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Intifada Decreases Arab Support for Iraq Sanctions

August 16, 2001

The perception of the Arab people that the U.S. favors Israel in current unrest may be undermining efforts to contain Iraq's Saddam Hussein, according to an article in today's Christian Science Monitor. Peter Grier, staff writer for the Monitor, argues that the policy for Israeli-Palestinian issues must mesh with the policy for Iraq and Iran.

In recent days, President Bush has urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to do more to stop suicide attacks while calling on Israel to continue to show restraint. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told a U.S. television interviewer Wednesday night that Israel has no plans to re-occupy Palestinian areas, and he insisted Israel has shown restraint in its response to suicide bombings. But, according to Grier, the moderate Arab countries, as well as many European governments, want a more forceful U.S. approach.

In a recent visit to the Persian Gulf region, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns found that the moderate Arab governments were obsessed with the Palestinian problem. "My discussions with Gulf leaders ... focused almost exclusively on the Palestinian-Israeli situation," Mr. Burns told a House panel last month. The Arab leaders point out that their own populations overwhelmingly support the Palestinian side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In that context, it is difficult for them to cooperate with the U.S. on containing Iraq.

Grier makes a good point that the continuing violence decreases Arab support for UN sanctions against Iraq. However, what Grier fails to appreciate is that the violence has occurred largely because of the support and encouragement that the "moderate" Arab leaders have given to Arafat. If the Arab "street" in Egypt is pressuring Mubarak to support Arafat and break diplomatic ties with Israel, part of the blame must be placed squarely on Mubarak, whose state controlled news media routinely runs anti-Semitic and anti-Israel articles and cartoons. Arafat's ability to continue the intifada is due in large part to the material and financial assistance by the "moderate" oil-rich Arab countries and arms smuggling conducted from Egypt and Jordan both before and during the current intifada.

Grier also implies that the solution to the problem is for Israel to show more restraint in dealing with the Palestinians. However, the intifada has turned into a war of attrition that will only continue to inflame the Arab public. If Israel had 10 months ago sent their tanks into the PA controlled areas and put an end to the intifada, the situation would not have turned into the tinderbox it is today. The restraint shown by Israel during the last 10 months at the behest of the western world and the moderate Arab leaders has caused the situation to continue to fester.

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