US
Attitude To Hamas: The Disturbing Parallel With Nicaragua
By Ramzy Baroud
05 April,2006
Countercurrents.org
What
is currently transpiring in the Occupied Territories is by far a worst-case
scenario, ironically one made possible with the direct help of many
Palestinians themselves. The democratically elected Palestinian government
is now officially isolated, as many Palestinians cannot see beyond their
own narrow — and frankly irrelevant — ideological differences
and immaterial factionalism.
Others cannot resist their
total reliance on foreign, mostly European funds to run their mostly
self-exalting NGOs, whose tangible contribution to Palestinian life
is still disputed.
The final outcome is that
turning Palestine into another Nicaragua is working. That was the intent
from the moment Hamas was declared victorious in the Parliamentary Elections
last January. US mainstream media conveyed the over-all feeling that
an utter miscalculation in US foreign policy took place. US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice charged back, leading a campaign of defamation
and coercion aimed at politically and financially isolating the democratically
elected Palestinian legislators, further solidifying with the former
corrupt political elite.
Similarly, Nicaragua of the
1960s and 70s seemed of little concern as long as our formidable man,
Somoza, ruled with an iron fist. His elites robbed the country senseless
until the Sandinistas vigorously emerged, toppling him and eventually
his US-armed National Guard. Predictably, the US took on the new Sandinista
government, which was described then by the international development
organization Oxfam as “exceptional..(in its) commitment to improve
the conditions of the people and encourage their active participation
in the development process.” On the other hand, it was obvious
that Somoza had fled with his country’s entire movable assets.
For obvious reasons that
have more to do with US strategic reasons than the welfare of the people
of Nicaragua, the Sandinistas were labeled a ‘cancer’ that
had to be extracted. To do so, Nicaragua was completely cut off, denied
any form of aid and was forced to squander its resources to fight off
Somoza’s former National Guard, renamed the Contras. The rest,
of course, is history. Bullied, isolated and terrified, the people of
Nicaragua couldn’t withstand the US-led multifaceted pressures,
and were forced into submission, ditching the Sandinista government
in a rare democratic election, orchestrated by the Sandinistas themselves.
The human cost for such American adventurism was of course unbearable
to ordinary Nicaraguans, though it constituted a mere continuation of
US foreign policy in Central America and all over the world.
The Palestinian case is,
more or less, being handled the same way: the multi-faceted internal
and external pressures, the unreasonable demands, the boycott and the
collective punishment. All elements are indeed falling into place to
remanufacture that same nightmarish scenario which is hoped to eventually
lead to diplomatic deadlock, regional and international isolation and
further deterioration in the already unstable (read non-existing) Palestinian
economy. On the external front, the new Palestinian government was met
almost immediately with unfair demands of unilateral renunciation of
violence and the unconditional recognition of Israel. The fact that
Israel was not urged to reciprocate was an obvious indication of the
objective of such demands. The intent was of course discrediting the
new Palestinian government, knowing fully that it was unlikely to succumb
to such pressure.
Similarly, a regional isolation
campaign was underway, one that resulted in denying the Palestinian
government an invitation to the Sudan Arab League Summit, a sign that
Arabs are too adhering to the assigned task. The real mockery is that
various Palestinian factions too have opted to steer away from what
they sense might be a challenging and perhaps costly period in their
history. Rather than solidifying in the face of danger, Fatah intentionally
impeded Hamas’ attempt to join the new government and the socialists
failed to see through their ideological constrictions.
Unfortunately, Hamas was
forced to form a government and to seek its legislative approval alone.
The ground is now prepared for the US to unabashedly cement its international
boycott of the ‘terrorist’, democratically elected Palestinian
government, and for Israel, to finish off demarcating its border as
it pleases, turning the scattered leftovers of the Occupied Territories
into South African-style Bantustans.
In fact, the escalation of
the US-Israeli war is already underway as US State Department spokesman
Sean McCormack told reporters on March 27 that his government rejects
Hamas’ call for dialogue, once again outlining Washington’s
incongruous conditions as a stipulation to precede any talks. Israel
on the other hand, according to the Sunday Times, is preparing a massive
military campaign in the West Bank that would continue ‘until
the last of the terrorists are dead or under arrest.’ Considering
that Hamas has unilaterally refrained from counter violence for over
a year, Israel’s anticipated campaign, which will reportedly see
the reoccupation of most population centers, is an act of collective
punishment against the Palestinian people for electing a parliament
that refuses to unconditionally concede to Israel’s egotistical
definition of peace.
The bottom line is that the
stage is set for Palestinians to pay, for Israel’s illegal settlements
policy to be officiated as part of the country’s permanent borders
and for the US to prolong its international campaign of economic and
political suffocation. Even if Palestinians stubbornly resist the pressure,
as they most certainly will, Israel will be allowed to dictate its own
‘solution’ to the conflict unhindered, for reprimanding
Israel is now equal to siding with a terrorist group.
For some Palestinian groups
to completely succumb to the role of abetting such a scenario is most
troubling. It’s this thoughtlessness that has indeed continued
to expose the vulnerability of Palestinians before Israeli and American
schemes. While, in my opinion, a religious ideology is not the most
helpful formula for any Palestinian polity and that suicide bombings
were the single most tainting act employed by Palestinians in recent
years, I believe that all Palestinians must recognize that the impending
fight is of greater consequence than the dialectics of religion and
politics. Israel is clearly reaching the final stretch in its fight
to deny Palestinians every single legitimate demand for freedom, sovereignty
and true peace and justice. Failing to see that is tantamount to partaking
in the Israeli plot to deny Palestinians any say in the shaping of their
future, which is sadly growing dimmer by the day.
-Veteran Arab American journalist
Ramzy Baroud teaches mass communication at Australia’s Curtin
University of Technology, Malaysia Campus. His most recent book is entitled,
Writings on the Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People’s
Struggle (Pluto Press, London.) He is also the editor-in-chief of the
Palestine Chronicle online newspaper