Monday, March 28, 2005
Interesting profile of the EU's new envoy to Israel, Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal. It must be frustrating for the Israelis (and their supporters) with all the lessons learned of recent history - all the mistakes of Oslo, the errors of coddling Arafat and appeasing the terror groups - to have an envoy step in who admits he doesn't know that much about the region and comes on stage with the same old lecturing postures. Interesting contrast to the story of the French Ambassador given. It tells you much about the nature of the French position that their Ambassador had to actually deny the positive things that he said in private to continue to be in line with his government's stance.
JPost: Editor's Notes: A candid new EU voice
"Even a country like, say, Italy couldn't solve the problem of 1,000 armed militants in days or weeks. How in practice president Abbas can tackle terrorism is a question for all of us. Israel's role in helping Abbas succeed in fighting and neutralizing terrorism is irreplaceable. Israel, the US, the EU together must help ensure the job is done. This may include coercion and confrontation, also persuasion, compromise and negotiation. At the end of the day, coercion and confrontation may be necessary if other measures are exhausted."
Or, to put it succinctly, give Abbas some time, see if the negotiated approach pays off, hope that it won't be necessary to resort to direct confrontation, but bear in mind that it might be.
He allows that the EU's preference is for the softly-softly approach, noting that the EU is "very good at promoting cooperation. We know the techniques."
Implicit in this, I'd say, is that the EU is not so good at fighting terrorism or even, I'd add in the context of our conflict, in honestly acknowledging when terrorism has to be fought....
..."The important thing," he says, "is when there is a terrorist attack – a terrible thing – how do the legitimate authorities react. If we see that before and after, the PA is doing the necessary steps, taking the necessary actions, then that is the desirable thing. If we see no tolerance for terrorism from the PA, then that is very positive.
"We should have a situation where when there is a terrorist attack, the guilty persons are brought to justice together by Israel and the PA. There will be peace and security and stability when the anti-terrorist policies are implemented by Israel and the PA, when terrorists know that if they commit attacks they will have to face prosecution in Israel and the PA.
"I come from the Basque region of Spain," he goes on. "Twenty years ago, Spain was complaining that ETA terrorists were getting a safe haven in France. Today, this is not the case... Spanish police know that if they give information to the French police, the French police will go and capture the necessary parties, and those who are captured face penalties in France and Spain.
"That will be an acid test for peace. It is my hope that the kind of French-Spanish cooperation will exist between a Palestinian state and Israel at peace. If that is the case, then a terrorist attack won't be a decisive thing. The important thing, I say again, is the response."...
Aye, there's a rub for you. If Israel imprisons the terrorists, they become nothing but pawns and excuses for more terror prior to their inevitable release. If the PA imprisons the terrorists, it's a revolving door joke. We'll know Abbas is serious about cracking down on the terrorists when the EU needs to petition him to commute the death sentences of bombers instead of the death sentences of the "collaborators" they do now.
