-Caveat Lector- Indeed, it pays well to have "mind control" over the US congress. - Over $1-2 per day to each Israeli Jew. A fraction of that very same money buys the control of the whole US Congress, in the form of campaign donations and other niceties ( namely "press support" & cheap adds).
Maybe Palestinians should learn to do the same? You need to learn to give some back, to get some. - From US Congress anyway. :-) Also other poor nations should perhaps take a note and learn how a few million rich Israelis can manage to leech the US taxpayers for insane amounts of money, when you look at the figures of what anyone else is getting and bring it into perspective. Creating a feedback loop for the money seems to be the key for winning support from US Congress. ---------------------------------------- US should use aid to Israel as leverage for peace: Carter WASHINGTON, April 21 AFP http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/2002/04/22/FFXYQX68B0D.html US should use aid to Israel as leverage for peace: Carter WASHINGTON, April 21 AFP|Published: Monday April 22, 4:35 AM Former US president Jimmy Carter today suggested Washington use its considerable military and economic aid to Israel as leverage to persuade the Jewish state to accept a just peace settlement with the Palestinians. In an editorial carried in the New York Times, the former president said: "Normal diplomatic efforts have failed. It is time for the United States, as the sole recognised intermediary, to consider more forceful action for peace. "The rest of the world will welcome this leadership." Asked to comment on Carter's suggestion of an aid cutoff, US secretary of state Colin Powell told NBC Sunday: "We are not considering any cutoffs at this time, and it would be hypothetical to talk about what we might do in the future." Israel receives roughly $US3 billion ($A5.58 billion) in aid, both military and economic, a year from the United States. Carter cited two factors that could persuade Israel to accept a settlement based on implementations of UN resolutions and on the recent Saudi proposal calling for Arab normalisation with Israel in return for Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war. "One is the legal requirement that American weapons are to be used by Israel only for defensive purposes, a premise certainly being violated in the recent destruction in Jenin and other towns of the West Bank," he added. Carter pointed out that this requirement was imposed by the Richard Nixon administration to stop Israel's military advance into Egypt during the 1973 Middle East war and noted that he also used it to deter Israeli attacks on Lebanon in 1979. "The Israeli Defence Force is heavily supplied with US weapons, so any operation they conduct, there are always US weapons involved," Powell told ABC. "There are laws, and we're always examining those to make sure that use is consistent." Carter meanwhile also pointed to the "approximately $US10 million ($A18.58 million) daily in American aid to Israel" and noted that former president George H Bush had threatened to cut off this assistance in 1992 to prevent the building of Israeli settlements between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. "I understand the extreme political sensitivity in America of using persuasion on the Israelis, but it is important to remember that none of the actions toward peace would involve an encroachment on the sovereign territory of Israel," he added. The former US president had some harsh words for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "His rejection of all peace agreements that included Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands, his invasion of Lebanon, his provocative visit to the Temple Mount, the destruction of villages and homes, the arrests of thousands of Palestinians and his open defiance of President George W Bush's demand that he comply with international law have all been orchestrated to accomplish his ultimate goals: to establish Israeli settlements as widely as possible throughout occupied territories and to deny Palestinians a cohesive political existence," Carter said. He was also critical of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, citing his failure to exert "control over Hamas and other radical Palestinians who reject the concept of a peaceful coexistence and adopt any means to accomplish their goal". And he slammed the "abhorrent suicide bombings" targeting Israeli civilians as "counterproductive in that they discredit the Palestinian cause, help perpetuate the military occupation and destruction of villages, and obstruct efforts toward peace and justice". The Age ________________________________________________ America Can Persuade Israel to Make a Just Peace By JIMMY CARTER The New York Times, April 21, 2002 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/21/opinion/21CART.html?pagewanted=print April 21, 2002 America Can Persuade Israel to Make a Just Peace By JIMMY CARTER ATLANTA - In January 1996, with full support from Israel and responding to the invitation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the Carter Center helped to monitor a democratic election in the West Bank and Gaza, which was well organized, open and fair. In that election, 88 members were elected to the Palestinian National Authority, with Yasir Arafat as president. Legally and practically, the Palestinian people were encouraged to form their own government, with the expectation that they would soon have full sovereignty as a state. When the election was over, I made a strong effort to persuade the leaders of Hamas to accept the election results, with Mr. Arafat as their leader. I relayed a message offering them full participation in the process of developing a permanent constitutional framework for the new political entity, but they refused to accept this proposal. Despite this rejection, it was a time of peace and hope, and there was no threat of violence or even peaceful demonstrations. The legal status of the Palestinian people has not changed since then, but their plight has grown desperate. Ariel Sharon is a strong and forceful man and has never equivocated in his public declarations nor deviated from his ultimate purpose. His rejection of all peace agreements that included Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands, his invasion of Lebanon, his provocative visit to the Temple Mount, the destruction of villages and homes, the arrests of thousands of Palestinians and his open defiance of President George W. Bush's demand that he comply with international law have all been orchestrated to accomplish his ultimate goals: to establish Israeli settlements as widely as possible throughout occupied territories and to deny Palestinians a cohesive political existence. There is adequate blame on the other side. Even when he was free and enjoying the full trappings of political power, Yasir Arafat never exerted control over Hamas and other radical Palestinians who reject the concept of a peaceful Israeli existence and adopt any means to accomplish their goal. Mr. Arafat's all-too-rare denunciations of violence have been spasmodic, often expressed only in English and likely insincere. He may well see the suicide attacks as one of the few ways to retaliate against his tormentors, to dramatize the suffering of his people, or as a means for him, vicariously, to be a martyr. Tragically, the policies of Mr. Sharon have greatly strengthened these criminal elements, enhanced their popular support, and encouraged misguided young men and women to sacrifice their own lives in attacking innocent Israeli citizens. The abhorrent suicide bombings are also counterproductive in that they discredit the Palestinian cause, help perpetuate the military occupation and destruction of villages, and obstruct efforts toward peace and justice. The situation is not hopeless. There is an ultimate avenue to peace in the implementation of United Nations resolutions, including Resolution 242, expressed most recently in the highly publicized proposal of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah. The basic premises of these resolutions are withdrawal of Israelis from Palestinian lands in exchange for full acceptance of Israel and Israel's right to live in peace. This is a reasonable solution for many Israelis, having been accepted in 1978 by Prime Minister Menachem Begin and ratified by the Israeli Knesset. Egypt, offering the greatest threat to Israel, responded by establishing full diplomatic relations and honoring Israeli rights, including unimpeded use of the Suez canal. This set a pattern for what can and must be done by all other Arab nations. Through constructive negotiations, both sides can consider some modifications of the 1967 boundary lines. East Jerusalem can be jointly administered with unimpeded access to holy places, and the right of return can be addressed by permitting a limited number of displaced Palestinians to return to their homeland with fair compensation to others. It will be a good investment for the international community to pay this cost. With the ready and potentially unanimous backing of the international community, the United States government can bring about such a solution to the existing imbroglio. Demands on both sides should be so patently fair and balanced that at least a majority of citizens in the affected area will respond with approval, and an international force can monitor compliance with agreed peace terms, as was approved for the Sinai region in 1979 following Israel's withdrawal from Egyptian territory. There are two existing factors that offer success to United States persuasion. One is the legal requirement that American weapons are to be used by Israel only for defensive purposes, a premise certainly being violated in the recent destruction of Jenin and other villages. Richard Nixon imposed this requirement to stop Ariel Sharon and Israel's military advance into Egypt in the 1973 war, and I used the same demand to deter Israeli attacks on Lebanon in 1979. (A full invasion was launched by Ariel Sharon after I left office). The other persuasive factor is approximately $10 million daily in American aid to Israel. President George Bush Sr. threatened this assistance in 1992 to prevent the building of Israeli settlements between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. I understand the extreme political sensitivity in America of using persuasion on the Israelis, but it is important to remember that none of the actions toward peace would involve an encroachment on the sovereign territory of Israel. They all involve lands of the Egyptians, Lebanese and Palestinians, as recognized by international law. The existing situation is tragic and likely to get worse. Normal diplomatic efforts have failed. It is time for the United States, as the sole recognized intermediary, to consider more forceful action for peace. The rest of the world will welcome this leadership. Jimmy Carter, the former president, is chairman of the Carter Center, which works worldwide to advance peace and human health. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company ________________________________________________ EU's Patten says Israel hijacked 'war on terror' Reuters, 21 April 2002 http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters04-21-035557.asp?reg=MIDEAST EU's Patten says Israel hijacked 'war on terror' LONDON, April 21 - European Union External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten accused Israel on Sunday of hijacking the U.S.-led war on terror and said its crushing use of force against Palestinians would prove counter-productive. Patten told BBC Television's Breakfast with Frost programme that Israel had effectively destroyed President Yasser Arafat's fledgling Palestinian Authority during its rolling re-occupation of West Bank towns and refugee camps. Israeli tanks and troops withdrew on Sunday from most of two West Bank cities, Ramallah and Nablus, three weeks after it launched its offensive in response to a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings that killed scores of Israelis, but it has kept Arafat confined to his headquarters in Ramallah. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has defied repeated U.S. pleas for an immediate halt to his incursions and the heightened tension has diverted Washington's attention from its plans for toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. ''One of the real tragedies of this is that the Israeli government hijacked the campaign against terrorism and they have given some people the excuse for disengaging from that campaign,'' Patten said. ''...It's going to be much more difficult to deal with Saddam Hussein while that crisis continues,'' he added. Israeli politicians have frequently said they are waging a conflict similar to Washington's war on terrorism following the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities. But Patten said the Israeli attacks were targeting the Palestinians' self-rule infrastructure, not the militants. ''They destroyed the ministry of education, they've destroyed the ministry of finance -- that has nothing to do with trying to deal with suicide bombers,'' Patten said. ''If you don't have a Palestinian Authority the only alternative is Palestinian anarchy. That is why what Sharon has been doing is so fundamentally against the long term interests of Israel.'' British Prime Minister Tony Blair, interviewed on the same programme, said Israel's actions had ''driven a big wedge between sections of the Arab world and the West.'' But he said the wounds could be healed if a political process was relaunched between Israel and the Palestinians. Blair said Britain had made clear that Israel needed to withdraw from the Palestinian areas. He also said his government backed an international fact-finding mission to the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, where the scale of devastation has prompted Palestinian accusations of a massacre, charges which Israel denies. ''We support very strongly the U.N. mission that will go in there to find out what happened in Jenin because everyone has been shocked and appalled by the pictures that have come back from there,'' Blair said. Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited ________________________________________________ Israel 'Destroying Palestinian Infrastructure' Sky.com Last Updated: 17:16 UK, Sunday April 21, 2002 http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-10336909,00.html Israel 'Destroying Palestinian Infrastructure' EU External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten has accused Israel of "hijacking" the international campaign against terrorism. Israeli forces had systematically destroyed the Palestinian Authority's structure of government, for political reasons which had "nothing to do with trying to deal with suicide bombers," he said. The Tory former cabinet minister said that the UK had never had to face terrorist attacks as "dreadful" as the suicide bombings. But speaking on BBC1, he said that the Israelis' reaction was not going to help bring long-term peace and stability to the region. Systematically destroying He said: "Israeli defence forces have made a deliberate point of systematically destroying all the Palestinian Authority's ministries. "That has nothing to do with trying to deal with suicide bombers. It's got a political purpose (which) is to destroy what exists so far of a quasi-viable Palestinian state, a government. "And if you don't have a Palestinian government, if you don't have a Palestinian authority, the only alternative is Palestinian anarchy. "That's why what Mr Sharon has been doing is so fundamentally against the long-term interests of Israel." Last Updated: 17:16 UK, Sunday April 21, 2002 © 2002 BSkyB <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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