- Last night John Kerry resoundingly threw his hat into
the ring to become President of the United States. In the same ringing
tones, he committed himself and his running mate, John Edwards, to making
America safe, combating world terrorism, restoring the reputation of the
United States, and bringing the United States back into the family of nations.
In short, John Kerry launched himself and, if elected, his presidency into
an urgent confrontation of the greatest moral, ethical and human rights
dilemma facing the American President and the American people: The plight
of the Palestinian people. If he does not recognize this from the beginning,
his presidency and our future will both be in jeopardy.
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- We have had five Presidents in a row confront the problem
of world terrorism and leave it unsolved for his successor. Carter launched
the right moves with the Camp David accords, but the problem of American
hostages in Iran stole the momentum of his presidency. Reagan allowed his
core team in the White House to get involved in a deal to retrieve hostages
in the Middle East while promoting terrorism in Central America. Bush 1
put the problem on a back burner while he disciplined Saddam Hussein. Clinton
attempted to make peace in Palestine with a second Camp David accord that
failed to guarantee Palestinian rights. Bush 2 not only has muddied world
terrorism waters with an unprovoked attack on Iraq but also has put the
United States completely in opposition to any rights for the Palestinian
people.
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- If he becomes the next President, Kerry faces the Palestine
problem in the worst condition it has ever been. Why? Bush 2 has erased
any pretense of White House interest in the rights of the Palestinian people.
Kerry will face a tough road back from that debacle, even if he applies
himself from the beginning.
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- To get beyond this point, John Kerry has to approach
forthrightly and connect with that largely unmentioned "third rail
of American politics: Relations with Israel. Politicians generally won,t
touch it, because Jewish/Zionist media, financial, and voting clout represent
formidable obstacles.
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- Through his actions to date, Kerry has indicated he intends
to follow basically the line followed by Bush 2: Go blindly down the path
of support for Israel. Undoubtedly being pressed by Israelis and supporters
to do so, in a March 2004 meeting with Jewish leaders in New York, Kerry
committed himself whole-heartedly to support Israel. In the week before
the Democratic Convention, he sent his brother to reaffirm that commitment
directly to Israeli leadership.
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- It may be that realities of the campaign make it impossible
to correct this posture before being elected. Not only are the Zionist
extremists and their supporters behaving as if they have the American presidency
in their pockets, but also Christian conservatives are backing Israeli
moves. In a close election, as this one is shaping, those pro-Zionist votes
can be decisive. But if he stays on that course, if he refuses to touch
that third rail, the Kerry Middle East policy train will never leave the
station.
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- At the same time, Arabs and indeed Muslims worldwide
grow increasingly restive under an insensitive, aggressive American official
refusal to recognize that anything is wrong in Palestine or amiss in US
behavior toward the Islamic peoples. For a small number of Muslims, especially
for Osama bin Laden and al Qaida, those persistent policy blind spots are
at once terrorism generators and recruitment posters.
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- There is no way a Kerry administration can avoid coming
to grips with this situation. Bush 2 will have left it in an acutely abscessed
state. But success on all the core objectives of Kerry,s announced foreign
policy will require that he not only address this situation but succeed
in fixing it. There simply is no solution to the Middle East problem that
does not recognize and respond to fifty years of repression for the Palestinian
people.
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- There is no way that problem can be resolved while catering
exclusively to the demands of Zionist extremists. Kerry has no choice,
therefore, but to confront the Israeli extremists with an imperative need
for real balance in American policy toward Palestine. Phony even-handedness
will not serve. Buzz phrases like the "Road Map or "the peace
process will not be believed, especially when placed alongside the stark
reality of political commitments to the Israeli hardliners.
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- If Kerry does not recognize this reality and move to
correct America,s course in Palestine, then his presidency will join five
others that have failed to protect American interests in the Middle East
or to honor the rights of more than three million people in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip. But we, the people, will be to blame for this continuing
tragedy, if we do not insist that out of fairness and urgent attention
to our self interest, Kerry or whoever is the next President wake up and
solve this problem.
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- Solving the problem means confronting the Israeli hardliners
with a greater reality than their political clout: Fundamental American
interests are threatened by exclusive support for Israel. There are enough
radiological, toxic agent and biological substances loose in the world,
and enough technology readily available to make weapons from them. The
world,s best armies, ours, Israel,s or any others, cannot stop a determined
individual or small group from compounding and using such devices. As the
frustration, anger, and hopelessness of the Palestinian people mount, their
tormenters may well bring upon themselves a holocaust that will take only
seconds. America and Israel are threatened by this prospect, and if it
happens, we will have brought it upon ourselves.
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- John Kerry must face this, but ultimate responsibility
lies with us. If Kerry becomes President, he works for us, and if we do
not tell him what to do on this, the blame is all ours. Throughout this
campaign, in the vote this November, and in contacts with our Senators
and Representatives, we must make it clear that we want justice and fairness
for all the people in the Holy Land.
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- The writer is a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer
of the US Department of State. He will welcome comments at wecanstopit@charter.net
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