Last Thursday, President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerryparticipated in their first debate of the election year. The focusof the debate was on foreign policy. During that debate, I observedand participated in heckling the President and his unpreparedresponses and childish actions. While using that time to turn apresidential debate into a Thursday night "must see TV" sitcom, Iheard a couple of comments that, to say the least, were disturbingand ultimately idealistic lies. These statements were coming notonly from the President, but also from his opponent.
When it comes to foreign policy, I tend to focus on relationswith Israel and Palestine. Although the main topic of debate onThursday was the war in Iraq, the duo made a couple of small,obscure comments about Israel.
President Bush brought up the topic first in response to aquestion about bringing home troops from Iraq. He said, "A freeIraq will be an ally in the war on terror, and that's essential. Afree Iraq will set a powerful example in the part of the world thatis desperate for freedom. A free Iraq will help secure Israel. Afree Iraq will enforce the hopes and aspirations of the reformersin places like Iran. A free Iraq is essential for the security ofthis country."
Senator Kerry said something to the same effect: "Secretary ofState Colin Powell told this president the Pottery Barn rule: Ifyou break it, you fix it.
"Now, if you break it, you made a mistake. It's the wrong thingto do. But you own it. And then you've got to fix it and dosomething with it.
"Now that's what we have to do. There's no inconsistency.Soldiers know over there that this isn't being done right yet. I'mgoing to get it right for those soldiers, because it's important toIsrael, it's important to America, it's important to the world,it's important to the fight on terror."
How will a free Iraq help Israel? A democratic Iraq will nothelp Israel at all. The conflicts between Iraq and the rest of themiddle-eastern Arab nations and Israel stem from a deep level ofracism that a change in political status cannot cure.
Israel was declared an independent nation in 1948, on the sameday that six Arab nations attacked the small country. These nationsincluded Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, a small force from SaudiArabia and Iraq.
Israel represents a democracy in an overly anti-democratic areaof the world, but the war meant more than land to the Arabs. TheArab League Secretary, General Azzam Pasha declared "jihad," a holywar on the day of Israeli independence. According to A History ofIsrael by Howard Sachar, Pasha declared, "This will be a war ofextermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of likethe Mongolian massacres and the Crusades."
Obviously, the hatred of Israel by Arab nations such as Iraq hasmuch less to do with democracy versus theocracy and dictatorshipsand more to do with a learned hatred that both Jews and Arabs fromthe region have had to face in the last 56 years. The only way toreally fix the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to educate thepeople about each other and show them that the peace-loving idealsthat both religions preach are not that different.
Write to Jessica at jfkerman@bsu.edu
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