Southwest Corner
Abbas and New Mideast Hope
(January 14, 2005)
The election of Mahmoud Abbas January 9 as
Palestinian president offers the United States, Israel and the Mideast the best
chance for peace in nearly a generation. For decades Washington viewed
Abbasıs predecessor Yaser Arafat as an impediment to meaningful progress in
region. Abbas brings a new day. This brief opportunity for real change should
not be wasted.
Despite past Nobel Peace Prizes awarded to
the regionıs principal combatants and the recipientsı public pronouncements to
the contrary, peace in the Mideast remains at bay. Held hostage by
mutual distrust, religious zealotry and cultural entrapment, political leaders
of all persuasions have failed to move significantly or seriously toward a
permanent cessation of military retaliation or terrorism.
Now is the time. If there is to be a
lasting peace in the Middle East for our generation, all parties must fulfill
their public commitments by sitting down at the same table and hammering out
the principles of a realistic accord. Neither George W. Bush, Palestinian
President Abbas nor Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should kowtow to the
militant views of their respective followers. Courageous leadership
requires bold initiatives that are often at odds with the demands of a nationıs
residents.
Abbas professes opposition to Palestinian
attacks against Israel. Sharon, for his part, wants to pull some 8,000
Israeli troops out of the Gaza in the next several months. Both men should stand
firm against opposition to such policies arising within their own ranks.
Equally important will be the resolve each leader can demonstrate publicly by
attending a peace conference to be held in a neutral location where all
participants will remain sequestered until a final document is approved.
Abbas must stand up to the Islamic Jihad
and Hamas who do not want a Middle East peace. Equally insistent must be
Sharon in refusing his Likud Party opponentsı demands for a national referendum
on the question of a military retreat from Gaza. Leadership does not
require consensus; it requires resolve to act decisively even if that decision
is unpopular.
To further this process, George W. Bush as
well as Democratic and Republican presidential aspirants should take a
lesson from former President John F. Kennedy. Shortly before his
assassination in 1963, JFK was studying French so that he could speak
directly--without interpreters--to then French leader General Charles DeGaulle
during a planned visit to Paris. Kennedy knew that unless he was willing
and able to meet General DeGaulle on his own turf and speak his own language,
there was little chance of genuine progress toward improved U.S.-Franco
relations.
Although that prospect died in Dallas, the
theory remains alive. President Bush, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, John
Kerry, John McCain and other White House hopefuls should begin
studying Arabic and Hebrew now and fully immerse themselves in the culture of
the region. American leadership can play a key role in moving the new
peace prospects forward but only if everyone speaks clearly, honestly and
eschews diplomatic ambiguity.
Washington must welcome Palestinian
President Abbas as an equal partner to Israel Prime Minister Sharon in
realizing the mutual interests and goals shared by America and the Middle
East. The time is right to forge a permanent peace in the region. This
opportunity must not be lost.
Steve
Coon Tucson,
Arizona |Home| or
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