|
 |
 |
|
|
|
||
|
Arafat does not believe it, nor do the many other Arab leaders who are now convinced that their historic moment has come. They believe that Israel and the United States — which they view as a single entity, a single enemy — are weak and divided, and lack the will to fight back effectively. They know that they cannot win a real war, but they believe that they can break what little remains of the Israeli/American will, and take possession of what is now Israel. Just in case we didn't get the message in Ramallah, somebody blows a hole in the side of one of our ships. But we are not receptive to such messages, because we, Americans and Israelis alike, are still in the grip of the Peace Process Hoax. The American excuse is that ours is a government of intellectuals who never outgrew the Sixties, and professional pols who have never had to work for a living. We believe, contrary to known human history, that peace can always be "worked out," just as we are told by the conflict-resolution profs at the Harvard Business School and other centers of mystification. The Israelis, and especially the Labor Party, have their fair share of Sixties intellectuals, like Yossi Beilin and Shlomo Ben-Ami, but unlike our leaders they have experienced war at first hand, and should know better. They should know that peace is what we call the terms imposed on the losers by the winners at the end of war. So long as both sides believe they can win, and at least one side wants total victory, a negotiated settlement is out of the question. An ancient sage wrote that "he who wants peace must prepare for war," but it is a painful truth, one from which we run whenever we can. And as we run, we tell ourselves that it will be different this time, that if we only make one more generous concession, if we only demonstrate our good will or our "neutrality" one more time, then the other side will drop its unreasonable demands, stop the killing, and come to terms. It will not happen on this earth. Those who desperately pursue the illusion of peace invariably end in a war far bloodier and far more terrible than would have been necessary to achieve a real peace. A Hebrew prophet wisely warned against those "who cry peace, peace, when there is no peace," knowing the terrible destiny that awaits those who embrace the false cry. But we did not listen, and so we are headed for war in the Middle East. The longer we wait, the worse it will be. Last I heard, Saddam--who fully understands the difference between war and peace — was moving troops westward, so he can participate in the mayhem. He undoubtedly played a role in convincing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to turn down Clinton's request for yet another emergency peace negotiation, and do not be surprised if Egypt piles on if Israel cannot win quickly. And so the muse of history reminds us once again that she moves by paradox. By blindly pursuing peace, we have unleashed the dogs of war. To make peace possible, we must now win the war. |
||
|
||
|
llusions are a lot tougher
than people, and the Great Peace Process Hoax lives on, even as Palestinian
mobs demolish Israeli reservists who made a wrong turn, and even as the
Israeli Army launches rockets into Yasser Arafat's empty home in Ramallah.
Ehud Barak, who was once thought to be a tough guy in the mold of Yitzhak
Rabin, won't even call it a reprisal; he insists that it's a warning to
Arafat: Stop the violence or we'll really do something.
