[WCUSP] NYT editorial on US assistance to Isr-Pal security...

Wed Jul 23 18:38:54 EDT 2008

Dear Carol, While I agree with some of the points you made, a nuclear free Middle East for example. I do not agree with the US training Palestinians in the West Bank as the writer said to prevent a Hamas takeover. We must remember Hamas won the Palestinian elections and Israel took away the Palestinian vote with violence. Abbas is not the Palestinian president. In peace Yvonne
--- On Wed, 7/23/08, Carol Urner <carol.disarm at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Carol Urner <carol.disarm at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [WCUSP] NYT editorial on US assistance to Isr-Pal security...
> To: "C.J. Minster" <cjminster at gmail.com>
> Cc: "Int ME Committee" <middle_east at wilpf.ch>, "National Middle East" <wcusp at wilpf.org>
> Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 2:30 PM
> Hello C.J. and WCUSP list,
> 
> I saw your comment and editorial on the WCUSP list to which
> I have
> subscribed almost from its inception.  Just a comment:
> *
> I would think the WILPF position could include support for
> viable police
> forces in both Israel and Palestine*, but not security
> forces (such as the
> U.S. seeks to build elsewhere) that could be used in
> aggressive warfare.  We
> would also support, I should think, training in the least
> violent methods of
> crowd control, etc. and restorative justice such as we
> support (but haven't
> achieved yet) in the United States.
> *
> Also I would think our position would be that the U.S.
> military forces
> should not participate in this training.*  The U.S.
> military has not been
> operating in the Middle East with a peace keeping or peace
> building agenda
> and would certainly be distrusted in Palestine because of
> previous support
> for the harsh tactics of the Israeli occupation, and for
> known abuses
> arising from special forces and CIA covert actions.  Canada
>  (and even
> Britain) would be more trusted because of their own past
> records in training
> for peace keeping.
> *
> Surely WILPF would support moving Israel as well in the
> direction of
> disarmament*, including nuclear disarmament under a no WMD
> treaty as already
> proposed.  That process must include an end to occupation
> and will be
> difficult and complex, but that is the direction in which
> we must go.
> Allowing U.S. soldiers to train Palestinian security forces
> would be a
> dangerous policy and extricating the U.S. from aggressive
> military
> cooperation with Israel is a necessary one.
> 
> DIscussion among those on the WCUSP list serve of this
> article (or other
> ones shared) and U.S. policies could be fruitful, I think,
> rather than just
> posting articles without active inter change of ideas in
> search of common
> directions and ways  to proceed.
> 
> in peace,
> Carol Urner
> 
> 
> On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 10:38 AM, C.J. Minster
> <cjminster at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > Does WILPF international, WILPF Palestine, or WILPF
> Israel have a position
> > on American military personnel involvement,
> specifically in the use of
> > American (or other international forces) to train
> Palestinian security
> > forces?
> >
> > A friend emailed me the following op-ed.
> >
> > The New York Times
> > July 22, 2008
> > Op-Ed Contributor
> > Help the Palestinians Help Us
> > By ANTHONY H. CORDESMAN
> > Washington
> >
> > HAVING just returned from the Middle East, I find it
> hard to have much
> > optimism about peace between Israel and the
> Palestinians.
> >
> > Israel sees Hamas's control of Gaza as a situation
> it cannot do
> > anything about, a weak and divided Palestinian
> Authority on the West
> > Bank, increased arms smuggling and a growing threat
> from Israeli
> > Arabs. Palestinians see a steady growth in Israeli
> settlements and
> > restrictions, a weak Israeli government and faltering
> international
> > assistance. And all sides seem to see Secretary of
> State Condoleezza
> > Rice's visits as an end-of-administration effort
> in résumé building.
> >
> > There is, however, one potential chance to move
> forward. It centers on
> > an American-led mission, based in Jerusalem, that is
> trying to build
> > new security forces on the West Bank that will support
> stabilization
> > efforts by the Palestinian Authority's president,
> Mahmoud Abbas,
> > prevent a Hamas takeover there and end the corruption
> and abuse of the
> > older intelligence forces, Yasir Arafat's
> Mukhabarat.
> >
> > The importance of this effort cannot be overstated:
> unless there are
> > effective Palestinian security forces, Israel will
> never trust in a
> > Palestinian state or be able to act on the quiet
> progress being made
> > toward reaching a final settlement. And we've had
> some promising
> > signs. With assistance from Jordan, Britain and
> Canada, the Americans
> > have activated the first battalion of the so-called
> Presidential
> > Guard, and it's had some success in bringing order
> to the refugee camp
> > at Jenin. There are more battalions to come, and a
> real possibility
> > that this aid effort could create effective new
> security forces.
> >
> > As became all too clear on my visit to Israel,
> however, this
> > American-led effort is being crippled by decisions
> within the State
> > Department. The small mission, called the office of
> the United States
> > Security Coordinator and under the leadership of Lt.
> Gen. Keith
> > Dayton, is effectively locked into a building in
> Jerusalem. While it's
> > a military mission, the State Department and the
> consulate in
> > Jerusalem are in charge of Palestinian affairs and
> General Dayton's
> > advisory teams.
> >
> > There are several reasons for this — from not
> wanting the American
> > government to appear to be favoring any faction in a
> complicated
> > situation to good old-fashioned turf wars — but the
> result is that the
> > Dayton team has to rely on British and Canadian
> officials and private
> > contractors to do its work in the field and develop
> critical personal
> > relationships with Palestinian officers and officials.
> In fact, even
> > the American military attachés at the embassy are
> forbidden by the
> > State Department to go into the West Bank and Gaza to
> carry out
> > liaison efforts with Palestinians or develop human
> intelligence on the
> > threat of Hamas.
> >
> > Admittedly, letting the American military take on a
> greater direct
> > role raises risks. All of those involved know they
> will be targets of
> > violence and may pay with their lives. Many in the
> Israeli forces and
> > government fear that any American military presence in
> the West Bank
> > would undermine Israel's status there and become,
> in effect, direct
> > military support for the Palestinians from Washington.
> And Mr. Abbas
> > has failed to abolish the older Palestinian security
> services like the
> > Mukhabarat, which specialize in corruption, repression
> and
> > incompetence, and will resist the new Palestinian
> units.
> >
> > There is, however, no lack of courage among the
> American military
> > personnel, and they know they cannot succeed without
> freedom of
> > movement, embedding with fledgling Palestinian
> security units, and
> > forming personal relations with Mr. Abbas's
> officers.
> >
> > It's a shame that at such a pivotal moment in the
> peace negotiations,
> > a key barrier to the first real step toward peace —
> and an effective
> > war on terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza — is a
> set of State
> > Department decisions.
> >
> > Anthony H. Cordesman is a senior fellow at the Center
> for Strategic
> > and International Studies.
> >
> > --
> > ------------
> > C.J. Minster
> > Intl Communications Committee Convener
> > Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
> > railing against the military industrial complex since
> WWI
> > http://www.wilpf.org
> >
> > ~Social Upheaval~
> > political analysis from a feminist, activist
> perspective
> > http://www.socialupheaval.com
> >
> > ~angelheaded hipster~
> > cotton candy for the brain
> > http://www.angelheadedhipster.com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Wcusp mailing list
> > Wcusp at wilpf.org
> > http://wilpf.org/mailman/listinfo/wcusp_wilpf.org
> > To post a message to all the list members, send email
> to Wcusp at wilpf.org.
> > To unsubscribe send a message to Wcusp-leave at wilpf.org
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> in peace, Carol Urner
> cell: 503 320
> 9108_______________________________________________
> Wcusp mailing list
> Wcusp at wilpf.org
> http://wilpf.org/mailman/listinfo/wcusp_wilpf.org
> To post a message to all the list members, send email to
> Wcusp at wilpf.org.
> To unsubscribe send a message to Wcusp-leave at wilpf.org