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US DESPERATE TO THWART PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD BID
By Linda S. Heard
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29184.htm
Sep 22, 2011
US govt against Armenian Genocide recognition because it would
ostensibly harm the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process...
Exercise of its veto at UN will highlight Israel's diplomatic isolation
along with Washington's slavish posture
September 21, 2011 "Information Clearing House" -- The determination
shown by the Obama administration and Congress to 'persuade' the
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) from attempting to gain UN
recognition of statehood is deplorable; their methods even more so.
US President Barack Obama, the man who pledged to bring about a
Palestinian state, strongly objects to the Palestinian bid under the
pretext that it is counterproductive to the peace process, which in
reality has been defunct since former US President Bill Clinton left
office in 2000.
As a man sympathetic to Palestinian aspirations prior to taking office,
I wonder whether Obama likes what he sees in the mirror nowadays. Not
only has he reneged on his promise to deliver a Palestinian state
by September this year, he is vigorously opposing the creation of a
state in name only. He is also using every tactic to bring US allies on
his side while he twists the arm of the Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas not to proceed. Obama's latest inducement aimed at luring the
Palestinians to give up their right to a UN hearing was delivered
by US envoys David Hale and Dennis Ross-dubbed 'Israel's lawyer'
by one of his former deputies.
The pair arrived bearing a written proposal for the resumption of
face-to-face talks that instead of referring to Jewish colonies as
'illegal' attributed their existence to 'demographic trends since
1967.' It's no wonder that Abbas considered this offer as 'the last
straw' when its acceptance would have been tantamount to legalising
Israeli expansionism.
Obama has said the US will use its veto if the Palestinians take their
case for full UN membership to the Security Council, which they plan to
do on Friday. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the road to
peace doesn't go through New York; it goes through occupied Jerusalem
and Ramallah. Her mention of occupied Jerusalem rather than Israel's
recognised capital Tel Aviv is indicative of her pro-Israel bias. In
the meantime, Congress is out to punish the Palestinians for daring
to put their case before the international community.
Discussions held by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs included
the closure of the Palestinian mission in Washington, the termination
of US aid to the PNA and the reevaluation of US aid to the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that tends to the needs of
Palestinian refugees.
Targeting the UN
Republican Chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen would like to target the UN itself. She and others
have introduced legislation to induce the UN to shape up in Israel's
favour else face the US withholding its share of the body's operating
budget, which translates to 22 per cent. "The current UN continues to
be plagued by scandal, mismanagement and inaction and its agenda is
frequently hijacked by rogue regimes which protect each other while
targeting free democracies like the US and Israel," she said. It
should be mentioned that Ros-Lehtinen's campaign has been supported
by a major funder of Jewish colonies in occupied east Jerusalem and
the West Bank, Irving Moskowitz, an individual said by the pro-Israel
lobby group J-Street to be someone who "actively works to derail the
chances for a two-state solution."
Ros-Lehtinen and her pro-Israel committee cohorts should realise
that their threats towards the PNA, UNRWA and the UN are not only
undemocratic but spiteful. It's this type of bias that nurtures
anti-Americanism.
The Palestinians are doing nothing wrong. They are merely taking the
only channel legitimately left open to them. They've abandoned armed
struggle; they've spent decades talking to Israeli leaderships and
have made generous concessions to no avail, they've tried peaceful
protest only to be shot at or jailed. What's left to them other than
an appeal to the international community? And why should such appeal
elicit fear in both the Israeli and American corridors of power?
The problem is if the US turns out to be the lone UNSC member state
to flourish its veto to protect Israeli interests as it was earlier
this year, Israel's diplomatic isolation will be highlighted along
with Washington's slavish posture and its unsuitability to be any
kind of Middle East broker let alone an honest one. But there's a lot
more at stake besides red faces. Israel's neighbourhood is likely to
become even more hostile if the Palestinian bid fails and potentially
America's relationship with the Arab world will be sorely tested. A
former Saudi ambassador to Washington Prince Turki Al Faisal, who
recently penned an op-ed published in The New York Times titled
"Veto a state, lose an ally," believes just that.
Prince Turki urges the US to support the Palestinian bid else risk a
decline in its regional influence, the undermining of Israeli security
and the empowerment of Iran. He also warned that the special relations
between Saudi Arabia and the US would be in jeopardy as America
"would increasingly be seen as toxic by the vast majority of Arabs
and Muslims . . ."
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently referred to
Israel as the West's spoilt child. I only hope that the Palestinians
and their supporters succeed in giving the brat a well-deserved slap.
The bid itself will fail but the Palestinians will gain the moral
high ground and Abbas will garner his people's respect now that he's
finally given up dancing to Washington's tune.
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs.
She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at
[email protected].
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Linda S. Heard
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29184.htm
Sep 22, 2011
US govt against Armenian Genocide recognition because it would
ostensibly harm the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process...
Exercise of its veto at UN will highlight Israel's diplomatic isolation
along with Washington's slavish posture
September 21, 2011 "Information Clearing House" -- The determination
shown by the Obama administration and Congress to 'persuade' the
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) from attempting to gain UN
recognition of statehood is deplorable; their methods even more so.
US President Barack Obama, the man who pledged to bring about a
Palestinian state, strongly objects to the Palestinian bid under the
pretext that it is counterproductive to the peace process, which in
reality has been defunct since former US President Bill Clinton left
office in 2000.
As a man sympathetic to Palestinian aspirations prior to taking office,
I wonder whether Obama likes what he sees in the mirror nowadays. Not
only has he reneged on his promise to deliver a Palestinian state
by September this year, he is vigorously opposing the creation of a
state in name only. He is also using every tactic to bring US allies on
his side while he twists the arm of the Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas not to proceed. Obama's latest inducement aimed at luring the
Palestinians to give up their right to a UN hearing was delivered
by US envoys David Hale and Dennis Ross-dubbed 'Israel's lawyer'
by one of his former deputies.
The pair arrived bearing a written proposal for the resumption of
face-to-face talks that instead of referring to Jewish colonies as
'illegal' attributed their existence to 'demographic trends since
1967.' It's no wonder that Abbas considered this offer as 'the last
straw' when its acceptance would have been tantamount to legalising
Israeli expansionism.
Obama has said the US will use its veto if the Palestinians take their
case for full UN membership to the Security Council, which they plan to
do on Friday. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the road to
peace doesn't go through New York; it goes through occupied Jerusalem
and Ramallah. Her mention of occupied Jerusalem rather than Israel's
recognised capital Tel Aviv is indicative of her pro-Israel bias. In
the meantime, Congress is out to punish the Palestinians for daring
to put their case before the international community.
Discussions held by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs included
the closure of the Palestinian mission in Washington, the termination
of US aid to the PNA and the reevaluation of US aid to the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that tends to the needs of
Palestinian refugees.
Targeting the UN
Republican Chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen would like to target the UN itself. She and others
have introduced legislation to induce the UN to shape up in Israel's
favour else face the US withholding its share of the body's operating
budget, which translates to 22 per cent. "The current UN continues to
be plagued by scandal, mismanagement and inaction and its agenda is
frequently hijacked by rogue regimes which protect each other while
targeting free democracies like the US and Israel," she said. It
should be mentioned that Ros-Lehtinen's campaign has been supported
by a major funder of Jewish colonies in occupied east Jerusalem and
the West Bank, Irving Moskowitz, an individual said by the pro-Israel
lobby group J-Street to be someone who "actively works to derail the
chances for a two-state solution."
Ros-Lehtinen and her pro-Israel committee cohorts should realise
that their threats towards the PNA, UNRWA and the UN are not only
undemocratic but spiteful. It's this type of bias that nurtures
anti-Americanism.
The Palestinians are doing nothing wrong. They are merely taking the
only channel legitimately left open to them. They've abandoned armed
struggle; they've spent decades talking to Israeli leaderships and
have made generous concessions to no avail, they've tried peaceful
protest only to be shot at or jailed. What's left to them other than
an appeal to the international community? And why should such appeal
elicit fear in both the Israeli and American corridors of power?
The problem is if the US turns out to be the lone UNSC member state
to flourish its veto to protect Israeli interests as it was earlier
this year, Israel's diplomatic isolation will be highlighted along
with Washington's slavish posture and its unsuitability to be any
kind of Middle East broker let alone an honest one. But there's a lot
more at stake besides red faces. Israel's neighbourhood is likely to
become even more hostile if the Palestinian bid fails and potentially
America's relationship with the Arab world will be sorely tested. A
former Saudi ambassador to Washington Prince Turki Al Faisal, who
recently penned an op-ed published in The New York Times titled
"Veto a state, lose an ally," believes just that.
Prince Turki urges the US to support the Palestinian bid else risk a
decline in its regional influence, the undermining of Israeli security
and the empowerment of Iran. He also warned that the special relations
between Saudi Arabia and the US would be in jeopardy as America
"would increasingly be seen as toxic by the vast majority of Arabs
and Muslims . . ."
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently referred to
Israel as the West's spoilt child. I only hope that the Palestinians
and their supporters succeed in giving the brat a well-deserved slap.
The bid itself will fail but the Palestinians will gain the moral
high ground and Abbas will garner his people's respect now that he's
finally given up dancing to Washington's tune.
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs.
She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at
[email protected].
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress