America and Israel Against the World
Excerpted from: antiwar.com where the main article by Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.) appeared.
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Prime Minister Netanyahu has recently, and probably accurately from his perspective,
called
Donald Trump “the best friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.”
Netanyahu has proven himself all too willing to exchange political loyalty
for gifts, and perhaps no one has offered him more than the 45th president
of the United States. These include, but are not limited to:
moving
the US Embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the contested
Golan
Heights region (after which Bibi cutely named a Golan ghost
town settlement for The Donald), and reversing 50-plus years of US policy
by
declaring that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are not in violation
of international law. In light of these giveaways, the terms of the administration’s
newest “peace” deal for the Holy Land should come as no surprise.
In characteristically bashful style, Trump has dubbed his Israel-Palestine
plan the “Deal
of the Century.” But even a cursory reading of the lengthy proposal,
and an elementary understanding of the contested region’s history, reveal
that it’s nothing more than a “raw deal” that effectively
erases the Palestinian people. “Scam,” “Betrayal,” “Deceit,” or “Shame
of the Century” would all be more accurate descriptions.
The US has never been an “honest broker” in the Holy Land, having provided
more more financial
support to Israel since World War II than to any other nation. So it’s no surprise
that it’s the Palestinians who stand to lose
the most in this proposal: all semblance of a contiguous sovereign state,
control of their own borders, an equal-status capital in East Jerusalem, any
“right of return” for expelled refugees or restitution of lands stolen by Israeli
settlers.
Trump, ever the corrupt real estate tycoon, seems to believe he can buy off
Palestine’s unconditional surrender with a few modest subsidies for a rump
statelet. It’s Extortion 101, and yet another example of Trump’s toxic negotiating
style. Alliances are meaningless, and everything is transactional.
That the deal’s terms were negotiated by Jared Kushner, the president’s 39-year-old
son-in-law and a
billionaire with no expertise in diplomacy or the Arab world, makes it
all the more cynical and insulting.
Trump’s plan has absolutely zero chance of bringing peace to a blood-soaked
land, and given that this is the latest in a long line of increasingly bad
deals from the “international community” (read: Israeli leaders and their
American allies), it’d be hard to blame Palestinians for taking up arms. Why
not rise in a third intifada? Tell me, what do they really have to
lose if the only alternative is Trump’s take-it-or-leave-it threat? Even if
armed Palestinian resistance has been historically
counterproductive, violent reaction would be hard to dismiss. If I were a
young, hopeless, underemployed Palestinian, I know I might respond to Trump’s
plan by grabbing the nearest AK-47.
The most disturbing evidence that Trump and Netanyahu – and by extension the
US and Israeli governments – stand proudly against the world is this:
The only other nations supporting this plan are dictatorial and/or monarchical
Arab client states like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. These
regimes, some of which have gunned down peaceful protesters by the droves and
still behead
women for “sorcery,” also just happen to be huge recipients of US military
aid, arms sales, training, and “protection” from Iran. Pretty nice company to
keep for a republic that bills itself as the world’s “beacon of democracy,”
huh?
What should really be dubbed the “Long Con of the Century” is finally nothing
more than an ex cathedra endorsement of apartheid from the Jordan River to
the Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, it appears that the most radical, chauvinistic
Zionists have achieved their long-standing
dream, perhaps indefinitely.
History shows that apartheid states, brutal in practice and often lasting
decades, are doomed to fail. South Africa’s, which endured from
1948-1994, eventually collapsed under the weight of international sanctions,
disapprobation and internal indigenous resistance. It may take another generation,
but Israeli apartheid won’t last forever either; it too will crumble under
the weight of its own contradictions. How can a country be both “Jewish” and
“democratic” while some 50% or more of its population live as second-class
citizens or under military occupation?
We must also ask the question, “Why now?”. Why introduce a plan at this particular
moment? Plenty of media outlets have asserted that the proposal’s unveiling
is little more than an attempt by Trump and Netanyahu to distract the public
from their impeachment and criminal trial, respectively. I only caution that
we don’t put too much stock in this theory as it pertains to Trump: This president
was anything but scared rolling out this “peace plan,” and the president himself
is made of John Gotti-grade teflon.
Witness his disturbingly
effective performance at the State of the Union address in which he made
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Democrats more broadly look like
petulant
children.
That his speech was riddled with
lies, half-truths and obfuscations doesn’t seem to matter. Trump’s “ride
or die” base (there’s Jay and Bey again), and about half of Americans,
could care less. Add to that the perhaps 50% (or more) of Democrats, anti-Trumpers
and nonvoters who are either reflexively
loyal to Israel or simply don’t care about foreign policy, and this farcical
peace plan is unlikely to face much in the way of a public challenge. Like
the explosive Afghanistan
Papers, the “Deal of the Century” will fade fast from the headlines.
For even a modestly informed follower of Palestinian affairs, the announcement
of this prejudicial, inhumane ultimatum rates as more than a little disturbing.
Add to this the violence that US has waged against Arabs across the region,
to which I contributed as a former water
carrier for the empire, and I’m embarrassed to be an American.
Fittingly, it was President Trump who neatly captured America’s view of the
region in his State of the Union address. “Let us work together to build a
culture that cherishes innocent life,” he said, in a nod to his Evangelical
base. “And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: All children – born and unborn
– are made in the holy image of God.”
All children, that is, so long as they are not Palestinian.
Danny Sjursen is a retired US Army officer and regular contributor to Antiwar.com
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