The NYT has a great piece of reporting by Isabel Kershner on radicalized settlers and the war they promise inside Israeli society over withdrawal from the West Bank. The piece begins with the Sternhell pipebomb attack in Jerusalem. Kershner's fundamentalist Jews are nuts; and Israeli government is, as always, stymied and does nothing:
hilltops commanding the Palestinian city of Nablus in the northern West
Bank, a local war is already being waged…
[At Annapolis] the Israelis agreed to freeze all settlement activity and immediately remove settlement outposts erected since March 2001.
In
practice, only a handful of the 100 or so outposts, at least half of
which were erected since 2001, have been removed, and construction in
the official West Bank settlements goes on.
Further evidence of the war within Israeli society: The tragedy of the occupation has brought about "an unprecedented number of young people who are choosing to go to jail rather
than serve in the Israeli army," says a Refuser Solidarity group. And the government of Israel is trying to shut down New Profile, a leftwing feminist group that supports these young "shirkers," New Profile reports. The group describes the spiritual despair that the occupation, and the Nakba before that, has caused inside Israel. And mentions soldier suicides as the leading cause of death:
unending "military solutions" have engendered an expanding movement of young
people who experience and express excruciating inner struggles and rifts in face
of the legal duty to serve. … For some
young people, [these crises] involve highly dangerous levels of personal distress and
indeed, in recent years, suicide has claimed the lives of more Israeli soldiers
than all other causes-of-death combined.
Rather
than listening to the voice raised by these future citizens, rather than
fathoming the social change it reflects and responding with changed, innovative
policies,
Israel 's state institutions have
chosen to wage a "war" against these youths and the developments they represent.
Its still quiet.
It will get hotter as the time for peace comes. And, if there is basis for confidence in a just peace, then Israel will jump over the hump, bear the grief of an angry portion of its populace, and move on.
Same as Palestine will pursue a just peace, even if it doesn't meet the demands of 89 organizations.
The radical jewish Settlers are as evil a bunch of terrorists as the Taliban, Al Queda, and any other extremist religious movement that employs violence to achieve their ends. Some might say that in terms of the Middle East conflict, the jewish Settlers are the original terrorists. And what does that make people like Adelson? He is supporting terrorism.
Th oil industry and its allies are moving to directly confront the Israel lobby — giving the lie to the idea that the invasion of Iraq was primarily to secure that nation's oil.
At last this war mongering lobby iis facing some powerful opponents.
The follwing is from the daily bulletin put out by the American Petroleum Institute (API)
US urged to build ties with Muslims
Steven Stanek, Foreign Correspondent
Last Updated: September 26. 2008 12:33AM UAE / GMT
The United States must completely rethink its approach to the Muslim world, abandon its aggressive military posture in favour of more diplomacy and deal with countries that it considers enemies, according to a bipartisan group of American leaders that issued a report this week.
The 34-member US-Muslim Engagement Project – which counts Madeleine Albright, a former US secretary of state, and other top political, economic and religious authorities among its members – encourages the US government to reverse much of George W Bush’s foreign policy in order to repair its relationship with Muslim countries, which the group says has been marred by “conflict, misunderstanding and distrust”.
Among the suggestions are that the United States enter talks with Iran and consider communicating with other entities, including “armed activist movements”, that Mr Bush has long barred from the negotiating table.
In the report, Changing Course: A New Direction for US Relations with The Muslim World, the leaders also advocated that Washington retake the lead in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, push for democratic reforms in countries that are considered vital allies and prohibit all forms of torture. The group says such changes will reduce the threat posed by militant extremists.
“Maintaining the status quo raises the spectre of prolonged confrontation, catastrophic attacks, and a cycle of retaliation,” the report said.
Both John McCain and Barack Obama received an advanced copy of the report, and “both have found the report of value and interest”, said Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and one of many philanthropists who worked on the project.
The group did not endorse either candidate, but urged the next president to outline a new strategy for US-Muslim relations in his inaugural address in January.
“The next president should begin with a fresh approach, should think anew and should act with boldness and with innovation,” said Steve Bartlett, a group member and a former Republican congressman from Texas.
The call for dialogue with Iran comes after years of scepticism over its nuclear ambitions. Iran has maintained its right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes while US leaders believe the country’s goal is to create nuclear weapons.
Under Mr Bush, the United States has consistently lobbied to stiffen economic sanctions, grouped Iran with Iraq and North Korea in an “axis of evil” and frozen all diplomatic ties.
Mr Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, said he plans to sit at the table with Iran, while Mr McCain, the Republican candidate, has called that approach “reckless”. Neither has ruled out a military option.
Although the report’s authors have different views on how productive such consultations will be, they “unanimously agree that the United States needs to engage with Iran to see if we can resolve the major issues dividing us”, said Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and a member of the leadership group. “We encourage an approach that uses both carrots and sticks.”
The report also advises the next president to reach out to other groups that Mr Bush has shunned, though members declined to specify whether they advocated working with the likes of Hamas and Hizbollah, two groups that the United States considers terrorist organisations. The report suggests leaders should choose their partners on a “case-by-case” basis.
“It is going to be difficult and painful for us on some occasions as well as very uncomfortable, but we have to support principles not political parties,” said Vin Webber, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota, chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy and a member of the group.
Mr Webber also said the next president should leverage his power to push for democratic reforms in allied countries. “The United States cannot blindly support authoritarian governments that suppress the democrats in their own society simply because it’s in the United States’ interest,” he said.
The report also lists broadening economic ties between the United States and Muslim countries and creating more jobs in Muslim countries as a way to combat extremism. Poor economic conditions and a lack of upwards mobility are factors that drive up the membership of militant groups, members said, adding that the United States is often seen as “complicit” in Muslim poverty.
“Many people in Muslim majority societies translate their frustration in their situations to anti-American views and see us as supporting corrupt governments that fail to make economic progress a priority goal for their society,” said Ahmed Younis, a group member and a senior analyst for the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.
Red Cavaney, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute and also part of the group, said the report advocates increased co-operation with Muslim countries – especially with oil-producers – in creating alternative energy sources such as solar power.
But the most basic – and to many members, the most important – initiative in the report is a plan to create “mutual respect” between Muslims and Americans. The leaders cited misinformation and a widespread lack of empathy as an obstacle to improving ties.
“There is nothing more dangerous to us than … deep perceptions that America fundamentally disrespects Islam and disrespects Muslims,” said William Ury, co-founder of Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation and a member of the group.
While changing those perceptions requires an all-out effort to expand “cross cultural education and interfaith exchange”, the report said, it can also be achieved through smaller symbolic gestures. Mr Ury said, for example, that US leaders should stop using the words “Islam” and “terrorism” in the same sentence, which many Muslims find insulting. He said a few words of solidarity from America’s next leader or a presidential visit could also go a long way.
“Symbolism really matters,” Mr Ury said. “There is nothing that cost us less than to give respect to another human being.”
sstanek@thenational.ae
Many settlers in the Pallestinian occupied territories have dual US and Israeli citizenship. After what happened to John Walker Lindh, he received a 20 year prison sentence for fighting with the Taliban against the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, one would think Americans going overseas and talking up arms in foreign countries to participate in their civil unrest would suffer the same kind of penalty. One would be wrong thinking this about Americans taking up arms against Palestinians in order to expand the Israeli state. Too bad.
"Nuts" is the wrong word.
"Terrorists" is the right word.
"Homicide bombers" also sounds about right.
Couric: You don’t think the United States is within its rights to express its position to Israel? And if that means second-guessing or discussing an option?
Palin:
No, abso … we need to express our rights and our concerns and …
Couric: But you said never second guess them.
Palin:
We don’t have to second-guess what their efforts would be if they believe … that it is in their country and their allies, including us, all of our best interests to fight against a regime, especially Iran, who would seek to wipe them off the face of the earth. It is obvious to me who the good guys are in this one and who the bad guys are. The bad guys are the ones who say Israel is a stinking corpse and should be wiped off the face of the earth. That’s not a good guy who is saying that. Now, one who would seek to protect the good guys in this, the leaders of Israel and her friends, her allies, including the United States, in my world, those are the good guys.
That’s all we have for now on Sarah Palin Katie Couric Interview:Palin Couric Interview Transcript.