Since even before Bill Clinton's presidency, our nation has been associated with peace talks in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Granted, the issues present in this part of the world have been going on for centuries, but the US has become an active participant in the region more recently. In many ways we have designated ourselves the officers of peace in the Middle East. And one thing has always been for sure - we were not willingly going to allow Palestine to over turn Israel. But again, these were the beliefs held by our past governing bodies. These were the administrations that backed Israel. Unfortunately, it seems this is not the case for the present Bush administration.
If you happened to have picked up Tuesday's New York Times, you would have quickly spotted a front page story that began with, "Before attacks, US was ready to say it backed the Palestinian State." Back the Palestinian State? This had to be a play on words maybe, but sure enough it was the truth. President Bush, along with Secretary of State Colon Powell, was ready to announce that the US would throw support behind Yasir Arafat.
Is it not enough that our nation is going through indescribable mourning? The last thing I think people want to hear right now is that we are going to switch sides in an ongoing battle. And to make matters worse, we were going to join a side that has cultivated numerous terrorist acts, the one thing that sickens every American today.
So one would think that after all that has happened, President Bush would think twice about following through with these negotiations. Au contraire - it seems that these negotiations are going to work to "our" advantage. And why not? We are about to initiate a war on Afghanistan, so it would be great to have large-scale support in the Middle East. One pat on the back deserves another right?
So we help the Palestinian refugees back into Jerusalem. Maybe even turn our backs while they slowly envelope the whole nation of Israel. As long as we get what we want, a successful victory in our nearing war. Maybe this approach sounds fine from a political viewpoint. Logrolling has been a common practice in this nation ever since the beginning. But I imagine many Americans slammed this particular article down in disgust.
How surprising is it that Arafat, along with other rulers, has informed the US that this is actually the optimal time to start the negotiations. The sooner we start, the sooner they'll help us. Apparently, the government doesn't feel that this is quite the right time to announce their new proposition to Palestine.
I wonder if it has anything to do what just happened? Maybe they feel we, as the American people, won't back up this plan. If so, this would be correct. I haven't come across one individual who wasn't horrified by the idea of our support being swayed. It seems that former President Clinton, during his whole administration, made such a large effort to work on these problems. With one fell swoop, the Bush administration is going to let it all come crashing down.
What does it say of our country that we can't stand behind Israel? We have so fervently stood behind it for so long, and now when it seems that the Palestinians could be our warring "saviors" we break all ties, throw away our support, and leave Israel stranded. It just doesn't seem right at all. All I keep hearing on the news is "... it seems that internationally, we're just not liked...are we not being portrayed correctly? We really are nice..."
Maybe all those countries have seen something that I have been allowing myself to ignore - that we are selfish and work in our own best interest. When push come to shove, we won't be there backing up democracy, we'll be there catering to our own interests. I've led myself to believe that the US stood for so much good in this world, but maybe this is not the case.
Whatever the case may be, let us hope and pray that President Bush realizes what a grave mistake supporting Palestinian statehood would be. Let Colon Powell recognize the error in this choice. Perhaps Palestinian support would aggravate Afghanistan's strategy, but look at the price we would be paying. It cannot possibly be worth it!
Adrienne Yeganeh is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major.
