Time was when Israel might have settled for peace in the Middle East. Time was when the U.S. would have focused on peace based on justice. But the dynamics are all different now, and with overwhelming military superiority, it appears to suit both the American and Israeli governments to oppose justice, flaunt power, and prevent peace.
Both Israel and America now take obscene delight in battling against anyone perceived to have opposing interests from their own. Whether it be the Palestinians, the Syrians, the Iraqis, or even the French, the goal of the Washington / Tel Aviv Axis From Hell is to thwart justice by applying power in political and in military forms.
Sympathy for the sufferings of the Jewish people in their Diaspora and persecutions of the early and mid-twentieth centuries has been preempted by sympathy of the victims of Israeli oppression. Just today, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made it clear that Israel would never accept a “right to return” by displaced and refugee Palestinians. This denial of Palestinian rights occurs while Israel continues to provide refuge and citizenship to Jews from any nation of the world, and continues to resettle Jews into occupied Palestinian lands in violation of international law, human rights, and common decency. Israel now uses its raw military power to preempt and prevent justice and to oppose peace.
Meanwhile, Paul Wolfowitz had the nerve today to scold Turkey, its leadership and its military for not adequately supporting U.S. interests in the recent conquest of Iraq. Wolfowitz implied that there would be repercussions if Turkey does not fall in line with U.S. interests. The neo-conservative clearly cannot fathom how Turkey failed to understand the “might makes right” principle on which America now subdues nations and converts their resources and leadership into alignment with U.S. interests. Turkey has long been considered a U.S. ally, but after undergoing the Wolfowitz treatment, who knows how secure the U.S. relationship with this ally will be in the future.
Other news reports indicate the Secretary of State Colin Powell just returned from Damascus, after giving the Syrian leadership a final warning about matters of intense U.S. interest. If Syria fails to align its own actions with U.S. interests, the likelihood is great that the U.S. will “punish” Syria — perhaps by overt war–making, or perhaps by covert means. >From the U.S. perspective, Syria has no option of self-determination, if that means conflict with U.S. concerns. Syria must voluntarily make itself a U.S. vassal, or the U.S. will exert its formidable powers, even if it means the loss of peace.
Because of the position of overwhelming military superiority, the U.S. can challenge the behaviors of any nation on earth at this time. The U.S. can bomb nations declared to be harboring terrorists, and if more terrorism results, more bombing and less peace will be called for. If the available choice is for peace without the procurement of U.S. and Israeli interests — or war , both nations will choose injustice and war in order to obtain their perceived interests. War on terrorism is better than peace because it allows for further projections of power, further weakening of Arab/Muslim “threats” and great economic benefit for the military/industrial complex that dominates the economies of both Israeli and American societies.
With this dynamic, peace is unlikely. Palestinians are offered peace by the U.S. and Israel, but only based on injustice and further oppression. This is not real peace, it is an illusion. Palestinians who settle for peace based on injustice will live to regret it, or die regretting it. Most likely, they will die regretting it, because death of Palestinians is an Israeli national objective, as history has clearly shown.
President George W. (for Warmaker) Bush is said to be consulting with his religious adviser, Franklin Graham, for some sort of scriptural support for his philosophy. If he can’t find it in the Bible, Dr. Graham is being urged to find some pretext for a scripture such as : “Blessed are the Warmakers, For the Kingdom of Earth is Reckoned to be Theirs”. Or, “He who lives by the sword, will dwell in the big tent.” Or George W.’s favorite: “God spoke unto the burning Bush, and said, “Well done, smiter of the heathen. Go and fetch thy reward.” ( Franklin Graham is said to have ordered a special volume of the Holy Bible printed to include these verses for the spiritual edification of the Bush policy advisers)
What Bush and Sharon fail to account for is the fact that power can be ephemeral, and memories of injustice can last for centuries. Memories being engrained in world consciousness now are not of the variety that will be cherished in future generations.
The writer is a member of several falconry and ornithological clubs and organizations. He contributed above article to Media Monitors Network (MMN) from California, USA.