A CURIOUS OMISSION

Here is a letter I wrote to the editor of The Oregonian:

Victor Davis Hanson is a distinguished historian. As
expected, he has written well (Oregonian, 7/30/07)
on the history of our dealings in the Middle East. But
there is a puzzling omission in his recounting of the
story: there is no mention of the Israel/Palestine
conflict, and our own considerable part in it. (It's an
omission, by the way, found also in the speeches and
debates by the many presidential candidates. Isn't
that strange?) Both King Abdullah of Jordan, and
Pres. Musharraf of Pakistan, have said this is the core
issue that causes the most hostility toward the West
in the Muslim world, and the cause of most of the
terrorism in and from the Middle East.

So it's strange that Prof. Hanson (and others) ignore it.
It's like a history of the Nixon years that doesn't mention
Watergate! There would be no Hezbollah or Hamas
without the U. S.-backed Israeli invasion and occupation
of Lebanon and the West Bank. We have refused for
years to speak to Iran or Syria because they support
Hamas and Hezbollah. The latter are "terrorists"
because they are fighting an enemy invader occupying
their homeland. (Like the French Resistence did in WW II).
Well, they are terrorists, because they attack unarmed
and unprotected civilians, and that is evil and wrong! For
sure! But the Israelis do the same thing, over and over.
They killed 30,000 people in Lebanon during and after
their invasion there in 1982. And they are still at it, using
U. S.-supplied weapons and munitions. There is no moral
difference between suicide bombers and bombs falling from
planes. The recipients are equally dead in either case.
So we are supporting terrorists too! To the tune of $118
billion in the case of Israel. Funny that no one mentions that.
Think what that money could do for our decaying, long
neglected infra-structure, or failing education system, or
tragically under-financed and under-performing health system!
Maybe we would have less bridges falling down, and less people
in desperate need of preventative and remedial care.

A fair and just settlement of the Palestine issue along
the lines advocated by the Saudis, the Arab League,
and Jimmy Carter (and the U. N.) would, in one stroke,
do away with Iran's threats against Israel (designed to
win friends and support in the Muslim world), as well
as wipe out any support (or reason) for Hamas and
Hezbollah. They would be gone, as would most of the
support for Osama bin Laden. It would also secure
cooperation from the Muslim neighbors of Iraq for
achieving stability there. In fact, it's the sine qua non
for such an achievement. And speaking of bin Laden,
we would do well to remember his promise: "There will
be no peace for the West until there is peace for Palestine."
Think about it.

jgoodwin004@centurytel.net