That tiny country, Israel, which has been under siege since its inception in 1948, is once again coming under sharp rebuke and criticism from the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union because it is defending itself. In fact, Israel is waging its own War on Terrorism, but it seems there are double standards when it comes to fighting terrorism.
Israel, when it comes to actual landmass, is one of the smallest nations on the face of the earth. In all, it’s about 8,000 square miles, or roughly two-and-a-half times as large as Rhode Island. If you were to drive from the northernmost part of the country to the southernmost tip, at just 55 miles per hour, you could do it in just under five hours because the entire country, at its longest, is about 260 miles. Now, if you drove from the easternmost side of the country to the westernmost edge, again, at 55 miles per hour, you’d accomplish the feat in just over an hour, because it’s only 60 miles at its widest point, yet only nine miles at its narrowest. In fact, it’s so small that’s a scary thought when you consider this is the most fought-over piece of real estate on the face of the earth.
Like I said, Israel’s been under some form of attack since it first became a nation, and, if you watch just a few minutes of TV news each day, you will know it remains under attack today. In fact, in the days leading up to Good Friday, at least on the United States’ side of the ocean, Israel suffered bombings by two wonderful suicide jockeys.
Is any of this new for Israel? No, not really, unless, of course, you factor in that the suicide bombers are making videos just before their final missions, and that women are now doing the dirty deeds. Ah, yes! Honor among women terrorists – go shopping before you die in the name of Allah. In fact, every time I hear Allah mentioned, my mind conjures up images of Ali Baba and his forty thieves. The only problem with my conception is that Ali Baba most often looks like Yasser Arafat and his forty thieves often remind me of too many of today’s world leaders, such as Saddam Hussein, Usama bin Laden, and others. Over past weeks, months, even, and if you really want to get down to the nitty-gritty, years, the United States has been one of these thieves, attempting to give away Israel to its Arab neighbors -- piece by piece.
The big problem between Israel and Arafat, not to mention the rest of the Arab world, is that Israel refuses to give up land to Arafat to create a Palestinian nation. The thing that’s being overlooked, at least from my shoes, is that there already exists a Palestinian state: Jordan. Am I wrong?
When terrorists attacked America on September 11, 2001, the country demanded action. It didn’t take long for the “measured response" to begin. In fact, that “measured response" is still being measured in Afghanistan, with rumors that the response is going to being flowing into other countries. That being said, Israel has been attacked and attacked since 1948. It’s had its share of gun battles and short-lived wars.
In response to the suicide bombers, Israel launched an attack against Arafat’s military headquarters, with Arafat trapped in his second-floor office. For the first time in more than a decade, Israel has called more than 20,000 of its soldiers from the armed forces reserves into action. Israel seems intent on making a statement to Arafat that things need to change. When asked how long the standoff with Arafat would last, an Israeli spokesman said it would last as “long as it is necessary," laying blame on Arafat for ordering attacks against Israeli civilians.
Arafat, who made contact with several world leaders and media organizations, said, “I am appealing to the whole international world to stop this aggression against our people." The problem with his plea is that he never stopped his aggression against Israel in the past – why should Israel stop now? It’s payback time, Yasser.
It’s funny how people see things so differently. The Palestinians are blaming Israel for the escalating level of violence, saying the invasion of Arafat’s compound was antagonistic. The Palestinians are also demanding a withdrawal of Israeli forces. It doesn’t seem like the Palestinians have much ground to stand on, literally, let alone figuratively.
President George W. Bush, who went back to his Texas ranch for the Easter holiday, said Arafat must take responsibility for stopping the continuing violence.
“I think Chairman Arafat could do a lot more. I truly believe that. I believe he needs to stand up and condemn, in Arabic, these attacks," Bush said. Even if Arafat did issue the pleas and condemnation, in Arabic, Yiddish, Swahili, and Japanese, would it help? I seriously doubt it.
Standing by the United States’ long-time ally, Bush said he did understand “Israel’s need to defend herself, and I respect that." Bush, continuing his comments, said Israel must “make sure that there is a path to peace as she secures her homeland." I found that truly hilarious. Well, okay, maybe not hilarious. Perhaps the comment was more two-faced than anything. I sat there, wondering if the U.S. made “sure that there is a path to peace as she secures her homeland" before it began the current bombing raid on Afghanistan.
If you listen to the Washington pundits, no one can say how long the “War on Terrorism" will continue, if the U.S. is going to attack other countries, or how much the “war" will cost, in total.
The U.N. Security Council went about and adopted a resolution demanding that Israel withdraw from Palestinian cities, including Ramallah. The resolution also called on both sides to cooperate with U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni's cease-fire efforts. I wonder why the U.N. has never issued that kind of resolution against the U.S. It seems the U.N. could issue that same kind of resolution against the U.S. for the current bombing in Afghanistan, as well as about the thousands of U.S. soldiers occupying various parts of that country. Israel is defending itself against a terrorist organization and the U.N. has the gall to try to tell Israel to back off? I think not.
When I went looking around Usenet for chatter about the current events, I found in the
soc.culture.palestine newsgroup William S. Hubbard asking, “Why is it that the Arabs are never asked to show restraint?" Well, a few folks responded, but most of the comments went downhill quickly, turning into all sorts of slurs. I chuckled when I found CW’s response to William. He said, simply, “I liked the Iranian national news agency’s statement about why Arabs couldn’t have pulled off the September 11 attacks. They said that Arabs weren’t smart enough."
Andrew Varvel, over on the soc.culture.arabic newsgroup, asked, “Why has Israel been negotiating with the PLO lately? It’s the PLO that’s at the bargaining table, not Hamas." That’s an excellent question, and one that’s an interesting read. Check out the “Why is Israel bombing Tyre (of all places)?" thread.
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"All’s Fair in Love and War – Mostly War"
