Count me among the confused. Why do people and countries get rewarded for being or doing wrong in today’s world? A slew of journalists supported President Bush’s rush to war in Iraq. They all are doing better today even as they minimize their erroneous prior positions. Meanwhile, the wise who expressed concern ended up unemployed or marginally eking out a living. For more check out “The Iraq Gamble”.
Shifting to countries, an American ally continues to receive unwavering support despite its thumbing its nose at our “demands”.
The Israeli government on Monday published plans to build new homes in its largest West Bank settlement, defying American opposition to such construction just as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in the region on a peace-seeking mission.
For the umpteenth time State Department representatives said “stop that” to no effect.
"We are very committed to the road map and to the obligations there, and I talk all the time to the Israelis about their activity that is prohibited by the road map," Rice told the Palestinian daily Al-Quds. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, who was traveling with Rice, said he wasn't aware of the bid. But he added: "Our policy hasn't changed." The U.S. has always objected Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
Why do individuals get rewarded for supporting a war of choice based on folly? Why do countries get to keep the goodies when they act against international and national commitments? Why are the losers the ones who supported the right policy instead of the wrong headed administration?
As for the drubbing Jimmy Carter received for calling the Palestinian situation akin to Apartheid, one only need see the video clip of Jewish woman and children harassing a Palestinian family in the aforementioned West Bank. It takes one back to Condi’s home state of Alabama in the 1960’s. This comes from a 2002 State Department report assessing Israel’s Human Rights compliance.
The Government made little headway in reducing institutional, legal, and societal discrimination against Israel's Arab citizens, who constitute approximately 20 percent of the population but do not share fully the rights provided to, and obligations imposed on, the country's Jewish citizens.
Funny how Condi credits political leaders for instituting change when the Governor of Alabama had his police blocking the entrance way to his state’s universities fro blacks. Israel’s government sponsored racism seems similar, yet political leaders like Bush and Rice call them our closest ally. It’s time for Condi to do some major challenging so forty years from now one of their people can be in the same position as Dr. Rice. Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy would appreciate that…
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