The Statehood Mistake
Negotiating with terrorists.

October 8, 2001 1:00 p.m.

ince September 11, after some 6,000 Americans were murdered by Islamic terrorists, President George Bush has informed the nation that there are thousands of trained Islamic terrorists in more than 60 countries, including our own. NBC News has reported that U.S. intelligence believes there's a 100% certainty that terrorists will strike here again.

At the same time, the president has gone to extraordinary lengths to publicly and privately assure Arabs and Muslims that the U.S. is not at war with them, but with terrorists and their sponsors. For this, the president deserves much credit. But then, the president committed a rare policy and diplomatic blunder that resonated throughout the Middle East. He confirmed a news leak that his administration was, in fact, entertaining the idea of a Palestinian state. The president said that "the idea of a Palestinian state has always been part of a vision, so long as the right of Israel to exist is respected."

Of course, "the right of Israel to exist" has never been accepted by its enemies, especially Yasser Arafat. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak learned this the hard way, after offering Arafat more of Israel than Arafat had ever imagined occupying. Arafat rejected all of it and then unleashed the current war against Israel.

The truth is that no Republican president has ever supported a Palestinian state as part of America's vision for the Middle East. And it wasn't until relatively late in his term, when Bill Clinton was desperate for a deal between Israel and the Palestinians as part of his drive to build a legacy, that he was an outspoken advocate of a Palestinian state. Bush's embrace of the Clinton vision, the timing of his changed position, and the manner in which he surprised Israel with his public endorsement of position, is and was a huge mistake.

Day after day we read new accounts of Palestinian terrorists blowing up scores of innocent men, women, and children in open markets and restaurants, and shooting defenseless commuters. One cease-fire after another is violated. Meanwhile, the U.S. repeatedly urges Israel to show restraint in the face of this persistent carnage and to negotiate with the perpetrators' backers — advice the U.S. would never consider if offered by others in response terrorists attacks against Americans.

During his September 20 speech to a joint session of Congress, the president said that "Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated." Presumably, the president's statement would include such terrorist groups as the Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood, all of which have direct or indirect associations with Arafat's Palestinian Liberation Organization. Apparently, it does not. These terrorists are not among those targeted by the U.S. for military annihilation.

The president also said that " ... we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime." Presumably, this statement would include such well-known state sponsors of terrorism as Syria, Iran, and Sudan. Apparently, it does not. In recent weeks, the U.S. has consulted with these countries, either directly or through intermediaries.

Israel can no more accept the cold-blooded murder of its citizens than the U.S. It can no more tolerate terrorists invading its borders and retreating to safe harbors in other countries than we can. Israel's security cannot be a bargaining chip to attract and keep Arab and Muslim nations in an antiterrorism coalition. The truth is that these countries — ruled by monarchs, authoritarians, or dictators — oppose terrorism not out of some sense of global goodwill, but because of their own self-interest, fear, and weak hold on power.

The Associated Press reported recently that the Jordanian royal family interrupted a vacation on a yacht last year after receiving information that terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden planned to attack the boat. And bin Laden is known to want to topple the Saudi royal family. Jane's Intelligence Report discloses that bin Laden's deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, "has been a central figure in the conflict waged by Islamic zealots in Egypt since the 1970s, fighting alongside the main Islamic group, al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, with the aim of establishing an Islamic state." He was sentenced to death in absentia by an Egyptian military court for terrorist acts against Egypt.

As the administration has said, Israel has no closer ally than America. But America has no closer ally than Israel. After the atrocities of September 11, there was shock and horror in Israel, prayer vigils in solidarity with Americans, and the sharing of intelligence with the U.S. government. Israel has also offered to join the antiterrorism coalition (to no avail). The Palestinians, on the other hand, danced in the streets and handed out candy to children in public celebration. Arafat censored further media reports of these events.

Israel has been a loyal ally in other ways. During the Gulf War in 1991, Saddam Hussein deliberately attacked Israel with 39 Scud missiles and threatened to strike it with chemical and biological weapons. Rather than retaliate with its military might, the U.S. persuaded Israel to stand down — fearing moderate Arab states (and Syria) would drop out of another American-led coalition. And while the Iraqis were driven out of Kuwait, Hussein was left untouched in Baghdad, from where he continues to threaten Israel. Today it's a rare Israeli household that doesn't store gas masks and have safe rooms.

And the slights against Israel continue. During his visit to the Middle East, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Uzbekistan, but reportedly declined an invitation from Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer to stop there. All nations — big and small, free and not free — are encouraged to join publicly with the U.S. in its war against terrorism, except for Israel.

There are those who believe that Israel's receipt of some $2 billion a year in U.S. aid justifies its treatment. On CNN's Capitol Gang, Mark Shields put it this way when setting up Bob Novak for his usual disparagement of Israel: "Bob Novak, your take on Ariel Sharon, the prime minister of Israel, after $91 billion in foreign aid from the United States to Israel, and the most steadfast ally Israel has ever had — the United States?" In other words, Israel's an ingrate.

When Japan refuses to open its markets to U.S. commerce, you don't hear Shields reminding viewers of the number of courageous Americans who died fighting the Japanese in World War II, or the untold billions the U.S. spent to revive its economy and is still spending to provide for its defense. In 1986, when Ronald Reagan ordered U.S. bombers in Britain to attack Libya, three of our allies — France, Germany, and Italy — refused to cooperate in the strike, thereby endangering the mission and American crews. The bombers were forced to fly for a longer period of time and to refuel several times in the air. Yet, no lectures from Shields on how the people of these countries owe their liberty to America.

As the U.S becomes ever more dependent on Middle East oil, and the Arab and Muslim populations (and political clout) continue to grow here and elsewhere, Israel's future will become even more difficult and dangerous. So, when the president dropped his policy bombshell the other day, raising the possibility of a Palestinian state while declaring war on terrorists and state-sponsored terrorism, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's undiplomatic response was not "unacceptable," as the president put it. It was natural. Clearly the Israelis had hoped that the ruthless attacks of September 11 would strengthen the bond between the U.S. and Israel, not embolden Israel's enemies.