Sen. George Mitchell Says U.S. Ideals More Influential Than Economic, Military Might

By Sister Elaine Kelley

The World Affairs Council of Oregon’s International Speakers Series on Jan. 28 featured former Sen. George Mitchell. who discussed “Making Peace” on the same day as the Israeli elections and President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address. Soon after the onset of the September 2000 Palestinian uprising Mitchell headed the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee on Palestinian/Israeli violence. The committee’s final report in July 2001 was a disappointment to the anti-occupation movement for its assigning of equal responsibility to the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (see July 2001 Washington Report, p. 24).

In a pre-event press conference the former Democratic senator from Maine indicated his hopes that the “[Bush] administration will undertake an intensification of efforts to move Israelis and Palestinians away from conflict.” Just weeks ago, Mitchell pointed out, the administration had presented a roadmap to do just that, but did not press it pending Israeli elections.

“There’s widespread perception that U.S. policy is biased in favor of Israel, that we’re not doing anything,” Senator Mitchell told a packed audience at Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, “but the two sides agreed an American leadership role is indispensable.”

Although he referred to the Mitchell Report’s recommendation that Israel “should freeze all settlement activity, including the ‘natural growth’ of existing settlements,” and the necessity of implementation of U.S. policy in the region, Mitchell stopped short of calling for Israeli compliance on the issue of settlements. When asked later why there were no consequences to Israel’s continued settlement activity, and whether the U.S. should withdraw its funding until signs of compliance are forthcoming, Mitchell replied, “The U.S. and Israel are close allies. I hope the administration will follow up. The difficulty is there’s total mistrust [between Israelis and Palestinians]. I think they could settle the settlements, and [without that] it makes it harder to get to talks, but not by cutting off aid.”

Strong support for Israel has been the policy of every U.S. administration, Mitchell added. Referring to Washington’s role on the U.N. Security Council, he said, “Sometimes we are the only vote on Israel’s behalf.”

On the subject of the international protection force requested by Palestinians at Sharm el-Sheikh but not recommended in his commission’s report, Senator Mitchell said that it was a major issue of contention, opposed by Israel “because they had an organized military, and a protection force would deal with only one side.”

Senator Mitchell, whose mother is Lebanese and father the son of Irish immigrants, stated that he supports a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine and is opposed to the wall being built around the West Bank. “The only way to Israeli security,” he insisted, “is a two-state solution.”

The senator said he believes Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah’s proposal offering recognition of Israel’s right to exist by all Arab nations in return for Israel’s withdrawal to pre-1967 borders had merit, but did not comment on Israel’s rejection of the offer.

In Senator Mitchell’s view, “There must be an unwavering commitment not to yield to violence.” Americans “must not resign ourselves to conflict,” he added. “There is no such thing as a conflict that cannot be ended.”

On the eve of a possible U.S. attack on Iraq, the senator was asked to comment on the appearance of a U.S. double standard in dealing with Israel and with Iraq—specifically on Washington’s demands for Iraqi compliance with U.N. resolutions while ignoring Israeli violations. “There’s no equivalence between Israel’s violations and the actions of Saddam Hussain,” he replied, calling Hussain “a murderous thug.”

The senator said he would not rule out the possibility of pre-emptive action in “the appropriate circumstances,” using 9/11 as an example, but added there there must be “defined criteria” and “truly extraordinary circumstances.” He refuted the “notion around the world that it is American military and economic power” that is the basis of U.S. influence around the world. “I believe our most prominent influence is American ideals, not easily summarized,” Mitchell stated, citing “individual liberty, equal justice under the law, and opportunity.”

The World Affairs Council’s 2002-2003 International Speakers Series opened in September with Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the League of Arab States, followed by Mexico’s former President Ernesto Zedillo. The final lecture on April 9 will be delivered by Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who will speak on The Struggle for Justice and Human Rights.

Marching Against War On Iraq

Over 150 organizations signed on as co-sponsors and endorsers of a rally and march held in Portland Jan. 18 to demonstrate against a preemptive U.S. attack on Iraq. Local press reports varied in their estimates of the turnout, initially put at 20,000 but later climbing to 25,000. A large contingent of faith-based organizations, including the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland’s Office of Justice and Peace, American Friends Service Committee, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Portland Buddhist Peace Fellowship, as well as numerous individual churches and religious communities, joined forces for the event, scheduled on the weekend set aside to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. The crowd demonstrated its commitment to King’s legacy of nonviolence, and there were no reports of arrests or other police actions against demonstrators.

There were some disagreements within the rally organizing committee on whether to raise the Palestinian issue, and a few organizations expressed concern about possibly deterring constituencies with rally sub-themes like “End the Occupation” and “Free Palestine.” The voice of the Palestinian cause was not silenced, however. Marlene Eid, a Palestinian from Jerusalem, was on the list of rally speakers, which also included John Linder, the brother of Ben Linder, who was killed by U.S.-backed Contra forces in Nicaragua in the late 1970s, Wes Taylor of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, as well as speakers representing environmental concerns and the labor movement.

Drawing a connection between Iraq and Palestine, Eid examined America’s double standard in looking the other way when it comes to Israel, giving it unprecedented economic support through billions of dollars and gifts of U.S.-made F-16s, Apache helicopters, and missiles used on civilians. She called for a U.S. policy that is “firm on the side of law, justice and the supremacy of human rights” and a peace movement based on “moral clarity.”

John Linder loudly condemned U.S. weapons sales to the Middle East and its record of blocking “moves to make the Middle East a nuclear-free zone to ensure that its ally Israel maintains a nuclear veto over the Arab world.” He denounced the loss of civil liberties in this country and a visit to Israel by Portland Police Chief Mark Kroeker for “terrorism training.” Linder, who is Jewish, stated, “He’s gone to Israel, a country which rules the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under British colonial law, a country which armed dictators and terrorists in Central America.”

Other rally co-sponsors and endorsers included Portland National Organization for Women, Oregon Peace Institute, Amnesty International Group 48, Jews for Global Justice, Friends of Sabeel, National Lawyers Guild of Portland, Rainbow Coalition of Portland, Socialist Party of Oregon, Southern Oregon Economic Development Coalition.

The Jan. 18 event was Portland’s third such peace rally, following similar events on Oct. 5 and Nov. 17. Each one has built on the size and energy of the previous ones. The next rally is scheduled for March 15.

City, County Consider Resolutions on Iraq War

As of Feb. 5, 66 city and county councils in the U.S. had passed resolutions opposing unilateral, preemptive military action against Iraq by the United States. By a vote of 2-to-2, the Portland City Council on Jan. 22 failed to approve such a resolution. Voting in favor were Mayor Vera Katz and City Commissioner Erik Sten, who introduced the resolution. If passed, it would have been sent to Oregon’s congressional delegation, President George W. Bush, and the United Nations. Voting against were Commissioners Jim Francesconi and Randy Leonard. Commissioner Dan Saltzman was absent but had indicated earlier he would have voted against the resolution.

Explained Francesconi, “I have written to the president and to our congressional delegation. I’ve attended a peace vigil and I attended the march.” He added, however, that “despite my personal feelings, I do not believe that city council resolutions are an effective means of changing national policy.”

The resolution asserts that “war should only be the last resort, after exhausting all diplomatic and political means, and that war is not to be undertaken unilaterally or preemptively by the United States.”

Council chambers were filled with pro-resolution activists, and the large majority of those giving testimony argued in favor of the resolution.

Both the City of Corvallis and Multnomah County (which includes Portland) voted to support the resolution, which will be heard soon by the city council of Salem, Oregon’s state capital.

Palestine Truth Tour 2003 Visits Portland

Liv Dillon, who is speaking throughout the U.S. on behalf of the International Solidarity Movement’s Palestine Truth Tour 2003, visited Portland Jan. 26, where she appeared at an event co-sponsored by Friends of Sabeel and Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights. Dillon, who is a New Yorker, witnessed both planes hit the World Trade Center on her way to work on Sept. 11, 2001. The experience launched her on a personal quest to understand U.S. foreign policy and her place in it. Her journey led her to the International Solidarity Movement, under whose auspices she spent three weeks last March and April in a Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem, during the Israeli invasion. For almost the entire time she lived with a refugee family under curfew, and did volunteer work in Bethlehem during the siege of Manger Square, delivering food to besieged areas, riding with ambulances and walking people to the hospital during curfew.

Dillon presented a new video from Palestine. “Amandla Intfada,” produced by Big Noise Tactical, a documentary filmmaking collective, features Palestinian leaders Dr. Mustafa Barghouti and Hanan Ashrawi, and includes front-line scenes from Jenin, Hebron, and other cities. The video concludes with footage of the Israeli invasion of Jenin in the summer of 2002.

Dillon also shared with the audience drawings by the children of Jenin Refugee Camp, and educational materials from activist groups, including Jews Against the Occupation, the International Solidarity Movement, Al-Awda (the Palestinian Right of Return Coalition), and Voices in the Wilderness.

Palestinian Pollster Dr. Khalil Shikaki at Reed

Khalil Shikaki, associate professor of political science at Birzeit University and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah, spoke on “Good Governance, Public Opinion, and Peace in Palestine” before a Feb. 3 gathering at Reed College in Portland.

Shikaki, who conducts public opinion polls among Palestinians and Israelis, said that the two indicators influencing options for the future are the failure of both the peace process and Palestinian state building. Using charts and graphs to illustrate the benchmarks during Oslo which affected the rise and fall in support for violence among Palestinians, he pointed to 1995 and 1996, the Rabin/Peres period, describing it as the “golden era of the peace process.” At that time Arafat enjoyed high public support and support for violence had fallen to an all-time low. Shikaki showed how expectations for a permanent agreement, peace and cooperation fell from 44 percent in 1996 to 11 percent with the election of Ariel Sharon in February 2001.

“When Arafat and Rabin were shaking hands I was releasing my first survey,” Shikaki recalled. Back in 1992/93, he said, there was no infrastructure for doing surveys, no data or maps, and it took a group of academics 10 years to do their own research. Today, he noted, as a result of their work there are three organizations and 500 trained researchers. “We now have details about every corner of the West Bank and Gaza,” he said.

Shikaki said that 1,300 people were interviewed for each survey, and that the substance of those surveys was Oslo. With its collapse, he explained, the Palestinians and Israelis don’t know how to organize their relationship. “The PA is dead except in name,” he said, “and the only reason for it to exist is to pay the salaries of 140,000 employees”—virtually the only paid employment force left.

Shikaki claimed that the Palestinian Authority has lost legitimacy in the eyes of the public, with a third of those surveyed perceiving a decline in democracy, and corruption within the Palestinian Authority.

Sister Elaine Kelley is administrative officer of Friends of Sabeel-North America.