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The U.S. coalition in Iraq
President Bush likes to tell the world that 28 countries have troops
in Iraq. In March 2003, the coalition had 46 members. Since then,
18 allies have left the coalition. Most of the remaining contingents,
moreover, count less than fifty persons.
Today, the grand alliance consists of 152,000 Americans and 25,000
non-American soldiers or support personnel. The Ukraine is withdrawing
its units while the Netherlands and Poland are reducing their contingents
substantially.
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Helping the Palestinians
President Bush promised Palestinians $350 million if they abstain
from violence against Israel’s occupation. He failed to mention,
however, that the 350 million grant is less than one tenth of what
we give Israel, largely in
support
of the occupation.
The President did call for a Palestinian state. He has not explained, however,
under what conditions Palestine would be formally sovereign. He did not endorse
the Geneva Initiative agreed upon by Israeli and Palestinian moderates in December
2003.
Mr. Bush has instead expressed support for the Sharon Plan that provides
for the closing of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip but for retaining
most
settlements in the West Bank. Sharon’s Palestinian state would consist
of non-contiguous areas surrounded by Israeli territory. Israeli authorities
would continue to
control the Palestinian water resources, their air space, and their borders
with Jordan and Egypt.
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Nuclear arms in the Middle East
“ To promote peace and stability in the broader Middle East,” the
President wants Iran to end all uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing.
Yet, the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty does not forbid these activities if they
serve only the development of nuclear energy and the development of weapons.
As yet,
moreover, nobody has offered proof that Iran is in fact building nuclear
weapons. Suspicion may be justified but it does not justify sanctions or military action.
Mr. Bush has never insisted on enforcing United Nations Security Council
Resolution 487 that requires Israel to place its production of nuclear arms
under the
trusteeship of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Neither does Mr. Bush
insist on the
enforcement of Security Council Resolution 1172 that forbids India and Pakistan
to have nuclear weapons. In reality, our President reserves the right to
decide which country may or may not have nuclear arms.
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Warnings to Syria
“ We expect the Syrian government to end all support for terror and open
the door
for freedom,” the President demanded. Both appeals may be justified
but need to be qualified.
For more than twenty years, the State Department has
acknowledged that Syria has not sponsored terrorism. The Syrian government
has, however, permitted members of the Lebanese Hizbullah and the Palestinian
Hamas
to reside in Syria. Syrians see both movements as justified resistance
to Israeli aggression, in the occupied territories and in southern Lebanon.
Hizbullah,
moreover, is now a legitimate political party in Lebanon’s parliament.
Compared to the heavy hand with which the late Hafiz al-Assad ruled Syria,
his son Bashir--a British-trained ophthalmologist who succeeded him in
2000--has gradually eased the Ba'ath Party’s control over economic and social life.
If he moved too fast toward democratization, his father’s old cronies
may well overthrow him. Bashir has repeatedly called for a resumption
of peace negotiations
with Israel but neither Prime Minister Sharon nor the Bush administration
have responded favorably.
The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has
certainly added to suspicions of Syrian involvement. Again, however,
without concrete
proof, sanctions against Syria will not be a solution to the conflict.
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The same story often, the full story rarely.
During Secretary Rice’s tour of European capitals, according to The Kansas
City Star, “she sounded far more like President Bush than her predecessor,
Colin Powell, as she, at least partly, picked up the White House's discipline
of hitting the same theme with the intensity of a jackhammer.” Like her
boss, she used the word ‘freedom’ often: at least 106 times,
according to State Department transcripts.
By supplying the public over and over again with narrowly curtailed and
incomplete messages, the White House restricts the people’s right
to complete information.
Only the full truth makes a society truly free.
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