Middle East Digest
Al-Bayan Writer Calls on Arabs To Support LaRouche as "The Only Decisive Factor"
A March 8 article, "Between Findley and LaRouche," by Khalid Abu Krayim, political editor of Dubai-based Al-Bayan, challenged the Arab Romantic view that supporting whoever in the U.S. would oppose Israel, would do something effective to help Arab interests. In the past few days, former U.S. Democratic Senator Paul Findley of Illinois, 81, has been touring the Persian Gulf states, giving lectures and interviews, and calling for creating a well-organized and powerful "Arab Lobby" in the U.S., and saying that Arab countries should support the Arab-American groups to realize that potential.
That is all fine and good, writes Abu Krayim, adding, however, "By the time that Findley's proposals about changing the Arabs' image in the American mind are accomplished, not a single Palestinian would be left.... Despite the significance of the emergence of American views that are singing outside the Christian right and the Zionist flock, it is the nature of these views and their force that should be the criteria for directing Arab financial and logistical support [towards these views]. The decisive factor is the power to affect and the ability to change things, and this is only available in the case American economist and billionaire (sic!) Lyndon LaRouche. This, of course, is the light of the hope and prospects for an organized Arab, Muslim-American lobby."
The Arab press has been featuring Findley as the Senator who opposed the Zionist Lobby for most of his political life, taking consistent pro-Arab stances and fighting the pro-Israel lobby.
British Opposition To Iraq War Grows
The forces of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have pulled out all the stops in massacres of Palestinians, at the same time that the Anglo-American "utopians" push for war in Iraq. See EIW's coverage of Israel and Iraq in this issue under Indepth.
Bush Sends Gen. Zinni Back to Middle East
In a hastily called press availability late Thursday, March 7, in the Rose Garden of the White House, President Bush, flanked by Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell, announced that he was sending special U.S. envoy Gen. Anthony Zinni back to the Middle East. As recently as his press conference with Egyptian President Mubarak on Tuesday, March 5, Bush had simply noted that he would send Zinni back "when appropriate." With the escalating violence in the region, the White House obviously decided that the appropriate time was now. The sudden Zinni deployment comes on the heels of uncharacteristic criticism of Ariel Sharon and of Israel's military actions by Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Describing Gen. Zinni's mission, Bush said, "Because of our commitment to peace, I'm sending General Tony Zinni back to the region next week to work with Israel and the Palestinians to begin implementing the Tenet work plan, so that the parties can renew their efforts for a broader peace." For the first time (aside from the briefest of references in his press conference with Mubarak), Bush also talked about "exploring" the Saudi peace initiative: "Recent ideas put forth by the Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia have created an opening for discussing this broader peace, and for the normalization of relations between Arab states and Israel. The United States is committed to exploring this opening."
Powell Criticizes Sharon's War Policy
Speaking before the House Subcommittee on Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, and State on March 5, Secretary of State Powell said, "Prime Minister Sharon has to take a hard look at his policies to see whether they will work. If you declare war against the Palestinians thinking that you can solve the problem by seeing how many Palestinians can be killed, I don't know that that leads us anywhere." The statement immediately rocked the Israeli press, which carried major reports on March 7. Ha'aretz carried a headline: "Powell in Strong Criticism of Sharon: 'His Policy Does Not Lead Anywhere.' " And the Israeli daily Hatzofeh headline: "American Government Strongly Attacks Sharon's Policy."
Annan Meets Iraqi Foreign Minister as War Party Decries UN Inspections
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met on Thursday, March 7, with Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri at UN headquarters in New York City to discuss the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on weapons inspections in Iraq. Annan expressed optimism, and noted that Sabri had brought "a disarmament expert" with him, Hossam Amin, a former general and head of Iraq's national monitoring directorate.
Asked whether he feared a U.S. attack on Iraq in the event of Baghdad's refusal, Annan replied: "I wouldn't want to see a widening conflict in the region. I think we have our hands full with the tragedy that is going on there already." After the meeting, Annan and Sabri said that it had been "frank and useful." Annan agreed to a follow-up meeting in mid-April to discuss armaments inspection, as well as other "core issues." However, statements before the U.S. Congress by former UN weapons inspector Dr. David Kay, and at a State Department press briefing by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, indicate that the war-mongers of the "Clash of Civilization" mindset, will push for war on Iraq, even if weapons inspections resume.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, where Tony Blair's blind drive towards an Iraq war threatens his term in government (see Indepth article), the London Daily Telegraph reports that "Washington wants the UN to issue a new demand for inspectors to be admitted, but hopes that Saddam rejects this, and so provides the casus belli."
The Telegraph is in a position to know this, since many of the leading Anglo-American fascists behind the Iraq war drive sit on the various boards of the Hollinger Corporation, which owns the Telegraph. These include Zbigniew Brzezinski, Henry Kissinger, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, Richard Perle, and columnist George Will.
The Telegraph also reports that Sir Jeremy Greenstock, British Ambassador to the UN, and his American counterpart, John Negroponte, met with Kofi Annan on Tuesday, March 5, to "stiffen his resolve."
Kissinger Rabid in "Axis of Evil" Attacks on Iraq
Henry Kissinger used the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Shanghai Communique March 5 to blanket Washington with attacks on European allies for criticizing the "axis of evil." Kissinger's message from the senior members of the Anglo-American "utopian" pro-war faction, is that the war against Iraq is on--which he repeated in a series of three appearances (public and private) and in a Washington Post op-ed.
Kissinger, who was Richard Nixon's National Security Adviser and then Secretary of State, and who is known as the man who brought us the bombing of Cambodia, denounced the European opposition as "psychiatric," during his speech at the National Press Club: "...[W]hen you have countries that have used weapons of mass destruction against their own people and against their neighbors, or countries that have used assassinations and terrorism, or countries that have practiced hostage-taking and encouraged terrorist groups, and when they get into possession of weapons of mass destruction ... can you then still wait until something has happened, or should you take some preemptive or preventive action? I think this is an important question, and the reaction of some of our allies has been psychiatric. [Soft laughter, scattered applause.] They've been analyzing our motives, and they don't answer the question."
Most important is that Kissinger emphasized preemptive action, i.e., a war of aggression, first against the "axis of evil," and later in "yet unknown countries." In the op-ed, he claims that European criticisms are nothing more than "standard anti-American positions by the left wings." He says that Bush and Powell have already established that "Iran and North Korea" are not targets, so that leaves Iraq.
He completely redefines American long-term policy, which has been "to prevail by the power of our ideals and to reserve military might for resistance to aggression." It is time for "preemptive" action, and the U.S. should act without fear of criticism, because "one country's perception of unilateralism is another country's perception of leadership." Critics are only promoting "appeasement" of Iraq in the face of WMD dangers.
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