NewsGuy
08-23-2003, 07:28 PM
An original IsraelForum.com article. Please feel free to copy and republish:
Game Over for Peace Plan B
August 23, 2003
By Michael Rand
(IsraelForum.com) -- The latest bomb set off by Islamic Palestinian terrorists shattered more than just the lives of hundreds of innocent Israelis -- it exploded the cornerstone of American foreign policy in the Middle East. After the so-called Road Map for Peace was quietly replaced by a Plan B in which the Palestinians were no longer required to fight terrorism, it is now undeniable that this Plan B, too, has failed. So is there a Plan C in the works?
The road map for peace, concocted by the hypocritical UN, the anti-Semitic EU, a Arab-bought Russia, and an over-optimistic U.S,. was doomed from the start. The basis of the road map was to force Israel to make extreme land concessions and create a Palestinian state within 2 years. While the road map set forth the obligations of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, it lacked any enforcement of failures to uphold the parties' obligations.
For example, the first provision of the road map requires the Palestinians to dismantle their terrorist organizations. Israel, for its part, was to hand over territory to Palestinian control. While Israel proceeded to return several cities to Palestinian control, the newly appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen and his Defense Minister Muhammad Dahlan both practically laughed at the notion of fighting terrorism.
In fact, both Palestinian leaders publicly stated that they would never dismantle their terrorist organizations, because these groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad are enormously popular national institutions in Palestinian society. Any attempt to stop these mass murder gangs would produce a civil war among the Palestinian population, which mostly favors terrorism and extermination of the Jews. And so, a new plan B was hatched, excusing the Palestinians from fulfilling their obligations under the road map.
Terrorist Delight
Under this new plan the Palestinians, instead of dismantling the terrorist organizations, entered into a treaty with them, known by its traditional Islamic name of "hudna." Under this treaty, the terrorist groups were allowed to boost production in their local Kassam missile factories and increase their illegal weapons arsenal, including suicide bomber explosive belts, RPGs, anti-tank missiles, and much more.
For groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, this was a golden age of sorts. In addition to intensive armament, they were able to provide some much needed rest and relaxation to their operatives, who were given a reprieve from being hunted by Israeli anti-terrorism forces. Still, all this did not stop Palestinian terrorists from attacking Israelis each and every day since the road map for peace began to be implemented.
Hamas continued to send snipers to shoot at innocent Israeli motorists, kidnapped Israelis and murdered them, planted roadside bombs and dispatched suicide bombers. When Israeli finally eliminated a Hamas leader responsible for dispatching suicide bombers, the group then claimed that the "hudna" cease-fire was over, and sent a suicide bomber to attack an Israeli bus in Jerusalem, which was carrying Jewish families to and from prayer sessions. The attack resulted in more than 20 deaths and more than 100 wounded, among whom many infants and young children.
U.S. Acquiescence
The most important and noteworthy aspect of Plan B was that was not Plan A, i.e., the original road map for peace. This Plan B involved a treaty between Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and the Palestinian Authority, and it had no relation to the road map and its provisions. Still, the U.S. acquiesced to the new Plan B and forced Israel to buy into it, as well. No longer were the Palestinians required to dismantle their terrorist groups, and furthermore, the terrorists gained a position in the plan, legitimizing them to a great extent.
But the Jerusalem bus bombing put an end to Plan B. The gruesome attack demonstrated that dealing with the Islamic mass murder gangs was futile. Their original goal of massacring each and every Jew in Israel and establishing an Islamic dictatorship remains unchanged. Their Jihad against non-Muslims continues in full swing. So much so, that Bush's strong endorsement of Abu Mazen and his personal involvement in the Middle East peace process started to became a liability for the president.
Indeed, for the Bush administration, the failure of the road map for peace is compounded by the mounting losses to American troops elsewhere in the Middle East, in places that have by now become familiar to the American voter, like in Baghdad and Mosul.
The Presidential Election Gauntlet
With the road map for peace failing, and acquiescing to Plan B an embarrassment, will the Bush administration try to formulate Plan C? I think not.
Even Colin Powell, an advocate of capitulation to terror-sponsoring Arab dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, cannot continue to allow the Palestinian Authority to avoid dismantling its terrorist infrastructure. My reason is simple: A rising body count in Israel, with credit taken by groups like Hamas which are sponsored by American ally Saudi Arabia, does not bode well for the President's reelection campaign. Especially when daily reports of American casualties combine to send Americans a message (whether accurate or not) that Bush's Middle East policy is failing.
The President and the Republican party cannot afford this type of double failure in centerpiece of their foreign policy. Therefore, Bush will need to either fully back the forcible dismantling of the Palestinian terrorist groups so the road map for peace can get back on track, or the President will need to withdraw from the Israeli-Palestinian issue altogether. I believe that Bush will make his choice in the coming month or two, to allow enough time for his press secretary to spin the new policy before kicking off the 2004 election campaign.
* * *
Am I right? What do you think?
Game Over for Peace Plan B
August 23, 2003
By Michael Rand
(IsraelForum.com) -- The latest bomb set off by Islamic Palestinian terrorists shattered more than just the lives of hundreds of innocent Israelis -- it exploded the cornerstone of American foreign policy in the Middle East. After the so-called Road Map for Peace was quietly replaced by a Plan B in which the Palestinians were no longer required to fight terrorism, it is now undeniable that this Plan B, too, has failed. So is there a Plan C in the works?
The road map for peace, concocted by the hypocritical UN, the anti-Semitic EU, a Arab-bought Russia, and an over-optimistic U.S,. was doomed from the start. The basis of the road map was to force Israel to make extreme land concessions and create a Palestinian state within 2 years. While the road map set forth the obligations of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, it lacked any enforcement of failures to uphold the parties' obligations.
For example, the first provision of the road map requires the Palestinians to dismantle their terrorist organizations. Israel, for its part, was to hand over territory to Palestinian control. While Israel proceeded to return several cities to Palestinian control, the newly appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen and his Defense Minister Muhammad Dahlan both practically laughed at the notion of fighting terrorism.
In fact, both Palestinian leaders publicly stated that they would never dismantle their terrorist organizations, because these groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad are enormously popular national institutions in Palestinian society. Any attempt to stop these mass murder gangs would produce a civil war among the Palestinian population, which mostly favors terrorism and extermination of the Jews. And so, a new plan B was hatched, excusing the Palestinians from fulfilling their obligations under the road map.
Terrorist Delight
Under this new plan the Palestinians, instead of dismantling the terrorist organizations, entered into a treaty with them, known by its traditional Islamic name of "hudna." Under this treaty, the terrorist groups were allowed to boost production in their local Kassam missile factories and increase their illegal weapons arsenal, including suicide bomber explosive belts, RPGs, anti-tank missiles, and much more.
For groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, this was a golden age of sorts. In addition to intensive armament, they were able to provide some much needed rest and relaxation to their operatives, who were given a reprieve from being hunted by Israeli anti-terrorism forces. Still, all this did not stop Palestinian terrorists from attacking Israelis each and every day since the road map for peace began to be implemented.
Hamas continued to send snipers to shoot at innocent Israeli motorists, kidnapped Israelis and murdered them, planted roadside bombs and dispatched suicide bombers. When Israeli finally eliminated a Hamas leader responsible for dispatching suicide bombers, the group then claimed that the "hudna" cease-fire was over, and sent a suicide bomber to attack an Israeli bus in Jerusalem, which was carrying Jewish families to and from prayer sessions. The attack resulted in more than 20 deaths and more than 100 wounded, among whom many infants and young children.
U.S. Acquiescence
The most important and noteworthy aspect of Plan B was that was not Plan A, i.e., the original road map for peace. This Plan B involved a treaty between Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and the Palestinian Authority, and it had no relation to the road map and its provisions. Still, the U.S. acquiesced to the new Plan B and forced Israel to buy into it, as well. No longer were the Palestinians required to dismantle their terrorist groups, and furthermore, the terrorists gained a position in the plan, legitimizing them to a great extent.
But the Jerusalem bus bombing put an end to Plan B. The gruesome attack demonstrated that dealing with the Islamic mass murder gangs was futile. Their original goal of massacring each and every Jew in Israel and establishing an Islamic dictatorship remains unchanged. Their Jihad against non-Muslims continues in full swing. So much so, that Bush's strong endorsement of Abu Mazen and his personal involvement in the Middle East peace process started to became a liability for the president.
Indeed, for the Bush administration, the failure of the road map for peace is compounded by the mounting losses to American troops elsewhere in the Middle East, in places that have by now become familiar to the American voter, like in Baghdad and Mosul.
The Presidential Election Gauntlet
With the road map for peace failing, and acquiescing to Plan B an embarrassment, will the Bush administration try to formulate Plan C? I think not.
Even Colin Powell, an advocate of capitulation to terror-sponsoring Arab dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, cannot continue to allow the Palestinian Authority to avoid dismantling its terrorist infrastructure. My reason is simple: A rising body count in Israel, with credit taken by groups like Hamas which are sponsored by American ally Saudi Arabia, does not bode well for the President's reelection campaign. Especially when daily reports of American casualties combine to send Americans a message (whether accurate or not) that Bush's Middle East policy is failing.
The President and the Republican party cannot afford this type of double failure in centerpiece of their foreign policy. Therefore, Bush will need to either fully back the forcible dismantling of the Palestinian terrorist groups so the road map for peace can get back on track, or the President will need to withdraw from the Israeli-Palestinian issue altogether. I believe that Bush will make his choice in the coming month or two, to allow enough time for his press secretary to spin the new policy before kicking off the 2004 election campaign.
* * *
Am I right? What do you think?