Carter: Palestine; Peace Not Apartheid.
I have just finished reading Jimmy Carter's book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" and it's quite astonishing to remember the level of vitriol some people levelled against him and then consider the points which he made that caused so much controversy.
The main point he makes is that Israel ought to follow international law as she promised to do when she agreed with UN Res 242 and which she further emphasised when she signed the Camp David Accords.
He also states that for the past 25 years Israel appears to be more interested in holding on to land than genuinely seeking peace and that the US does itself no favours amongst the international community when she quietly goes along with Israel ignoring international law and what has always been understood to be US policy regarding the Middle East.
He lays out the numerous ways which the Arab world has come round since 1967, the most obvious being The Arab League Peace Plan of March 28th 2002, offering Israel full recognition from all Arab nations if Israel will only implement UN resolutions 242 and 338.
He points out the numerous conditions Israel has set before she will accept George Bush's Road Map for Peace and talks of an exchange that he had with Olmert:
He told us he would continue with Sharon's policies and made it plain that he could resume peace talks with Abbas only after all radical Palestinian groups were completely disarmed and all violent acts were prevented, emphasising the all. I asked if genuine good faith effort to control violence would be sufficient, pointing out that total peace was a hopeless prospect in any society. He shook his head, with a smile.It's blatant from this exchange that Olmert is well aware that the preconditions he is laying down can never be met; which is, of course, the very reason why he is making them.
There are now a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians who want to see a two state solution along the lines of UN res 242, but what is lacking is a politician with the courage to give these people what they want.
Carter also points out that, despite the nonsense spoken regarding Hamas, that Hamas have agreed to recognise Israel should Abbas manage to negotiate a peace plan along the lines of 242.
For pointing out the truth Carter has been labelled an anti-Semite and senile.
It really is an indication of how one sided discourse on this subject has become in the US that a Nobel peace prize winner could be so vilified for stating such an obvious truth.
One can only hope that Barack Obama is telling the truth when he states that he is going to make the Middle East a priority from the minute he takes office. The scandal of the last eight years is that there has been almost no serious attempt to bring the two sides together, which is probably the longest time ever that the US has disengaged from this process.
Peace is possible and the proposal from the Arab League even allows for Israel to keep 50% of the illegal settlements she has built in the West Bank.
Obama should be the man to signal to Israel that the time for procrastination is over, and that the moment has come to finally announce her borders.
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2 comments:
Kel, I have an autographed version of that book when Carter came by our local Independent bookstore.. my mom from Holland was visiting and we stood in line for a while (we had prepurchased one though) and as we were moving in front of the table where Carter was signing (about a meter or two from the table with secret service guys all around, naturally, we got 'wanded').. at any rate, Carter was signing the books looking up and smiling after each one. I figured, since my mom really liked him I'd say something to make him say something to her (which she would be thrilled by)..
so I said "President Carter, my mother is visiting from Holland and she's really excited to see you".. he looked up and greeted her so warmly and asked her how she liked 'our beautiful country' and some other niceties.. my mum was grinning from ear to ear with her pigeon english returning a comment and right after we got interviewed by the local newspaper guy who asked 'what did he say' what did you say' so naturally, being the schmoozer that I am (and knowing that I had to paint an interesting, sound bite like story) I told him my mother was from THE NETHERLANDS.. and that she was a FAN of president CARTER and that she was VISITING AUSTIN and loved AUSTIN blahblahblah.. ah well.. we did not make the one or two line blurb in the newspaper but we got more than two lines from Carter!!
Ingrid
That's a lovely story Ingrid. I am so jealous that you have met him. He's one of those people, like Clinton, who has used the fact that he was once president to do a lot of good in the world.
Bush senior has done a little to help but he's mostly been enriching himself through the Carlisle Group. I suspect W will disappear in much the same way as his father has done.
When you think of the work that Clinton, Gore and Carter have done since they left office, it really should put Republicans to shame. I can't think of a Republican president who was as effective as either Carter or Clinton since they left office.
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