A Moment for Truth
(Washington, D.C.): In the wake of three murderous attacks on Israeli civilians last weekend, Secretary of State Colin Powell was moved to declare that “It is a moment of truth, Mr. Arafat.” It would be more accurate to describe this as a moment for truth.
Necessary, But No Longer Sufficient
There really is no choice. It is not enough that the death and destruction meted out by suicide bombers intent on killing as many Jews — and, in particular, young Israelis — as possible has caused Secretary Powell and, his boss, President Bush to call on the Palestinian Authority’s Yasser Arafat for a crackdown on the people surrounding and allied with him who are responsible for this terror. Similar demands in the past have never received a serious and sustained response. The absence of any penalties for such behavior has only served to reinforce the Arabs’ contemptuous disregard of American injunctions to act.
Neither would it be sufficient if the Palestinians’ latest bloodletting in Israel had the effect of granting a reprieve — especially if it is but a temporary one — for the Jewish State from the recently intensifying American pressure for more Israeli territorial and other concessions. To be sure, President Bush deserves credit for exercising restraint during Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s visit to the White House on Sunday.
Under the circumstances, however, Mr. Bush had no choice but to eschew Secretary Powell’s campaign to euchre Sharon into abandoning his precondition that there be at least seven days without violence before committing to a renewed cease-fire with the Palestinians.
In the same way, the President should dispense with any further loose talk about a Palestinian state and official declarations that Israel should facilitate its early creation.
Speak Truth to Power
Necessary as these steps are, they are no longer sufficient. Now we need the whole truth and nothing but the truth. These are some of the harsh realities that can no longer be ignored, that need now to be publicly acknowledged and made the basis of future Mideast policy by the Bush Administration:
Thanks especially to the decision taken at Oslo to allow Arafat to return to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to create what amounts to a proto-state there and to arm its tens of thousands of “police” with automatic weapons (and, covertly, with heavier armaments), Israel has made itself vastly less secure than it was prior to 1992. Converting the Palestinian Authority into a sovereign state, with internationally recognized borders, would do nothing to prevent suicide bombers from finding safe-haven and launching attacks from its lands — just add enormously to Israel’s costs in contending with that threat.
The Bottom Line
Of course, it will appear to be easier not to acknowledge these realities or other unpleasant truths. Too many people — including past and present senior U.S. officials — have much invested in the falsehoods that invest legitimacy in Arafat and his ilk and the “peace process” that has made the latter a far more dangerous threat to Israel.
Still, those murdered in Jerusalem and Haifa over the weekend will not have died in vain — and may even have spared many others from meeting their fate — if the terrorists who killed them really have compelled a moment for truth, one that gives rise to U.S. Mideast policies rooted in the hard facts as they are, not political expediency or wishful thinking.
Mr. Gaffney is the host of Secure Freedom Radio, a nationally-syndicated radio program heard weeknights throughout the country. He is an associate author of highly acclaimed Shariah: The Threat to America and the publisher of over a dozen other books and monographs from the Center for Security Policy Press.
In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving U.S.-USSR relations, nuclear forces, arms control, missile defense policy and U.S.-European defense ties. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.
From August 1983 until November 1987, Mr. Gaffney was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under Assistant Secretary Richard Perle.
From February 1981 to August 1983, Mr. Gaffney was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by the late Senator John Tower (R-Texas). And, in the latter 1970’s, Mr. Gaffney served as an aide to the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Washington) in the areas of defense and foreign policy.
Mr. Gaffney holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Mr. Gaffney’s leadership has been recognized by numerous organizations including: the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award (1987), the U.S. Business and Industry Council’s Defender of the National Interest Award (1994), the Navy League of the United States’ Alfred Thayer Mahan Literary Achievement Award (1999), and the Zionist Organization of America’s “Louis Brandeis Award” (2003), the Western Conservative Summit’s Stephen H. Long Award (2015), the Council for National Policy’s George Washington Military Leadership Award (2016) and the IMPACT Award from Ginni Thomas and United in Purpose (2017).
Mr. Gaffney was born in 1953 and resides in the Washington, D.C. area.
- The UN transforms itself into a world government - September 22, 2024
- Hezbollah is engaged in terrorism, not Israel - September 22, 2024
- Israel must seize the day - September 20, 2024