Column for July 28, 2005

Morris J. Amitay

Important Questions

There are certain basic questions about the Middle East which really deserve answers, but are often conveniently avoided. Here are a number of queries we think deserve consideration.

The Terrorist Threat

Why are U.S. officials still reluctant to cite radical Islam as the source of the terrorist threat? Why did the Administration recently rename the fight against terrorism as “a global struggle against violent extremism” – instead of describing it more aptly as “Islamic extremism?” Isn’t this the same kind of mindset that has the security personnel at our airports frisking an 84 year-old grandmother from Iowa instead of a 25 year-old male from Saudi Arabia?

Al-Jazeera

Why do we permit Al-Jazeera’s blatant anti-U.S., and “inciteful” broadcasts to openly operate here, and even have government officials occasionally appear before its cameras? Similarly, why do the new Iraqi authorities not have anti-sedition laws which would shut down Al-Jazeera in Baghdad?

Condi Rice

Is there something in the water at the State Department which turns its occupants’ minds into even-handed mush when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict? How else do you explain Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice publicly complementing the Palestinian leadership for taking “important steps” against terrorism? Why didn’t anyone ask her to name these “steps” – or even one?

Egypt

With Egypt receiving another $1.3 b. in U.S. military aid this year (and more than $50 billion in overall aid since 1979), and with no enemies around, has anyone come up with a rationale why it needs all this advanced hardware, including over 200 F-16s? Could it be that Cairo is preparing for a future military confrontation with Israel? Should we then be surprised that leading Egyptian commentators are now blaming Israel for the Sharm el-Sheik bombings?

Saudi Arabia

If you (rightfully) considered outgoing Saudi Ambassador, Prince Bandar to be an ultimate slimeball, could his successor, Prince Turki with his “intelligence” background and early support for Bin-Laden actually be any better? So what is the logic behind Brookings Saban Center’s Flynt Leverett, a former CIA operative and Kerry adviser, writing (where else) in the NY Times, that the new envoy represents “reformist elements” in Saudi Arabia? Given Leverett’s background, (he was also wisely removed from the Bush NSC’s Middle East desk), is it any wonder he also called for modifying U.S. policy towards Israel “to recognize Saudi interests and initiatives”?

London

How can P.M. Tony Blair, who is now getting a crash course in combating urban terrorism, really believe that settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will keep London’s subways safe? Will his desperate search to uncover the “root causes” prevent him from rooting out the terrorists in his midst? Could he be taking his cues here from spouse Cherie, who once declared – “As long as young people feel they have got no hope but to blow themselves up, you are never going to make progress”? Isn’t the terrorists’ fondest “hope” to kill as many innocents as possible?

Russia

How come more alarm bells are not going off as Vladimir Putin systematically returns Russia to the bad old Stalinist days and continues to help Iran acquire nukes? With a rubber stamp Duma, control over the media and prosecution of potential political adversaries, where is the bright spotlight on the machinations of this former KGB-nik?

Disengagement

Are there any valid reasons to believe that having broken all their solemn arguments going back to 1993 (Oslo), that the post-Arafat Palestinian leadership (which still blames Israel for provoking the ongoing terrorist attacks) will be any different after the Gaza disengagement? Isn’t it a near certainty that the Israeli withdrawal will only whet the appetites of the Jihadists who rule the Gaza streets and who largely reflect Palestinian public opinion?

Morrie Amitay is a former Executive Director of AIPAC and founder of the pro-Israel Washington PAC (www.washingtonpac.com).