Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 46, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 1992 Page: 6 of 24
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6 TEXAS JEWISH POST, DALLAS, THURSDAY, JANUARY23, 1992 IN OUR 46TH YEAR
News Analysis: Why is the Bush Adminis tration Obsessed with Settlements
By James David Besser
More and more, the
signs point to a dangerous
clash between Israel and
her American supporters
on one hand, and an ad-
ministration that has
made the expansion of
Jewish settlements in the
occupied territories its
number one priority in
dealing with the govern-
ment of Yitzhak Shamir.
Pro-lsrael groups had
hoped that the settlements
controversy would not
prove an impediment in
Israel’s renewed quest for
$10 billion in loan guaran-
tees.
But the facts argue
otherwise; for the admin-
istration, settlements have
become an overriding
symbol of a Middle East
policy that has fallen into
diplomatic quicksand.
This week’s crisis in the
Israeli government and the
strong probability of an
early and exceptionally
nasty election campaign in
Israel add one more layer
of complexity to the settle-
ments question — and one
more time bomb ticking
away along the Washing-
ton-Jerusalem axis.
* * *
The administration’s
obsession with settlements
is baffling even to many
Jews who oppose the
policies of the Shamir
government.
After all, this is an ad-
ministration that often
chooses to ignore
humanitarian factors in
pursuit of its policies. In
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the Middle East, the Bush
White House has careful-
ly avoided any hint of
criticism of Syria’s Hafez
al-Assad, by all measures
one of the most flagrant
human rights abusers in
the world.
A solid case can be
made that Israel’s treat-
ment of Arabs in the West
Bank and Gaza has been
less than admirable. But it
is also an undeniable fact
that the administration
routinely turns its back on
human rights abuses far
more horrific than any-
thing the Israelis have ac-
complished during their
long occupation.
So why is there this con-
tinuing focus on settle-
ments at the White House
and the State Depar-
tment?
Part of the answer lies
in the foundering hopes
and aspirations of the
Bush administration.
Last year’s triumph in
the Persian Gulf war was a
clear high water mark for
a president who had
prided himself on his
prowess in foreign affairs.
After the remarkable
conquest of Saddam
Hussein’s forces,
President Bush and
Secretary of State James
Baker were convinced that
conditions were right for a
major leap forward in
resolving that most intrac-
table of crises, the Arab-
Israeli conflict.
But their high hopes for
a new order in the Middle
East were quickly dashed.
The Saudis proved the
most recalcitrant of allies,
and the Kuwaitis — re-
jecting pleas for a sem-
blance of democracy in
their war-ravaged country
— turned out to be a royal
pain in the TUCHIS.
And the Middle East
peace process quickly be-
came ensnared in the
Byzantine diplomacy thaL
is standard operating pro-
cedure for that part of the
world.
When the dust settled
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after Operation Desert
Storm, the geopolitical
order in the Middle East
looked remarkably un-
changed.
The pain was
aggravated by the ad-
ministration’s startlingly
swift fall from the heights
of popularity, and by the
galling image of an
unrepentant Saddam
Hussein thumbing his
nose at the American
“victors.”
To a dazed White
House, Israel’s seemingly
inexplicable determination
to continue an active set-
tlements policy was a han-
dy and highly visible
scapegoat for dashed
hopes and a soured politi-
cal outlook.
Every time Secretary of
State James Baker travel-
ed to Jerusalem during his
arduous shuttle diplomacy,
he was greeted with an-
nouncements of new set-
tlements.
Each grudging bit of
progress in the Middle
East peace process — the
administration’s last hope
for extracting some long-
term benefit from the Gull'
war — has been accom-
panied by new Israeli con-
cessions to the settlers,
something administration
officials have come to re-
gard as an intensely per-
sonal affront.
To an administration
that deals best with simple
symbols, Israel’s settle-
ments policies provided a
symbol they could really
sink their teeth into.
There is a strong feel-
ing within the administra-
tion that the Israeli leaders
are making fools of Amer-
ican policymakers.
Yitzhak Shamir may
not be particularly subtle
in his international rela-
tions, but he has display-
ed a certain deftness in
keeping the controversy at
bay while continuing to
pour money into new set-
tlements.
The Bush administra-
tion — torn between its
official commitment to
Israel, its fury at Shamir
and its reluctance to go to
war with the pro-lsrael
community — feels
manipulated and im-
potent.
* * *
All of this anger will
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Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 46, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 1992, newspaper, January 23, 1992; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth753627/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .