Weekly Commentary: Bush's support for Sharon was mostly rhetoric

Aaron Lerner Date: 12 January 2006

U.S. President Bush is certainly trying to tell the Israeli public to vote
for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Kadima Party, but the Bush team's actions
have been anything but supportive.

Ask the families of Israelis who have literally "died to please Bush" as
time and again the Sharon team reduced vital Israeli security measures at
the insistence of the White House.

The Bush team's rhetoric has been anti-Palestinian terror, but the Bush team
supports the Palestinian Authority's (PA) proposal to put even the most
radical and dangerous Palestinian terror cells on the PA's payroll.
President Bush may talk about disarming the terrorists, but in the very same
breath he praises plans to train and arm them as cops.

The Bush team's rhetoric has been to respect and support Israel's vital
interests, but the Bush team pressed Israel to agree to the precedent
setting arrangement at Rafah that gives the Palestinians the right to not
only grant free passages to terrorists but also the final say on the
movement of weapons and explosives across the border. If the Palestinian
inspectors insist that the anti-aircraft missile in a box is an umbrella,
and PA officials back the claim, then under the Bush team brokered deal, the
missile goes through as an umbrella.

Yes, the Bush team has at times "allowed" Israel to drag its feet on the
implementation of various commitments that it has imposed on Israel, from
delineating a final stranglehold on the settlement blocs that the Sharon
team claims Washington accepts to irreversibly removing vital security
arrangements. But at each step of the way these commitments have been
carefully recorded - leaving it up to Washington to decide when and where to
call these debts.

The Bush team's rhetoric has been for a strong Israel, but its arms policy
has been to dangerously strengthen Israel's neighbors as it intentionally
handicaps Israel defense industries in order to give a leg up for their
American competitors.

The Bush and Sharon teams hope that Israeli voters will be impressed by the
photo-ops and ignore the substance.

For Israel's sake, let's hope they are wrong.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il