In a speech at the Truman Presidential Museum in Independence, Missouri on Monday, Annan expressed criticism of the U.S. presence in Iraq. When the U.S. "appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives," he said, "its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused."
Annan praised Harry Truman - the United States' post-World War II president who was instrumental in helping to found the United Nations - for bringing the matter of North-South Korean violence to the UN in 1950, and not trying to deal with the matter alone. Criticism of current President George W. Bush for not taking similar action regarding Iraq was thus implied.
Annan will complete his ten-year term as UN chief at the end of this month, and will be succeeded by South Korean diplomat Ban Ki-moon. Ban will be sworn in as the eighth UN Secretary-General tomorrow (Thursday), and will assume office on January 1.
Middle East Warning
On Tuesday, in his final speech to the Security Council in New York, Annan more directly addressed the Middle East conflict, warning that tensions in the area are "near the breaking point," that the region faces "grim prospects," and that if a solution is not found, "extremists the world over would enjoy a boost."
Annan mentioned the problems in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Iran - but concentrated most fully on the Israel-PA conflict. He blamed the Palestinian Arabs for perpetrating terrorism - "no resistance to occupation can justify terrorism" - and Israel for almost everything else: its anti-terror military operations in Gaza, its continued presence in Judea and Samaria, its anti-terror partition, and even its lack of understanding of the "fundamental injustice to Arabs" caused by the formation of the State of Israel.
Annan said that Israelis are unlikely to succeed in getting the Moslem-Arab world to change its attitude towards them unless "they themselves clearly grasp and acknowledge the fundamental Palestinian grievance - namely, that the establishment of the State of Israel involved the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families, turning them into refugees, and was followed 19 years later by a military occupation that brought hundreds of thousands more Palestinian Arabs under Israeli rule... Yet thousands of Israelis still live in territories occupied in 1967 - and more than 1,000 more are added every month. As Palestinians watch this activity, they also see a barrier being built through their land in contravention of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, as well as more than 500 checkpoints to control their movement, and the heavy presence of the Israeli Defense Forces."
Annan's remarks overlook several factors, including:
* Tens of thousands of Arabs moved into what became Israel in the years just before the establishment of Israel
* The 550,000 Arab refugees of 1948 were caused largely by the Arab nations encouraging them to flee, and then refusing to provide them with permanent housing solutions
* Arab League Secretary-General Habib Issa quoted his predecessor Azzam Pasha as "assur[ing] Arabs [in 1948] that the occupation of Palestine, including Tel Aviv, would be as simple as a military promenade... Brotherly advice was given to the Arabs of Palestine to leave their land, homes and property, and to stay temporarily in neighboring fraternal states." (Al-Hoda Lebanese daily, New York, June 8, 1951).
* King Hussein of Jordan said in 1960: "Since 1948, the Arab leaders have approached the Palestinian problem in an irresponsible manner... They have used the Palestinian people for selfish political purposes." Former Syrian Prime Minister Khaled Al-Azm admitted in 1972: "Since 1948, it is we who demanded the return of the refugees... while it is we who made them leave... We brought disaster upon Arab refugees... Then we exploited them in executing crimes of murder, arson, and throwing bombs upon... men, women and children -- all this in the service of political purposes..." (Joan Peters, From Time Immemorial, pages 23, 16)
* Israel welcomed hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab countries in the years following its creation
* The United Nations has not taken a strong stand against current threats to annihilate Israel - one of the very reasons Israel was created in the first place
Sympathy for Israel
Annan also said that Israel must not be held to standards that are not applied to other countries, and questioned the effectiveness of the many UN resolutions condemning Israel: "One should ask whether such steps bring any tangible relief or benefit to the Palestinians. There have been decades of resolutions. There has been a proliferation of special committees, sessions and Secretariat divisions and units. Has any of this had an effect on Israel's policies, other than to strengthen the belief in Israel and among many of its supporters, that this great Organization is too one-sided to be allowed a significant role in the Middle East peace process?"
Without mentioning Iran, Annan said, "Some of the rhetoric used in connection with the issue implies a refusal to concede the very legitimacy of Israel’s existence, let alone the validity of its security concerns. We must never forget that Jews have very good historical reasons for taking seriously any threat to Israel’s existence. What was done to Jews and others by the Nazis remains an undeniable tragedy, unique in human history. Today, Israelis are often confronted with words and actions that seem to confirm their fear that the goal of their adversaries is to extinguish their existence as a State, and as a people."
"Therefore, those who want to be heard on Palestine should not deny or minimize that history, or the connection many Jews feel for their historic homeland. Rather, they should acknowledge Israel’s security concerns, and make clear that their criticism is rooted not in hatred or intolerance, but in a desire for justice, self-determination and peaceful coexistence."
Israel, Arabs, PA Leaders, and World - Guilty of Abuse and Exploiting
He said that the Arabs of the PA "have been miserably abused and exploited, by Israel, by the Arab world, sometimes by their own leaders and perhaps even, at times, by the international community. They deserve to see fulfilled their simple aspiration to live in freedom and dignity." The goal, Annan said, is "two states, Israel and Palestine, within secure, recognized and negotiated boundaries based on those of 4 June 1967; a broader peace encompassing Israel's other neighbors, namely Lebanon and Syria; normal diplomatic and economic relations... A solution that respects the rights of Palestinian refugees and is consistent with the two-state solution and with the character of the States in the region."
Annan praised Harry Truman - the United States' post-World War II president who was instrumental in helping to found the United Nations - for bringing the matter of North-South Korean violence to the UN in 1950, and not trying to deal with the matter alone. Criticism of current President George W. Bush for not taking similar action regarding Iraq was thus implied.
Annan will complete his ten-year term as UN chief at the end of this month, and will be succeeded by South Korean diplomat Ban Ki-moon. Ban will be sworn in as the eighth UN Secretary-General tomorrow (Thursday), and will assume office on January 1.
Middle East Warning
On Tuesday, in his final speech to the Security Council in New York, Annan more directly addressed the Middle East conflict, warning that tensions in the area are "near the breaking point," that the region faces "grim prospects," and that if a solution is not found, "extremists the world over would enjoy a boost."
Annan mentioned the problems in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Iran - but concentrated most fully on the Israel-PA conflict. He blamed the Palestinian Arabs for perpetrating terrorism - "no resistance to occupation can justify terrorism" - and Israel for almost everything else: its anti-terror military operations in Gaza, its continued presence in Judea and Samaria, its anti-terror partition, and even its lack of understanding of the "fundamental injustice to Arabs" caused by the formation of the State of Israel.
Annan said that Israelis are unlikely to succeed in getting the Moslem-Arab world to change its attitude towards them unless "they themselves clearly grasp and acknowledge the fundamental Palestinian grievance - namely, that the establishment of the State of Israel involved the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families, turning them into refugees, and was followed 19 years later by a military occupation that brought hundreds of thousands more Palestinian Arabs under Israeli rule... Yet thousands of Israelis still live in territories occupied in 1967 - and more than 1,000 more are added every month. As Palestinians watch this activity, they also see a barrier being built through their land in contravention of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, as well as more than 500 checkpoints to control their movement, and the heavy presence of the Israeli Defense Forces."
Annan's remarks overlook several factors, including:
* Tens of thousands of Arabs moved into what became Israel in the years just before the establishment of Israel
* The 550,000 Arab refugees of 1948 were caused largely by the Arab nations encouraging them to flee, and then refusing to provide them with permanent housing solutions
* Arab League Secretary-General Habib Issa quoted his predecessor Azzam Pasha as "assur[ing] Arabs [in 1948] that the occupation of Palestine, including Tel Aviv, would be as simple as a military promenade... Brotherly advice was given to the Arabs of Palestine to leave their land, homes and property, and to stay temporarily in neighboring fraternal states." (Al-Hoda Lebanese daily, New York, June 8, 1951).
* King Hussein of Jordan said in 1960: "Since 1948, the Arab leaders have approached the Palestinian problem in an irresponsible manner... They have used the Palestinian people for selfish political purposes." Former Syrian Prime Minister Khaled Al-Azm admitted in 1972: "Since 1948, it is we who demanded the return of the refugees... while it is we who made them leave... We brought disaster upon Arab refugees... Then we exploited them in executing crimes of murder, arson, and throwing bombs upon... men, women and children -- all this in the service of political purposes..." (Joan Peters, From Time Immemorial, pages 23, 16)
* Israel welcomed hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab countries in the years following its creation
* The United Nations has not taken a strong stand against current threats to annihilate Israel - one of the very reasons Israel was created in the first place
Sympathy for Israel
Annan also said that Israel must not be held to standards that are not applied to other countries, and questioned the effectiveness of the many UN resolutions condemning Israel: "One should ask whether such steps bring any tangible relief or benefit to the Palestinians. There have been decades of resolutions. There has been a proliferation of special committees, sessions and Secretariat divisions and units. Has any of this had an effect on Israel's policies, other than to strengthen the belief in Israel and among many of its supporters, that this great Organization is too one-sided to be allowed a significant role in the Middle East peace process?"
Without mentioning Iran, Annan said, "Some of the rhetoric used in connection with the issue implies a refusal to concede the very legitimacy of Israel’s existence, let alone the validity of its security concerns. We must never forget that Jews have very good historical reasons for taking seriously any threat to Israel’s existence. What was done to Jews and others by the Nazis remains an undeniable tragedy, unique in human history. Today, Israelis are often confronted with words and actions that seem to confirm their fear that the goal of their adversaries is to extinguish their existence as a State, and as a people."
"Therefore, those who want to be heard on Palestine should not deny or minimize that history, or the connection many Jews feel for their historic homeland. Rather, they should acknowledge Israel’s security concerns, and make clear that their criticism is rooted not in hatred or intolerance, but in a desire for justice, self-determination and peaceful coexistence."
Israel, Arabs, PA Leaders, and World - Guilty of Abuse and Exploiting
He said that the Arabs of the PA "have been miserably abused and exploited, by Israel, by the Arab world, sometimes by their own leaders and perhaps even, at times, by the international community. They deserve to see fulfilled their simple aspiration to live in freedom and dignity." The goal, Annan said, is "two states, Israel and Palestine, within secure, recognized and negotiated boundaries based on those of 4 June 1967; a broader peace encompassing Israel's other neighbors, namely Lebanon and Syria; normal diplomatic and economic relations... A solution that respects the rights of Palestinian refugees and is consistent with the two-state solution and with the character of the States in the region."