Netanyahu-Lieberman: a semi-state in the West Bank and a Bantustan in Gaza
"American unilateralism has been transformed into a multipolar world", writes Yves Lacoste in his reference work Géopolitique, published by Larousse in 2010. He refers to the brilliant former French foreign minister Dominique Villepin (his other posts were less brilliant, Lacoste says), who was and remains opposed to any US monopolization of roles. George Bush has left the scene and his place has been taken by Barack Obama, who is more realistic, is moving in the same direction as Bush, with certain changes of form. De Villepin also targeted Tony Blair, who was France's rival in the European citadel. Paris was supported then by Germany in the time of Chancellor Schroeder.
De Villepin presented himself, the civilized heir of Montesquieu, Voltaire and De Gaulle and the proponent of multilateralism, as the opposite to the likes of George Bush Jr., the raw "Yankee" advocate of American supremacy and globalization. Some say that Lebanon, after the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri, became a point of encounter between Paris and Washington, a reconciliation subsequently transferred to Iraq.
Naturally, there are subjects other than Iraq and Afghanistan on the map. In Latin America, elections have brought leaders to power who do not bear America in their hearts. And China has become a great economic power, as has India. Putin insists on his role, using gas as a weapon, and Iran, with its nuclear program, is the first challenge after Iraq. Dealing effectively with it requires joint international efforts. But politics is not everything; economics tops the agendas of states. On this level, the United States is at the top of the list among the states of the globe. It holds 70 percent of the world's financial reserves and each year it creates millions of jobs. Its gross domestic product increases by three percent a year. It leads in the fields of research, weapons and military bases. Even demography plays in America's favor, with its large number of annual immigrants. This confirms the truth of the statement of Henry Kissinger, who said around 1975: "No state in the world has the possibility of threatening America's first position in the world".
Washington was the prisoner of its slogans, especially that of the "axis of evil", which goes back to the time of the Second World War, when its members were Germany, Italy and Japan, facing the camp of the Allies. Franklin Roosevelt coined the expression "day of infamy" to describe the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, while Ronald Reagan, Hollywood's man in the White House, invented the expression "empire of evil" to describe the Soviet Union. Bush Jr. returned to the lexicon of the Second World War when he used the term "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address in 2002.
Those in the know say that American illogicality is evident in the offensive against Iran, after the approaches made by Obama for a rapprochement with this country. And nuclear cooperation with Moscow, the conflict over Central Asia and the situation in Iraq may be at the origin of the transformation of amity into hostility, in addition to the opposition of interests in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine.
But these arguments, important though they may be, are only the tip of the iceberg; the remainder is hidden by the sea, concealing an Israeli-American complicity aimed at preventing the technology for making weapons like medium- and long-range missiles from reaching Arab and Muslim states, so that Israel can continue to occupy the lands it has usurped and to monopolize its military superiority.
Is there any need to reiterate that the balance of forces is not working in the interest of the authority of Mahmoud Abbas, even if he is received by Obama at the White House? The historical outcome will be on he ground, not in a media spectacle, whose impact will quickly fade. The regional climate is Shakespearian, and what appears likely is not the two-state solution, Palestinian and Israeli. George Mitchell will return home empty-handed, and some observers believe that the status quo will persist until Marwan Barghouti leaves prison. What is likely on the American level is another tedious round of talks and pressure on the Palestinians to make compromises. The priority for Hamas is to persist, nothing more, because Palestine has been postponed till "the day of Resurrection" in the form of a Bantustan such as existed in South Africa under the racist apartheid regime. George Soros, the rich man from Wall Street, advised Ismail Haniya and Mahmoud Zahar not to follow the example of the Taliban. In any case there is no room for fantasy. The Palestinian tragedy is over a century old and will continue as Netanyahu, Lieberman and Sharansky continue to sow dissension.
Where is the escape hatch? Obama, without whom no lasting solution is likely, sees it in an invitation to Abbas and Netanyahu to the White House to have their pictures taken. The futility of it all is such that one is led to the gloomiest conclusion, which is that the conflict will not be resolved in the lifetime of anyone now living.
© Monday Morning 2010
