Tony Blair gets it. President Musharraf of Pakistan gets it. The Europeans get it. The entire Arab world gets it. So why doesn't President Bush get it? I am talking, of course, about the Israeli-Palestinian situation and its relation to the United States' war on terrorism.
At every step of the way, the United States has continued to deny what is painfully obvious to the rest of the world - that resolving the Palestinian situation would be an extremely important step in the United States' fight against global Islamic terrorism. Every single day that this conflict is permitted to continue creates a world that is more dangerous to Americans - and Israelis. It should be the central focus of the war on terrorism because of the weight it has on the hearts and minds of millions across the Middle East and all over the world.
What is occurring in Israel and the occupied territories is a travesty, and both Palestinians and Israelis feel they are under siege on a constant basis. Many senseless killings have been perpetrated on both sides, but one thing is clear: The social situation Palestinians find themselves in, living under an often brutal occupation, has been deemed unacceptable by the rest of the world and an inconceivable outrage by Muslims.
There are many brutal conflicts presently occurring worldwide, and millions of people continue to live in bondage, where fear and oppression are the realities of everyday life. But what sets the Palestinian question apart from other world injustices is the intimate involvement of the United States, frequently assisting and rubber-stamping Israeli actions in the occupied territories, often regardless of their merits. I think it is safe to say that Palestinians are living in a kind of bondage, stuck in a rut for decades and unable to cast off the yoke of occupation. Other factors, such as rampant corruption, extremist terror attacks and inadequate leadership, have exacerbated their situation, but many Palestinians can trace the root cause of their problems back to the 1967 war, when Israel seized the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank - actions that are still considered illegal by the United Nations under Resolution 242. The United States is one of the very few countries that has consistently maintained Israel's claim to the territories.
This intimate relationship between the United States and Israel does not go unnoticed around the world. In many areas, Israel and the United States are looked at almost as the same country. When Israel is blamed for some injustice, so is America, a fact that many Americans still don't understand. In a recent Thomas Friedman editorial in The New York Times, he reported that many Iraqis are beginning to call American soldiers "The Jews", signifying the connection that many perceive between the two nations, as warped as the underlying logic of the statement may be.
When Archbishop Desmond Tutu spoke at AU last semester, he told students that the situation in Palestine held disturbing parallels to life in apartheid-era South Africa, which Tutu would know something about. This is serious stuff, and it's amazing to me that the United States has not seemed to grasp the ease in which Islamic terror organizations like al-Qaeda use the Palestinian conflict to recruit new soldiers in their war against America.
Despite what President Bush says about the war on terrorism being a "different kind of war," he seems to be placing an inordinate amount of money and resources toward fighting the military side to the conflict. This military component is essential, from Iraq and Afghanistan to East Africa and the Philippines, but if more and more recruits flock to terrorist organizations, our objectives will never be achieved. If we don't fully address the genuine roots of Arab anger, like the Palestinian situation, Islamic extremism will only get worse. Other factors contributing to the radicalization and dissatisfaction of many Muslims toward America and the West, such as the relentless march of globalization and the spread of radical madrasas all over the world, can't really be controlled - but we must do all that we are able.
Seeking an effective solution to the Palestinian crisis is absolutely essential if we want to prove to the Arab world that we are serious about issues central to Muslims, while at the same time saving American lives by beginning to cut recruitment to terrorist organizations. Working to establish genuine democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan, pressing Middle Eastern governments to reform, and forming a comprehensive energy policy that will begin to wean the United States from foreign oil are also central to this fight - it all flows together.
We currently have a golden opportunity to work for Middle East peace with the death of Yasser Arafat and the coming Palestinian elections, but this, in and of itself, does not guarantee U.S. re-engagement in the peace process. President Bush must do what Tony Blair has been urging for years, and what Gen. Musharraf reiterated recently in Washington - fully engage in the Israeli/Palestinian peace process to save not only the lives of Israelis and Palestinians, but also Americans. Only then will we begin to make true strides in the war on terrorism.
Frankie Martin is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and School of International Service.
