MUST READ: OREN: BUSH STILL WANTS THE ARABS TO PLAY NICE

Oren: Bush still wants the Arabs to play nice
...in exchange for which Israel should cut its throat.

By Ted Belman

A month ago, the WSJ published an Op-Ed by Michael Oren, Fatah Isn’t the Answer - Israel is. in which he argued for Israel keeping the West Bank and offering autonomy only for the Arabs. He should have left it at that.

Today, the WSJ published another Op-Ed by him The Bush Doctrine Lives and sub-titled, The president isn’t selling out Israel or relaxing his call for Palestinian democracy. I beg to differ.
To be sure, Oren points out all the demands Bush made on the Palestinians and on the Arab countries but failed to point out the same demands were made in his vision speech and in the Roadmap. They didn’t satisfy them since and they won’t hereafter.At least before they were a condition precedent to moving to the second phase. Now, he proposes moving to the final stage notwithstanding that the Arabs have done nothing regarding the demands made on them.

Secondly, Oren is making the central issue the acceptance of Israel and the ending of terror and incitement. I object.

Firstly, Bush bypasses the requirement for “secure borders” as set out in Resolution 242. He now proposes to substitute an American guarantee of Israel’s security for “secure borders”.

Secondly, I don’t like the deal. It’s a lousy deal. Israel has to retreat from lands given it by the Palestine Mandate and never cancelled. The West Bank was given to Jews, not the Arabs. Israel had to defend itself from aggression in ‘67 and recovered the land illegally taken from them by the Partition Plan. Its ours and we want it. But Bush is forcing us to give it away.

Oren seems to think that’s okay, because Bush is still asking for the Arabs to play nice.

Pertinent Links:

1) Oren: Bush still wants the Arabs to play nice

2) IsraPundit