Monday, August 28, 2006

The US iron is hot enough

August 23, 2006

The US iron is hot enough


RUMBLINGS are getting stronger within the US in protest against the openly biased American foreign policy in the Middle East which has brought only disasters to Washington and damaged the US standing around the world. While it had always been taken for granted that there would not be any shift in the US stand behind Israel no matter how much the pressure, indications are emerging that mainstream American society has started wondering over the plus and minus points in their country's relationship with the Middle East and almost unlimited support for the Jewish state.
However, it does not mean that the Bush administration would turn around overnight and put Israel on the spot. George W Bush is described as the friendliest American president for Israel, and there is no reason to believe there could be any change in that situation while he remains in power at the White House.
The basic question raised by critics of the US alliance with Israel is why Israel's interests are given priority at the expense of American interests.
By blindly supporting Israel and going out of its way to protect the Jewish state at world forums, the US has dealt a major blow to its own interests around the world. World countries go along with US decisions and actions only because of Washington's immense financial and military clout which it uses whenever needed, most of the time to serve Israeli interests. That currency is fast running out because of overusage. In the bargain, the US has also credibility.
The world, American public included, saw how the US manoeuvred itself during the recent Lebanese crisis and offered Israel time to try to achieve its objectives in Lebanon. While the US accused Iran and Syria of supplying arms to Hizbollah, it also rushed advanced weapons and aviation fuel to Israel to help it continue its military assault on Lebanon. That was a blatant statement on where the US stood and stands in the Middle Eastern conflict.
The American financial and military assistance to Israel is also yet another key bone of contention.
The "pro-American" camp within the US is pointing out that the billions of dollars worth of aid the US sends to Israel every year could be put to better use to serve Americans themselves. They are questioning why American taxpayers's money should be spent on subsidising Israel, a country which is known not only for its aggressive designs and stubborn refusal to abide by international will but also for putting US interests on the firing line. Israel is the only country which has got away with spying in the US and with holding back vital information that could have helped Washington pre-empt disasters, perhaps even the Sept.11, 2001 attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 American lives.
In more specific terms, it is also being openly discussed in the US that Israel wants to provoke another war in the Middle East involving Syria and Iran and to let American soldiers wage the war to serve Israeli objectives. Phrases like "yet another American soldier dies for Israel in Iraq" are becoming common place in the US in an obvious recognition of the fact that the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq had as much to do with Israel's strategic goals as the American quest for unchallenged global supremacy.
American travellers are becoming increasingly aware that the reason that they are advised to avoid countries and even to hide their identity was US citizens is not that Americans are hated around the world as a rule but that their administration's misguided policy is behind the threat that they perceive.
Today, the Arabs have an opportunity to drive home to the Americans the truth that it is their administration's policy that is posing the biggest danger to themselves and that the only demand that the Arabs and Muslims have is for the US to live up to its founding principles and adopt international legitimacy, justice and fairness as the basis for its foreign policy. It is not an easy task, given the grip that the pro-Israeli camp in Washington has on American decision-making. But the Arabs have to start somewhere and the time is opportune now.