrorist infrastructure within their ranks. Anyone, serious about seeking peace in the region will have to begin with the acknowledgment that there cannot be any peace so long as there is no Arab leadership determined to fight terror. And such an anti-terror leadership cannot evolve so long as the Arab street is controlled by radical Islam.
The radical Islam has played havoc with the Arab street. The man on the street has lost the ability to recognize the roots of his destitution. Like a person in a trance or a robot programmed only to kill, he attributes all his failings to the presence of Jews in the holy lands. He has been brain washed to believe that all his backwardness is because of the "occupation." He has been rendered invalid to see that it is radical Islam that has taken away all of his opportunities to progress and prosper. He cannot see straight. Instead of finding fault with the terrorist leadership of Yasser Arafat for his miseries, he blames the US for supporting Israel. Such a mind is a ready made homicide bomber, waiting to explode. This affliction has deprived the Arabs of the analytical faculties to discern that the real cause of their failures is not Israel but Yasser Arafat. They continue to rally around him.
Yasser Arafat knows too well the power of this hatred to change his ways. That's why, despite being a socialist, he works very closely with radical Islam leadership. His ability to work with Hamas and Islamic Jihad allows him to survive. By casting his political opportunism as religious nationalism, he has earned an enviable status of the father of "Palestinian nation." Anti-Semitism has prevented, thus far, the Arabs to look for alternate leadership. Arafat, by exploiting this evil, will continue to misguide the Arabs even if removed from Palestine.
What is needed today, is neither the removal of Arafat nor any road map but the declaration that it is only the Arabs who need to do more immediately and earnestly to address the concerns of peace. What is required today is to strengthen the hands of Israel. The U.S. and its partners need to recognize that this conflict isn't about settlements or return of refugees but Israel's existence. The West Bank settlements aren't the bottleneck. The violence is not because Jews live in the West Bank city of Hebron but because they live in Tel Aviv. By trying to be even handed the U.S. is playing in the hands of terrorism. Washington should learn from the experience of those European powers who allowed the Holocaust by failing to recognize the dangers trying to appease Adolf Hitler. The U.S. should not allow this to happen again because September 11, 2001, has taught us that the ultimate target of Islamist fascism is the United States of America not Israel.
