 |
||||
Now open for business 6am to 6pm coast to coast! |
||||
| (Home Page) | (How to Buy Gold) | (Gold Coin Images) | (Daily Market Report) | (Live Gold Price) |
| (First-time Buyers) | (Gold Discussion) | (ABCs of Gold Book) | (Gold IRA) | (Gold Coin Shop) |
| (European Clientele) |
|
(About Us) | ||
Welcome to USAGOLD's "Gilded
Opinion" pages.
We invite you to browse our index
of outstanding gold-based commentary.
(Back to Holger Jensen Index)
While we find Mr. Jensen's columns particularly informative with respect to foreign affairs, his opinions do not necessarily represent those of Centennial Precious Metals, USAGOLD, its management and clientele.
INSIDE FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Bush administration dilemma:
Dealing with Arafat now that Israel refuses to
by Holger Jensen, International Editor
Whether Yasser Arafat is unwilling or unable to control the terrorists in his midst no longer matters to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
His Security Cabinet has declared that "Arafat is no longer relevant as far as Israel is concerned and there will be no more contact with him."
This poses a unique dilemma for the Bush administration, which announced that it will continue to deal with Arafat as leader of the Palestinian people but whose principal ally in the region, Israel, now won't deal.
Palestinians call the Israeli action a "declaration of war," and it's hard to see it otherwise. Besides airstrikes and tank assaults on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Sharon is sending in large numbers of ground troops "to carry out arrests and confiscate weapons," which will almost certainly precipitate major fighting with Arafat's security forces.
This dooms the peacemaking mission of retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, who has been little more than a helpless spectator to the spiral of violence. Fifty Palestinians and 44 Israelis have been killed since his arrival Nov. 26. The Palestinian toll includes 18 armed attackers and 10 suicide bombers belonging not only to Hamas and Islamic Jihad -- groups that Arafat says are beyond his control -- but members of his own Fatah faction.
A bus ambush that killed 10 Israelis and one Palestinian attacker, claimed by Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, was the final straw that caused Sharon's Security Cabinet to sever all ties with the 73-year-old Palestinian leader.
In an obvious attempt to placate Washington, Israeli Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit said there is "no intention to physically harm" Arafat. But Public Security Minister Uzi Landau raised the possibility that he may be exiled again to Tunis as he was before the Oslo peace accords of 1993.
Interviewed by the French newspaper Le Monde, Landau said: "We should not only seize arms. We also have to catch the leaders of the terrorist groups, not only Hamas and Islamic Jihad but the local Taliban who protect them, such as the Tanzim, the armed wing of Fatah, and Arafat's Force-17. All these organizations have to be outlawed and barred from causing any harm. As for the political leaders, they should go back to Tunis."
Washington and the 15-nation European Union have both advised Sharon that it would be a mistake to deport Arafat or dismantle his Palestinian Authority. For all his faults, they regard him as the only Palestinian leader capable of making peace with Israel and fear his removal would bring chaos to the occupied territories.
Any power vacuum would benefit Hamas, the Islamic movement dedicated to the destruction of Israel, whose popularity has soared among Palestinians while Arafat's has plummeted. Palestinian polls only give him 30 percent support, both because of corruption in Arafat's government and because he is perceived to be Israel's "collaborator" every time he tries to rein in the Muslim militants.
Still, Arafat has symbolized the Palestinian cause for more than 30 years and would make a potent martyr. Which may be why Sharon assured President Bush that he has no intention of toppling him.
However, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit described a Dec. 7 telephone conversation in which Sharon "openly expressed his desire to be rid of Mr. Arafat." Sharon also was quoted by Russian newspaper editors as saying he would prefer to deal with other "more pragmatic" Palestinian leaders.
One possible successor favored by Israel is Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, the PLO representative who helped craft the Oslo accords. Another is Ahmed Korei, also known as Abu Ala, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council and formerly the PLO's chief financial expert. He too was involved in the Oslo negotiations.
But that makes them unpopular in the Palestinian community which, after 14 months of intifada, admires fighters, not peaceniks.
Israeli officials also speak favorably of Jibril Rajoub and Mohammed Dahlan, Arafat's security chiefs in the West Bank and Gaza. They cracked down on Islamic militants in 1996 but, given the public mood, are not too enthusiastic about becoming "Israel's policemen" again.
The only other alternatives are Marwan Barghouti, head of the Tanzim militia and a popular leader of the uprising, or Hamas. Neither would give Israel any peace.
December 15, 2001
Send your questions to international editor Holger Jensen, who will answer one each day. E-mail: hjens@aol.com
Copyright © 2001 The E.W. Scripps Co. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted by USAGOLD with permission of Mr. Jensen. No further reproduction without permission.
View INSIDE FOREIGN AFFAIRS Index Page
 Centennial Precious Metals Gold coins & bullion since 1973 Denver, Colorado 80246-0009 We educate first-time investors! |
for quotes and purchase information.
|
