Perfidious America
I have no idea what nationality HW Pienandoro is (The Jakarta Post Oct. 8, 1996), but I salute him for his contribution and his valid summary of why the West is so hypocritical about mass violence against Moslems in Bosnia and Israel. This is the first time I have seen attention drawn to the real aggressor in the Middle East -- Israel.
Netanyahu, with a very precarious mandate, seems intent on creating the conditions for a repeat of previous wars with its Arab neighbors. One needs no crystal ball to see that if Israel continues to antagonize its enemies, it will be no repeat of the Israeli victory in the 1967 seven-day war. The Jewish state would be in serious danger of being annihilated.
Netanyahu, with U.S. support, has reneged on previous peace agreements, and has no fears about exposing his nation to Arab radicals.
The Middle East Arabs have a lot to answer for -- Arafat himself has been a terrorist ever since he could hold a gun, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has committed acts of genocide and terrorism, Syria is a haven for international terrorism, Qaddafi has supplied vast amounts of Semtex to the IRA, and the Gulf states are among the world's worst offenders against human rights. But the Jewish state itself was born of terrorism in the 1940s.
As an "armchair commentator" on Middle East affairs, I would strongly urge Israel to draw back from the brink -- I believe if they continue on their present track they face extinction. The new generation of Israelis no longer commands sympathy for the mass genocide perpetrated by the Germans, and they would be well advised to look to a real, committed, and experienced peace broker like President Mubarak of Egypt, who shines, in comparison with an electioneering, shallow Clinton, as a world class diplomat attuned to the issues on his doorstep.
An article in the same edition suggested that the USA would not countenance any European input to their "peace efforts." Since the only party receiving U.S. support, from 5,000 miles away, is Israel, is it not time for the Europeans, vastly more experienced in diplomacy than the Americans, to bypass the Clinton administration and have direct talks with the Israelis and the Palestinians, if only to protect their investments in the region?
Who needs the permission of America to intervene in a patently anti-Moslem scenario? The world's policeman, captive to the Jewish vote, have been found wanting. Cut them out of the equation now.
BILL GUERIN
Jakarta