And so, the Israelis couldn't do it. George Bush couldn't do it either. The European Union was never interested in doing it. Bill Clinton would not even consider doing it. Ultimately, the only ones who could do it - reject and obstruct the fallacious leadership of Yasser Arafat - were his own people. Now the question is, what does this mean and what consequences will this have for the United States?
If there was any question that the Oslo experiment was an abject failure, the Palestinians have emphatically confirmed what the center-right of Israeli politics has stated all along: Yasser Arafat cannot be trusted. Immediately after the Oslo agreement was signed, Arafat mocked the newly celebrated peace plan by declaring a Jihad for Jerusalem (and the rest of Israel). Later, when Israel agreed to cede more land to Arafat under international pressure, Arafat unleashed the worst wave of violence against Israel, with a particular focus on Israeli civilians, especially women and children.
Still, President Clinton made Arafat the most popular foreign White House guest. Clinton was convinced, albeit negligently, that Arafat was the one who could provide peace, and more importantly, Arafat could be trusted to provide peace. While the Israelis, followed by George Bush and his recently much-maligned neo-conservative allies, emphatically requested the world ignore Arafat, their request was continuously ignored by the European Union and the United Nations.
So where did confirmation come from that Arafat is dishonest and corrupt? It came from the two most unlikely sources - the bastion of Palestinian protection otherwise known as the United Nations, and the Palestinian people themselves. The interesting twist on these developments is that even though the United Nations and the Palestinians agree that Arafat has failed them, the Palestinians are upset at the United Nations for saying this. This is the same "head in the sand" denial that refuses to acknowledge that Israeli Arabs are treated better by the Israeli government than the Palestinians are treated by their self-appointed leaders.
So how should the United States react to this?
Given the admission by the Palestinians that their leadership has failed them, it is without question that there is no better time than now for the United States to take some long awaited steps vis-a-vis the Middle East. The following items should be addressed without hesitancy.
First, the US embassy should be moved to Jerusalem. How many times have we heard this promise made in an election campaign, only to be cast aside under the guise that national security precludes such a move? Given the Palestinian disenchantment with their leaders, there is no better time than now to fulfill this promise.
Second, the United States should actively support Israel's right to all disputed areas currently administered by Israel. Considering that the Palestinians do not accept their own leaders, the US should demonstrate and affirm its friendship with its only true ally in the Middle East by publicly confirming Israel's right to all of the territories. If the official US policy is not to deny Palestinian claims to the areas, the US can assert that both parties have a right to all of the areas in question. These corresponding rights can then be negotiated between the parties, along the lines of the Unites States' traditional position.
Finally, the US should use the opportunity to stop, or at the very least, greatly reduce, funding it provides for the United Nations. It is time to call a spade, a spade. This farce of an organization spends most of its time bashing Israel to protect a group of people who have no state, no borders, no countries willing to settle its people (even amongst its friends) and no accepted leaders. This world body, which does more to promulgate anti-Semitism than to condemn it, should not have the United States fund its anti -American agenda. At a time when we can not figure out how to fund rising healthcare costs and impending Social Security deficits, we should not be throwing money down this sinkhole.
There is no better time than now to act on these initiatives. And if the election season serves as an impediment, that's unfortunate, but understandable. Just do it by the holiday season, as a gift from one friend to another.
If there was any question that the Oslo experiment was an abject failure, the Palestinians have emphatically confirmed what the center-right of Israeli politics has stated all along: Yasser Arafat cannot be trusted. Immediately after the Oslo agreement was signed, Arafat mocked the newly celebrated peace plan by declaring a Jihad for Jerusalem (and the rest of Israel). Later, when Israel agreed to cede more land to Arafat under international pressure, Arafat unleashed the worst wave of violence against Israel, with a particular focus on Israeli civilians, especially women and children.
Still, President Clinton made Arafat the most popular foreign White House guest. Clinton was convinced, albeit negligently, that Arafat was the one who could provide peace, and more importantly, Arafat could be trusted to provide peace. While the Israelis, followed by George Bush and his recently much-maligned neo-conservative allies, emphatically requested the world ignore Arafat, their request was continuously ignored by the European Union and the United Nations.
So where did confirmation come from that Arafat is dishonest and corrupt? It came from the two most unlikely sources - the bastion of Palestinian protection otherwise known as the United Nations, and the Palestinian people themselves. The interesting twist on these developments is that even though the United Nations and the Palestinians agree that Arafat has failed them, the Palestinians are upset at the United Nations for saying this. This is the same "head in the sand" denial that refuses to acknowledge that Israeli Arabs are treated better by the Israeli government than the Palestinians are treated by their self-appointed leaders.
So how should the United States react to this?
Given the admission by the Palestinians that their leadership has failed them, it is without question that there is no better time than now for the United States to take some long awaited steps vis-a-vis the Middle East. The following items should be addressed without hesitancy.
First, the US embassy should be moved to Jerusalem. How many times have we heard this promise made in an election campaign, only to be cast aside under the guise that national security precludes such a move? Given the Palestinian disenchantment with their leaders, there is no better time than now to fulfill this promise.
Second, the United States should actively support Israel's right to all disputed areas currently administered by Israel. Considering that the Palestinians do not accept their own leaders, the US should demonstrate and affirm its friendship with its only true ally in the Middle East by publicly confirming Israel's right to all of the territories. If the official US policy is not to deny Palestinian claims to the areas, the US can assert that both parties have a right to all of the areas in question. These corresponding rights can then be negotiated between the parties, along the lines of the Unites States' traditional position.
Finally, the US should use the opportunity to stop, or at the very least, greatly reduce, funding it provides for the United Nations. It is time to call a spade, a spade. This farce of an organization spends most of its time bashing Israel to protect a group of people who have no state, no borders, no countries willing to settle its people (even amongst its friends) and no accepted leaders. This world body, which does more to promulgate anti-Semitism than to condemn it, should not have the United States fund its anti -American agenda. At a time when we can not figure out how to fund rising healthcare costs and impending Social Security deficits, we should not be throwing money down this sinkhole.
There is no better time than now to act on these initiatives. And if the election season serves as an impediment, that's unfortunate, but understandable. Just do it by the holiday season, as a gift from one friend to another.