By R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. on 4.4.02 @ 12:03AM
Carville and Begala would be of no use in the Arab world. There are no free elections there.
Washington -- Did you see the recent television footage of the
Arab summit? What went through your mind? All those sheiks and
their associates sitting there glowering into the cameras, what did
you think? I wondered, how do they keep their sheets so clean? I
have not seen so many men clad in sheets since viewing old pictures
of Ku Klux Klan meetings in the 1920s. It will be a long time
before J. Crew or L.L. Bean opens a shop in an Arab country.
Another thing I wondered about was how does a fellow become a
political leader in an Arab country? Perhaps he (here I do not have
to employ the politically correct piety, "he or she" do I?) hires a
political consultant, say, James Carville or Paul Begala, and runs
a populist campaign. Carville and Begala always look sufficiently
angry to sit with those Arab leaders at one of their summits, but
we all know that their talents are not needed in the Arab world.
There are no free elections there. What elections are held are
similar to those once held in the Soviet Union; elections, that is
to say, free of the clutter of a loyal opposition. In fact, in the
Arab world there is no opposition of any kind.
That the Arab world does not tolerate opposition within its
borders should get us to thinking about the presence in Yassir
Arafat's West Bank of suicide bombers. He says he opposes them.
Well, then how is it that they keep emerging from his jurisdiction,
insinuating themselves into Israeli public places, and blowing
everything and everyone to smithereens? No other groups that Arafat
opposes exist in the West Bank.
Arafat might claim not to know the identities of suicidal
terrorists until they blow themselves up, but the Israeli
intelligence services could help. They claim to know the identities
of prospective suicidal terrorists. They actually had asked Arafat
to arrest the suicidal bomber who went on to commit the "Passover
Massacre" at Netanya. Arafat did nothing. Given the lack of
opposition in Arab communities, one can conclude that Arafat knows
quite a lot about these zealots and approves of their vile
activities. In fact, now that the Israeli army has taken over
Arafat's headquarters it has discovered documents that show that
Arafat has known the identities of the suicidal terrorists, their
intentions, and their employers.
These suicidal terrorists, who have made the intifada seemingly
hopeless, have introduced a new element into Middle Eastern
warfare. For that matter they have introduced a new element into
all warfare, as the civilized world discovered on September 11.
That element is an enemy who can never be held accountable for his
evil deeds. He cannot be arrested or punished; and, worst of all,
he can only with the greatest difficulty be prevented from
accomplishing his slaughters.
What can now be done about the slaughter in the Middle East?
President George Bush's critics claim he must get deeply involved
in negotiations as his predecessor was for seven years. Ironically,
the same Clinton apologists who claim the Boy President cannot be
held responsible for the growing strength of Osama bin Laden during
his presidency, should now be held responsible and even honored for
the relative peace in the Middle East that existed during his
marathon negotiations. That Clinton's negotiations led to
heightened Palestinian demands on Israel (the "right" of
Palestinians to return to Israeli lands) in response to Israel's
most generous offer of land for peace, does not register on the
minds of these advocates of marathon negotiations. Nor does it
register that after Clinton's fruitless negotiations the
Palestinians unleashed the most barbarous atrocities since the days
of Japanese kamikazes. (Of course the kamikaze pilots only targeted
the military.)
Negotiations are not the answer. Holding terrorists and
supporters of terrorism accountable is the answer. Even that was
impossible until the Israeli tanks rolled into Arafat's chaotic
neighborhood. Now there is a serious police presence there to keep
an eye on potential suicide bombers. Yet I have another idea now
that the Israelis are on the West Bank to police the area.
The suicide terrorists have had community support. Their
families are honored. The mother of such a zealot is honored as
Umm al-shahid, mother of the martyr; and the father is
Abu al-shahid, father of the martyr. Such mothers and
fathers are obviously accessories to murder. Surely there are many
Palestinians who recognize the danger they pose to other
Palestinian families and to peace in general. Just as the parents
of unruly children in America are held responsible for their
children's actions, these parents ought to be held responsible for
the slaughter their children have committed. They should be
arrested.
Arresting them would surely militate against the violence.
Americans recognize the wisdom of the Bush Administration's dictum
to oppose terrorists and all those who support terrorists.
Parents who take pride in their children's suicidal bombings of
innocent people certainly fall into the category of supporters of
terror. The Israelis should lock them up. It would be a prudent
step in allowing the West Bank to proceed towards what no nation in
the Arab world has, democracy.
topics:
Television, Military, Israel
