• Home
  • About

Rural Ruminations

OpEd pieces by a retired CIA station chief.

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« The U.S Response to Terrorism: A Fundamentally Flawed Strategy
Chronicle of a mess foretold »

Settlements stand in way of peace

November 28, 2007 by Haviland Smith

[Originally published in the Rutland Herald.]

Here we are in the midst of yet another Middle East summit meeting, the purpose of which, as always, is to find a solution to the persistent Palestine problem. So far, for a variety of reasons, nothing conclusive has come from these meetings. Nevertheless, it does present the United States with one more opportunity to look at its national interests in the region and then, hopefully, decide on a policy that serves those interests.

U.S. policy on the Palestine issue has been pretty consistent, at least since the 1967 war. We have supported Israel on virtually every substantive issue of importance. We have vetoed over two dozen resolutions in the U.N. Security Council that have condemned Israel for one thing or another, and we have supported or at least turned a blind eye to their Gaza and West Bank settlement policies, which have been deemed illegal under international law.

The “land for peace” solution is still on the table. That idea was incorporated in 1967 in U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 in the aftermath of the six day Arab-Israeli War. Under “land for peace,” the Palestinians would get back roughly their pre-1967 borders, and the Israelis would get peace, security and recognition of their national legitimacy. The West Bank settlements are important in the upcoming summit meeting because in order to satisfy “land for peace,” Israel would have to give them up. There is broad traditional support for such a solution in Europe and in the U.N. General Assembly.

Some Palestinians who would like to throw the Israelis into the sea and some Israelis, particularly Israeli settlers, oppose that formula. They are supported here in America by the more fervent Israeli supporters, including many American Jewish Zionists, as well as substantial numbers of fundamentalist Christians — the “Christian Zionists” — who believe the second coming of Christ will not happen until Israel occupies the entire West Bank. The settlements lead to just such a situation.

Israelis are far better informed on this issue than Americans simply because there is a passionate, ongoing, public debate in Israel on the subject. There is virtually no discussion of it here in America. The issue of the settlements is at the heart of Israeli national interests. The real question here is whether or not continued American support for the settlements is in the U.S. national interest.

Osama bin Laden probably doesn’t care much about the plight of the Palestinians. What he cares about is the eradication of western influence in the lands of Islam. And yet, the resolution of the Palestine issue is at the heart of America’s issues, not only in the Middle East, but in its overall dealings with fundamentalist Muslim terrorism. The Palestine issue is not a cause of our problems with terrorism, but it is a constant irritant. As long as Muslims continue to believe that the Palestinians are being wronged by the Israelis and by extension by a pro-Israel ally, the United States, the Muslim world will remain a rich recruiting ground for terrorist foot soldiers as well as for political and financial support from a sector of the moderate Muslim world which is not naturally aligned with the fundamentalists.

President Bush has consistently supported the two-state solution- of Israeli and Palestinian states living side by side, undergirded by the precept of “land for peace.” He seems to be politically isolated in that position. In the recent debates between both Republicans and Democrats, no candidate comes to mind who supports “land for peace.” This may well be because none of those individuals believes in such a solution. It also may be because of the generally held perception in American politics that a candidate who is not 100 percent supportive of Israeli national interests cannot be elected to significant national public office.

Israeli and American national interests, where they often coincide, are not always identical. In the case of “land for peace,” and despite varying but persistent support in Israel over the past 40 years, they are quite divergent. If a settlement of the Palestine issue leads to a two-state solution in which both states are absolutely guaranteed the right to exist in peace and security, then it is in American national interest to support that solution with more than words. Anything we can do to diminish support for Muslim terrorism is in our national interest. The Israeli settlements are not.

This kind of opportunity doesn’t come around very often, and it is critical to support it when it does, particularly when non-support is likely to increase our problems with fundamentalist Muslim terrorism.

Haviland Smith is a retired CIA station chief who served in Eastern and Western Europe, Lebanon and Iran and as chief of the agency’s counterterrorism staff. He lives in Williston.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Israel/Palestine |

  • Search all posts

  • Newest Posts

    • TRUMP AT WAR WITH AMERICA
    • WHERE IS THE WORLD HEADED?
    • Democratic socialism and the coming election
  • Posts by Category

    • Afghanistan (34)
    • CIA (23)
    • Democracy (7)
    • Egypt (6)
    • foreign policy (104)
    • Gulf (1)
    • Insurgency (3)
    • intelligence (22)
    • Iran (18)
    • Iraq (44)
    • ISIS (1)
    • Israel/Palestine (27)
    • Lebanon (2)
    • Libya (2)
    • Middle East (60)
    • Military Polilcy (8)
    • NATO (1)
    • Pakistan (2)
    • Revolution (2)
    • Russia (20)
    • Syria (11)
    • terrorism (53)
    • Uncategorized (25)
    • United States (88)
    • Yugoslavia (4)
  • Posts by Date

    • March 2020 (2)
    • February 2020 (1)
    • September 2019 (2)
    • August 2019 (5)
    • February 2018 (2)
    • January 2018 (1)
    • December 2017 (1)
    • October 2017 (1)
    • September 2017 (1)
    • June 2017 (1)
    • May 2017 (2)
    • April 2017 (1)
    • March 2017 (2)
    • February 2017 (3)
    • January 2017 (1)
    • November 2016 (1)
    • October 2016 (1)
    • June 2016 (4)
    • February 2016 (1)
    • December 2015 (1)
    • October 2015 (1)
    • September 2015 (1)
    • August 2015 (4)
    • May 2015 (1)
    • March 2015 (1)
    • February 2015 (1)
    • November 2014 (1)
    • August 2014 (1)
    • June 2014 (1)
    • May 2014 (1)
    • February 2014 (1)
    • December 2013 (1)
    • November 2013 (1)
    • August 2013 (3)
    • July 2013 (1)
    • June 2013 (1)
    • May 2013 (1)
    • March 2013 (4)
    • February 2013 (2)
    • January 2013 (2)
    • December 2012 (2)
    • November 2012 (1)
    • October 2012 (1)
    • September 2012 (2)
    • August 2012 (1)
    • July 2012 (1)
    • June 2012 (1)
    • May 2012 (1)
    • March 2012 (4)
    • February 2012 (1)
    • January 2012 (1)
    • December 2011 (1)
    • November 2011 (3)
    • October 2011 (3)
    • September 2011 (2)
    • August 2011 (2)
    • July 2011 (2)
    • June 2011 (3)
    • May 2011 (3)
    • April 2011 (4)
    • March 2011 (3)
    • February 2011 (2)
    • January 2011 (4)
    • December 2010 (3)
    • November 2010 (3)
    • October 2010 (2)
    • September 2010 (4)
    • August 2010 (3)
    • July 2010 (4)
    • June 2010 (4)
    • May 2010 (3)
    • April 2010 (2)
    • March 2010 (4)
    • February 2010 (3)
    • January 2010 (6)
    • December 2009 (4)
    • November 2009 (3)
    • October 2009 (3)
    • September 2009 (3)
    • August 2009 (1)
    • July 2009 (4)
    • June 2009 (4)
    • May 2009 (3)
    • April 2009 (3)
    • March 2009 (4)
    • February 2009 (4)
    • January 2009 (6)
    • December 2008 (4)
    • November 2008 (2)
    • October 2008 (3)
    • September 2008 (6)
    • August 2008 (5)
    • July 2008 (7)
    • June 2008 (2)
    • May 2008 (5)
    • April 2008 (2)
    • March 2008 (3)
    • January 2008 (1)
    • December 2007 (1)
    • November 2007 (3)
    • September 2007 (2)
    • August 2007 (2)
    • July 2007 (2)
    • June 2007 (2)
    • May 2007 (1)
    • April 2007 (1)
    • March 2007 (2)
    • February 2007 (1)
    • January 2007 (1)
    • December 2006 (1)
    • November 2006 (1)
    • September 2006 (1)
    • August 2006 (1)
    • July 2006 (2)
    • June 2006 (1)
    • May 2006 (3)
    • April 2006 (1)
    • February 2006 (1)
    • January 2006 (1)
    • November 2005 (1)
    • September 2005 (1)
    • August 2005 (1)
    • June 2005 (1)
    • April 2005 (1)
    • March 2005 (1)
    • January 2005 (2)
    • December 2004 (1)
    • November 2004 (1)
    • September 2004 (1)
    • August 2004 (1)
    • May 2004 (1)
    • April 2004 (2)
    • November 2003 (1)
    • October 2003 (1)
    • August 2003 (1)
    • June 2003 (1)
    • February 2003 (1)
    • January 2003 (2)
    • December 2002 (1)
    • January 2002 (1)
    • November 2001 (1)
    • September 2001 (1)
    • August 2000 (1)
    • January 2000 (1)
    • August 1999 (1)
    • May 1999 (1)
    • August 1998 (1)
    • April 1997 (1)
    • August 1996 (1)
    • July 1995 (1)
    • January 1995 (1)
    • September 1994 (1)
    • March 1994 (1)
    • October 1992 (1)
    • July 1992 (1)
    • February 1992 (1)
    • August 1991 (1)
    • February 1991 (1)
  • Videos

    • Haviland Smith: VPT Profile
    • The Impact of the U.S. Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
  • RSS

    • RSS - Posts
  • Blog Counter

    • 6,723 pages viewed

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Rural Ruminations
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Rural Ruminations
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: