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| 28 Elul 5761 02:41Sunday September 16, 2001 |
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Fighting terror, Powell-style (September 16) - As America struggles to regain its composure after the devastating attacks last Tuesday against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Bush administration has been busy building an international coalition to combat terror. Wisely marshalling America's friends and allies abroad, President George W. Bush appears to be planning a coordinated assault, one that is aimed not just at the perpetrators of last week's atrocities, but also against the phenomenon of terror worldwide. Speaking in the Oval Office last Thursday, Bush said, "Make no mistake about it, this nation is sad. But we're also tough and resolute, and now's an opportunity to do generations a favor by coming together and whipping terrorism, hunting it down, binding it, and holding them accountable." Bush's resolute determination to crush terror was echoed by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who made it abundantly clear that America is planning to deliver a strong blow. Speaking to reporters, Powell said, "We will go after that group, that network, and those who have harbored, supported, and aided that network, to rip the network up." For Israel, it is particularly encouraging that the Bush administration is not limiting its sights only to those directly involved in perpetrating last week's attacks in Washington and New York. No other nation in the world has had to endure waves of violence and terror as prolonged as Israel has. A concerted effort by the world community to stamp out terrorism once and for all will hopefully not overlook those who have used it with increasing frequency and ferocity against Israel over the past 12 months. But however much one might hope that America will now show a greater deal of understanding for Israel's predicament, there was a disturbing development this past week which suggests that might very well not be the case. At an on-the-record briefing to the press on September 13, Powell went out of his way in his opening remarks to call upon Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat to meet in the coming days. Powell said, "I have also been on the phone... with Prime Minister Sharon and Chairman Arafat and with Foreign Minister Shimon Peres of Israel... trying to begin those meetings that we have been talking about, which would lead to implementation of the Mitchell plan. I am still hopeful that something can be done in the next several days to have that first meeting, and we will be in close touch with the leaders as the next days unfold." And so, even as he takes part in planning an assault on America's terrorist foes, Powell nevertheless expects Israel to sit down and chat with its own terrorist adversaries. The absurdity of Powell's position becomes even more apparent when one considers some of his statements over the past year, when he did not hesitate to criticize Israel for daring to respond to terrorist attacks. On February 25, Powell blasted Israel's decision to limit the entry of Palestinian workers, telling a press conference that it was time for Israel "to lift the siege as soon as possible." On April 17, after Palestinians fired mortar rounds, hitting the southern Israeli city of Sderot, and Israel responded by entering Palestinian-controlled Gaza to halt the attacks, Powell described the Israeli move as "excessive and disproportionate." Under Powell, the US State Department has also condemned Israel's policy of targeting terrorists. Even the IDF's occasional destruction of Palestinian buildings used as staging grounds for attacks against Israelis has come under fire from Powell's spokesman. It is therefore difficult to escape the feeling that a regrettable type of double-standard is being applied by Powell when it comes to Israel. For some reason, he fails to condone Israel's counter-terror measures even as he proposes to use those very same measures against America's enemies. Moreover, just as one could hardly expect America to negotiate with the likes of Osama bin Laden, it is unreasonable to demand that Israel talk with Arafat. Indeed, according to US Senator Charles Grassley (Associated Press, September 14), American law enforcement officials now believe that Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO may be linked with the terrorist network that carried out the World Trade Center attack. In light of this, one can only hope that Powell will finally start to
realize that Israel and America are confronting the same type of
adversary, each of whom must be dealt with accordingly.
Opinion
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