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PRO-ISRAELI, ANTI-ARAB CAMPAIGNS COULD ISOLATE AMERICA
WASHINGTON -- Parallel to the international war against terrorism, a
smaller "war" of interests, beliefs and realities is going on beneath
the surface, which could endanger the final outcome of everything
that has been accomplished since Sept. 11. So far, this parallel
conflict is being contained by cool heads in the administration, but
that could change at any time.
Essentially, the discussion is over Baghdad: whether Iraq and its
"state sponsorship" is really to blame for the terrorism that has
struck America and whether we should not then go "straight to
Baghdad." That simple exhortation is deeply misleading.
The "Get Iraq" campaign, which to some people means finishing the
Gulf War, started within days of the September bombings, long before
the anthrax attacks and the new questions they raised. It emerged
first and particularly from pro-Israeli hard-liners in the Pentagon
such as Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and adviser Richard
Perle, but also from hard-line neoconservatives, and some journalists
and congressmen.
Soon it became clear that many, although not all, were in the group that is commonly
called in diplomatic and political circles the "Israeli-firsters," meaning that they
would always put Israeli policy, or even their perc
eption of it, above anything else.
Barbara Slavin, the USA Today diplomatic correspondent, wrote in mid-October that
"Pentagon officials, frustrated by the anti-terrorism campaign's focus on Afghanistan,
have quietly gone around the intelligence establishm
ent and asked a former CIA director to look for an Iraqi connection to the Sept. 11
attacks." The sources said that James Woolsey was sent to "seek evidence that would
justify U.S. attacks on Iraq." She called it an "unor
thodox role," which is surely a kind description.
The campaign also has another target, which has now become obvious in the think tanks,
in Congress and in daily meetings here. This bitter attack on both Egypt and Saudi
Arabia seeks to discredit both, partly to discount
the idea that the Palestinian conflict plays a core role in terrorism against America,
and also partly to diminish, or ruin, the United States' relations with any Arab
states.
Usually the attacks take the form of criticizing Egypt and Saudi Arabia for not taking
a more active role in supporting the United States. Much of the pro-Israeli part of
the campaign is directed at proving that this fall
's terrorism was instigated not by "Arab street hatred" over the war in Israel and
Palestine, but by "unrepresentative" and "oppressive" Arab governments.
The U.S. diplomats I have spoken to, most with long experience in the Middle East, are
uniformly enraged by these campaigns. Next to the war, it is the main topic at
receptions and meetings. "It's a very simple propositio
n," one former ambassador to the region told me. "Now's the chance for us to get rid
of all of Israel's enemies in the Middle East." And another formerly high-ranking
diplomat told me, "It's the old story, that Israel sim
ply can't bear to see any Arab countries close to the United States."
Friendly Arab delegations who have visited here, such as a delegation of high-level
Egyptian businessmen who were here last week to express their sympathy, have been
assured by the highest levels of the administration tha
t there are no plans to attack Iraq. This has been the restrained and cautious policy
of the president, the vice president, the secretary of state and the secretary of
defense.
The visitors also point out that, even as this campaign against them was gaining steam
in Washington, 15,000 American troops were participating in exercise "Bright Star" in
Egypt with Egyptian troops, the Egyptian governm
ent was openly supporting the United States, and overflight rights were immediately
granted for U.S. planes.
Leading Arab ambassadors have also warned privately that any attack on Iraq would
sabotage Arab participation in the series of "coalitions" forming around the conflict.
These other agendas, as they euphemistically call th
em, would drive the moderate Arabs away from the West. They point out, again
privately, the fragility of this moment when the Arab masses are at best ambivalent
about the anti-bin Laden campaign because of the war with th
e Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Israel's hard-line Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has refused even to temper
his attacks against the Palestinians, despite President Bush's constant requests. Even
many of his own coalition say that he wants to de
stroy the Palestinian Authority, to see the Palestinian radicals installed as the next
"government," and then to work toward driving the Palestinians into Jordan.
The Bush administration, concerned by the rising speculation about Iraqi involvement
in the anthrax mailings, this week attempted to clarify the public rhetoric. There was
still no proof of Iraqi involvement, spokesmen sa
id. And when and if there is, the United States will revisit the
question of Iraqi complicity.
Meanwhile, it does not take a von Clausewitz or a Sun Tzu to figure
out, militarily and also politically, that it would be the worst kind
of madness to isolate America in this difficult, poisonous struggle.
The idea of thrusting America into two wars at once and eviscerating
the support it needs in the region is not some mischievous
theoretical game. It is a deadly, real-life game, and its players
should certainly know better.
COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
Originally Published on October-25-2001
End<{{{
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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