JINSA Report #509 Disengaging II

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August 11, 2005

JINSA Report #509

Disengaging II

1) Congressman Mark Kirk is a man with a memory. The House
Appropriations committee is considering a bill to provide $50 million in
direct aid to the PA. During a recent subcommittee hearing, Rep. Kirk
told Lt. Gen. William Ward, "I worry that I've seen this movie before."
During the 1990s, he said, Congress, under pressure from Clinton
administration officials, gave thousands of M-16 rifles to the PA.
"Under a veto threat, the Congress relented... Now, imagine how we felt
a year later when we saw Palestinian policemen using those M-16s to
shoot Israelis.... And General Ward, do we know where all these M-16s
are? Have we done an audit of all the guns we've already given the PA?"

Lt. Gen. Ward, tasked by the American government with training,
equipping, helping the Palestinians build their security forces,
replied, "No, we've not yet seen the audit."

2) In the past few weeks, the normally levelheaded Secretary of State
has put forward some rather odd notions about Israeli responsibility for
the future of the Gaza Strip and its inhabitants while the Palestinians
continue their war against Israel with mortars, rockets and attempts at
suicide bombings. Rather than demanding that the Palestinians stop, she
informed Israel that the Palestinians should have easier access between
Gaza and the West Bank; that Israel should build better crossing points;
and most bizarrely, in light of #1 above, that Israel should arm the
Palestinian police.

3) PM Sharon has consistently said Israel would not disengage from Gaza
under Palestinian fire. Senior IDF commanders said last week that the
military would suspend the disengagement and spend up to three weeks in
an effort to destroy Palestinian insurgency strongholds if necessary.
Yesterday, however, Middle East NewsLine (MENL) reported a senior
Israeli military source saying, "The IDF has prepared for a withdrawal
under Palestinian fire. Over the last few weeks, we have planned for a
scenario that we would be ordered to continue the withdrawal even if
Israelis are injured from Palestinian mortar and rocket fire. We have
also prepared civilian authorities for such a scenario."

Abu Mazen has failed in every measure to create the "one authority, one
gun" PA necessary to control not only security for Israel's
disengagement, but also security for the Palestinian people after Israel
leaves. Despite continuing Palestinian terrorism and incitement, the
Government of Israel appears committed to disengagement as a means to
determine for itself what Israel requires as "defensible borders."

Leaving aside (as is JINSA's rule) any opinion about any decision of the
Israeli Government itself, the only appropriate role for the American
government under these circumstances is to provide Israel all possible
measures of political and other support. Secretary Rice has been most
forceful in her denunciations of terrorism and eloquent in her
formulations of the requirements of good government in the Arab world.
This is not the time for her to focus on Israel's presumed obligations
to Palestinian society. This is the time for her to turn her attention
to the obligations of Palestinians – first and foremost to end their war
against America's ally and friend, Israel.

To view this JINSA Report online click on the link below.
http://www.jinsa.org/JINSAReports/3120

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