2008 Woodie Awards
Time for serious work for Middle East peace
By: Sean Lutzman
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Forum
From Cuba to Iran, Syria to Colombia, there appears to be a great sense within the Bush administration, its neo-conservative supporters and even many Democrats that by merely talking with enemy nations and/or political entities without any preconditions established, we would somehow weaken our position as the world's remaining military superpower.
This flawed strategy of relying on blunt military force or oppressive and ultimately ineffective economic sanctions instead of the utilization of serious diplomatic tools has failed us disastrously in Iraq, and it is on its way to failing us in another area in the Middle East - Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
The time to start seriously working towards a just and peaceful solution in the region and the enforcement of international law in Israel and the Occupied Territories of the Palestinian people is long overdue.
It's better late than never to achieve peace with justice in arguably the most fought over land on the face of the Earth (even if we are more than 40 years late in achieving it), but it is absolutely crucial to do so in an all-inclusive, well-informed and even-handed way.
But apparently there remains a strong element in both Israel and the United States that wishes to keep that goal from being achieved by continuing the policy of ignoring the legitimate voice of the Palestinian people.
Some American leaders like former President Jimmy Carter, who has become particularly outspoken about the issue of Palestinian human rights, strongly reject this strategy much to the dismay of the extremely powerful right-wing advocates of the Israel lobby that currently holds much influence over U.S. foreign policy.
The latest in criticisms leveled at Carter come as a result of his recent announcement that he will be talking with Khaled Mashaal, the political leader of Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization and political party which also happens to be the most recent legitimately elected majority party of the Palestinian General Assembly.
This flawed strategy of relying on blunt military force or oppressive and ultimately ineffective economic sanctions instead of the utilization of serious diplomatic tools has failed us disastrously in Iraq, and it is on its way to failing us in another area in the Middle East - Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
The time to start seriously working towards a just and peaceful solution in the region and the enforcement of international law in Israel and the Occupied Territories of the Palestinian people is long overdue.
It's better late than never to achieve peace with justice in arguably the most fought over land on the face of the Earth (even if we are more than 40 years late in achieving it), but it is absolutely crucial to do so in an all-inclusive, well-informed and even-handed way.
But apparently there remains a strong element in both Israel and the United States that wishes to keep that goal from being achieved by continuing the policy of ignoring the legitimate voice of the Palestinian people.
Some American leaders like former President Jimmy Carter, who has become particularly outspoken about the issue of Palestinian human rights, strongly reject this strategy much to the dismay of the extremely powerful right-wing advocates of the Israel lobby that currently holds much influence over U.S. foreign policy.
The latest in criticisms leveled at Carter come as a result of his recent announcement that he will be talking with Khaled Mashaal, the political leader of Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization and political party which also happens to be the most recent legitimately elected majority party of the Palestinian General Assembly.
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