Brig.-Gen. (res.) Effie Eitam is testing the political waters - with a trip to the U.S. He returned on Sunday from a two-week visit there \"in the framework of my preliminary preparations for entering [Israeli] public life,\" he told Arutz-7 today. Eitam has been mentioned as the leading candidate to lead the National Religious Party in the next national election. \"The Americans we turned to were happy to receive me, I think because they know what\'s going on here and are interested in meeting people who may very soon be part of the national leadership.\" He met with American Jews, with whom he discussed ways to combat assimilation and ensure continued support of Israel, as well as with Congressional and other government figures.
When asked if he noted an erosion of the traditional American position against a Palestinian state, Eitam said. \"This is certainly the case on the declarative level. We have all heard the statements of support for such a development - and in truth, it\'s hard to blame them, because [our leaders] here are talking the same way.\" Eitam said, however, that he does not think that the type of state being mentioned - \"demilitarized, no air space, etc.\" - could actually be seriously considered at the negotiating table.
\"In Congress,\" Eitam said, \"they are open to hearing that Arafat is causing damage to the entire process, but the State Department has its own clear opinion, as expressed to me by David Satterfield: \'Negotiations will be held leading to the division of western Eretz Yisrael (Israel and Yesha) into two states, whether or not either of them are happy, and with no possibility of involving Egypt and Jordan and other territories that could be used to solve the problem...\' We have to help them come to new solutions, even though at present, as I say, the State Department doesn\'t accept this, but Congress has an open ear, and in the Pentagon we also have some good friends...
\"I also discussed with them the present war against terrorism: Here, too, Secretary Powell has a narrow view that concentrates only on killing Bin Laden, while people in the Pentagon, such as Richard Perl and Paul Wolfowitz, have a much broader view and want to expand the war to countries that sponsor terrorism. I expressed my opinion that America is liable to miss a historic opportunity to take care of something that could turn into a genuine world threat. There must also be a very tight international coalition to supervise weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately, over the past ten years there has been a tremendous leakage of dangerous materials to various hands that now imperils the entire world.\"
IDF Intelligence Chief Maj.-Gen. Amos Malka told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today that the Americans and the Europeans are beginning to \"wise up to Arafat\'s share in terrorism.\"
When asked if he noted an erosion of the traditional American position against a Palestinian state, Eitam said. \"This is certainly the case on the declarative level. We have all heard the statements of support for such a development - and in truth, it\'s hard to blame them, because [our leaders] here are talking the same way.\" Eitam said, however, that he does not think that the type of state being mentioned - \"demilitarized, no air space, etc.\" - could actually be seriously considered at the negotiating table.
\"In Congress,\" Eitam said, \"they are open to hearing that Arafat is causing damage to the entire process, but the State Department has its own clear opinion, as expressed to me by David Satterfield: \'Negotiations will be held leading to the division of western Eretz Yisrael (Israel and Yesha) into two states, whether or not either of them are happy, and with no possibility of involving Egypt and Jordan and other territories that could be used to solve the problem...\' We have to help them come to new solutions, even though at present, as I say, the State Department doesn\'t accept this, but Congress has an open ear, and in the Pentagon we also have some good friends...
\"I also discussed with them the present war against terrorism: Here, too, Secretary Powell has a narrow view that concentrates only on killing Bin Laden, while people in the Pentagon, such as Richard Perl and Paul Wolfowitz, have a much broader view and want to expand the war to countries that sponsor terrorism. I expressed my opinion that America is liable to miss a historic opportunity to take care of something that could turn into a genuine world threat. There must also be a very tight international coalition to supervise weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately, over the past ten years there has been a tremendous leakage of dangerous materials to various hands that now imperils the entire world.\"
IDF Intelligence Chief Maj.-Gen. Amos Malka told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today that the Americans and the Europeans are beginning to \"wise up to Arafat\'s share in terrorism.\"