Elusive Arab-Israeli Peace? I hate To Break The News… by Gerald A. Honigman
But if Barack Obama is not the main reason for a lack of progress (and that’s indeed a possibility), he’s certainly not been a major constructive force either.
Secretary of State John Kerry recently carried Team Obama’s old/new schemes to the Middle East–with predictable results. The Arabs swear they won’t budge in any “negotiations” (aka Jew arm twisting), and–as usual–their expectations involve Jews alone doing all the giving while Arabs just do the receiving. Obama as Santa Claus again.
Collectively, Arabs may be many things–but stupid they’re not. If the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth says that Israel would be nuts not to accept their alleged “peace” offer, then why should Arabs themselves also not assume this?
The “deal” Kerry carried with him regarding this matter involves resurrecting the 2002 Saudi Peace (of the grave) Plan. While still president-elect back on November 16, 2008, the Times of London reported that Obama said that Israel “would be crazy”–exact words–to not accept this Arab offering. He has repeated this statement since occupying the White House and, more to the point, has insisted that the Jews accept his wisdom. Indeed, woe unto any who might beg to differ-as Prime Minister Netanyahu found out when he was left stranded in the White House, and so forth.
I hate having to repeat myself, but such “news” really doesn’t give me much choice. The same stuff keeps on resurfacing time and again–and the answers are what they are. They don’t change. So, I’m forced to respond or concede the point.
The main provisions of the Saudi plan, which Obama finds so wondrous, call for a total withdrawal of Israel to the Auschwitz Lines– aka the 1949 armistice lines. You know, the lines which made Israel a mere 9-15 miles wide at its waist, where most of its population and infrastructure are located; the lines (not internationally recognized “borders”) which made Israel an irresistible target for attack and bisection for decades; the lines drawn up by the United Nations after it watched Israel being attacked upon rebirth in 1948 by a half dozen Arab armies, did absolutely nothing, but later stepped in only to limit Arab losses after the Jews, at tremendous human cost, finally reversed the tide.
Yes, those lines.
Now, keep in mind that Israel was promised, after the Arabs tried to eradicate it yet again in 1967, that it would never have to return to the Auschwitz Lines.
As some of us have had to write far too often, the final draft of UNSC Resolution 242 promised the Jews more defensible, secure, and real borders instead. The fight between Team Obama and Israel over building, the security fence, and the settlement issue is largely over whether Israel gets the territorial compromise promised by 242 or is forced to cave in to Arab demands instead– a la Obama’s beloved Saudi plan.
Here’s Britain’s Lord Caradon, the chief architect of the final, accepted draft of 242, on this subject:
“It would have been wrong to demand Israel return to positions of June 4, 1967 … those positions were … artificial … just places where soldiers of each side happened to be on the day fighting stopped in 1948 … just armistice lines. That’s why we didn’t demand Israelis return to them.” See here for an in-depth review of this issue http://www.geraldahonigman.com/blog/2012/06/09/president-obamas-much-needed-walk-down-memory-lane/ .
But, hold on–the best is yet to come.
Another main provision of the scheme insists that, after consenting to once again becoming practically invisible on a world globe, Israel next allow itself to be swamped by millions of allegedly “returning” Arab refugees. Keep in mind that more Jews fled the so-called “Arab” world as refugees than Arabs who fled in reverse because of a war that Arabs started themselves.
Now, what, pray tell, does Israel get in return for giving away the store, baring the necks of kids even farther than they are already (and please keep in mind Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza as a precedent for the “peace” it receives via such actions)?
Why, the Arabs promise good behavior…What a deal !
That is, until the Jews take one too many breaths or dare to defend themselves again, so Arabs can then have an excuse, which they will surely be looking for, to escape their own obligations–whatever those might actually be.
Take a good look at what’s happening all around Israel’s neighborhood right now.
Pick your state and truly use the same lenses of scrutiny in studying what’s happening there. Truth be told, despite its flaws, the only relative oasis of sanity and humanity in the region is found in that much-despised nation of the Hebrews.
True peace–not (in the Arabs’ own words) a phony hudna ceasefire, a Trojan Horse designed to further the Arabs’ destruction-in-stages plans–will not come until Arabs make peace as all other adversaries who conclude wars do–through real, painful give and take in a compromise designed to allow for a win-win situation for both parties.
While some wars involve absolute surrender terms, I am not calling for this–at least not for now. But, if Israel is forced into another major conflict, this too must not be taken off the table.
For now, the best solution is a modus vivendi–one which really takes into account the reasonable aspirations and needs of both parties in the conflict. Unfortunately, President Obama has encouraged just the opposite. The preferred Arab score card of 22 to 0 is not reasonable. In fact, they’re really aiming for a score of 23 to 0. That’s what their planned inundation of Israel is all about.
The President has continuously supported Arabs who believe that they will simply be able to take what Israel is forced to give–and, again, Obama’s resurrection of the alleged Saudi Peace Plan is just another example of this travesty.
While there has been some discussion of late about possible “modifications” to this plan, it is well known that the Jews are the only party in this conflict which Team Obama has turned the screws on in the past and will more than likely be willing to squeeze yet again in the future. Don’t expect an Arab leader to be left stranded in the White House because of any disagreements–or, being screamed at for forty minutes by an American Secretary of State.
Given this reality, a good argument could be made for America to simply withdraw from diplomacy in this matter and allow the adversaries to work this problem out one way or another themselves.
American military and other personnel should also be pulled out of the area as well. The Fatah Army we have created for Mahmoud Abbas is said to be itching for a fight with the Jews if the latter don’t cave in to all of its wishes.
While an American presence may be important to Jordan and others threatened with Jihadi Islamist takeover, the negatives might outweigh the positives. One thing is for sure, an American presence limits Israel’s ability to defend itself properly against the Fatah folks. The best defense is indeed often an offense–and that will be limited because of the American factor…and not by accident, I fear.
If America’s new Fatah-dominated army simply returns to its old Fatah Jew-butchering days, Israel will need to blast it out of existence. And we may indeed be heading to a point where it should want to. But, we don’t want dead Americans as a result.
I wish I could see a real difference between an American-created Fatah army of Jew disembowelers and wannabes and the Islamic Jihad and Hamasniks. The latter are simply more honest in their murderous actions and intent–so a full scale war can be waged against them with even less excuse needed. To hell with the useless United Nations hypocrites.
If Arabs see that they will truly be left alone to deal with Israel–with no one twisting the Jews’ arms, nor demanding that they fight with one hand tied behind their backs–they might just have to come to a reasonable compromise which both sides in this conflict can live with. And if not, my earlier comments about absolute surrender should then be reconsidered.
America did what it felt it needed to do in Dresden, Horoshima, and so forth–and the enemies we fought did not want to erase America off of the map nor kill every American.
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