No one doubts the tragic and senseless loss of life now taking place on the Gaza Strip in the Middle East as a result of the armed factional fighting and power struggle between Hamas and Fatah. In one sense, only the militant factions themselves are to blame for their inhumane reaction to their current plight and the resort to ruthless violence. It is a struggle to be "King of the Hill" in a situation where the "hill" is not worth conquering, certainly not at the cost of so many lives. Yet the conditions that have led to this crisis are a product of actions on a larger geopolitical scope.
"Five years ago this month, President Bush stood in the Rose Garden and laid out a vision for the Middle East that included Israel and a state called Palestine living together in peace. "I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror," the president declared." [Washington Post, 6/15/2007].
Within that declaration can be found the duplicitous intent marking the Bush Administration’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Bush may have given lip service to a “two-state” solution, but there has been no demonstrated commitment to actually achieving or promoting that objective. Bush called upon the Palestinians to conduct a free and fair election. They did so, but favored representation by the Hamas Party. Bush and the Israeli government really meant that the Palestinians should have a free election – as long as they chose to elect leaders that Bush and Tel Aviv considered preferable.
For their part, Hamas was probably as surprised as anyone by the outcome of the vote. They admitted that the Hamas Party was more of a reactionary community defense organization that had few seasoned “politicians” trained and ready to take the reins and govern the Palestinian Authority and to engage in foreign policy processes. Hamas reached out to Fatah for a coalition. But for the meddling intervention by the US and Israel, there might have been a chance for real progress. However, without at least trying tp respect the democratic vote of the Palestinians, the US and Israel immediately declared the Palestinian plebiscite illegitimate and refused to work with Hamas. Instead, they imposed harsh economic sanctions and withheld sorely needed taxes legitimately due the Palestinian people, pressure apparently intended to force the Palestinians to change their mind and make the "correct" choice about their elected representative.
Thus, through bungled attempts at threat and intimidation, a potential opportunity to foster a pragmatic moderation of Hamas views and behavior was ignored. The Bush Administration only reinforced the sense of injustice and oppression that led the Palestinian people to turn in desperation to Hamas in the first place. Now, after years without demonstrable progress and continued disrespect and suppression of the Palestinian people by Israel and the US, Hamas has taken the position that a coalition with Fatah has been a failure. If Hamas joined with Fatah to obtain a sense of international legitimacy and to support diplomatic initiatives, experience seems to indicate to them that Fatah has failed to deliver the promised goods. Keep in mind that Israel has continued to arrest attack and kill Hamas leaders even when they have no evidence that the individuals attacked have actually engaged in any terrorist actions. Therefore, why bother to allow Fatah to control the Palestinian Authority any longer when Hamas is the duly elected representative? While this thinking and change of position is unlikely to improve the situation for the Palestinian people, the true victims in this debacle, the frustration of Hamas is at least understandable.
The Bush Administration is prone to simplistic labels and sound bites, rather than careful and thoughtful analysis. The Administration seems unable or unwilling to embrace pragmatic policies that require hard work and courage. Rather than just label Hamas a “terrorist” organization [even though the military wing of the Hamas Party has shown proclivity for indiscriminate violence], the Bush Administration could have done the hard and honest work of analyzing why the Palestinian people turned to Hamas. The severely depressed economic conditions they have lived in, and the treatment from Israel that President Carter characterized as akin to “apartheid” policies, has fostered a deep sense of despair and frustration among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Instead of approaching the situation in a thoughtful and constructive manner, Bush simply declared the democratic choice of the Palestinian people to be WRONG, and that the US would refuse to respect that choice. Bush encourages and supports Israel in its continued economic strangulation of the Palestinians.
Hamas portrayed itself as the only “champion” of the people. Whether or not that was an honest representation of Hamas motives, it was the best option or perhaps the only option that the Palestinian people could see on the horizon. When you have no hope, you tend to focus on today rather than tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Palestinian factions have turned on each other in their despair and sense of hopelessness and helplessness. Equally unfortunately, there are always opportunists who are ready to supply weapons in such situations rather than real aid and support. Guns are easier and more profitable to deliver than medical and humanitarian assistance.
Israel legitimately complains about rocket attacks by Palestinian militants and insurgents. These attacks are wrong, unjustifiable criminal acts. The current situation in Baghdad clearly demonstrates that when you have a near total breakdown of infrastructure, economic systems and political cohesion it is nearly impossible to control and eliminate rogue militant insurgent attacks. The situation in the Palestinian territories is not much different. To pretend that either Fatah or Hamas has complete control of such activities is like declaring that the streets of Baghdad are safe because Nouri Al-Maliki has been installed as the Iraqi Prime Minister. It is a foolish assertion.
The response by Israel of sending in attack helicopters to blow up buildings or tanks to kill children does more to worsen the problem than to decrease the bloodletting. There certainly is no leadership, pressure or encouragement from the Bush Administration counseling less reactionary measures. The decades of blood feuds and an ironic sense of complacency about chronic conflict provide limited constituency in Israel for supporting sustained peace initiatives at this time. And to do so is admittedly very difficult when it is hard to identify a reliable negotiating partner with whom to build a trusting and respectful relationship. Yet no such negotiating partner is likely to emerge unless the economic and humanitarian plight of the Palestinian people improves to the point where they perceive some hope for the future. And as long as the US encourages and supports military reactions rather than diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives, the situation will only deteriorate further [if that is even possible].
“After his reelection in 2004, Bush said he would use his "political capital" to help create a Palestinian state by the end of his second term. In his final 18 months as president, he faces the prospect of a shattered Palestinian Authority, a radical Islamic state on Israel's border and increasingly dwindling options to turn the tide against Hamas and create a functioning Palestinian state. “ [Washington Post 6/15/2007]
It is a further tragedy that Bush has no more political capital and has no clue as to why his inept foreign policy has contributed to the worsening state of affairs . The level of incompetence of the Bush Administration on so many fronts is truly astounding.
No comments:
Post a Comment