Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October/November 1997, Page 100

Special Report

"Forboding Due to American Actions" Found by Political Pilgrims of CNI

by Roxanne Hanson-Andersen

Sixteen "Political Pilgrims" who visited the Middle East in June under the auspices of the Council for the National Interest encountered deep frustration with American inaction in the face of a possible complete collapse of the Middle East peace process. The participants, who came from across the United States, heard many harsh warnings in two weeks of meetings with top Middle Eastern and American officials.

"We found a deep sense of foreboding among leaders and key political activists, including members of the opposition in each country," said CNI president Eugene Bird. "Many see that a serious confrontation is developing between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government, backed by the United States, and the Arab peoples and their leaders. The other striking impression was the remarkable frankness of Lebanese, Palestinian, Jordanian and Syrian leaders concerning the weak U.S. response to the current crises."

The United States' responsibility to act as an honest broker came up frequently in the two-week tour of four countries and Palestine. One senior official in Beirut said, "We are unsure what the Americans are really intending to do about Lebanon. They seem to want us to sign a separate peace treaty with Israel. That will never happen."

Palestinian Minister of Planning Nabil Shaath, one of the key peace talk negotiators for the Palestinian Authority, said he was sure that in his heart President Bill Clinton not only understands the crisis in the peace process but wants to do something about it.

"But I guess he cannot do anything," Shaath said. "The Congress is a captive and too strong and President Clinton has personal problems of his own." Shaath had talked at length with the U.S. president only a few weeks earlier.

The Pilgrims also met with key ministers in Jordan, the president, prime minister and foreign minister of Lebanon, the foreign minister of Syria, and parliamentary leaders in all three countries. Regional media followed the Pilgrims closely, anxiously seeking the group's help in changing U.S. foreign policy.

In Israel and the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, they continued to meet with government officials, political activists and religious leaders in Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Gaza. The leaders were often distressed at the stalled peace process, but also generated several creative ideas for re-starting negotiations, which CNI and the Pilgrims themselves will pursue with policymakers.

Throughout the trip, Pilgrims sought answers to some tough questions. They asked about an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, possibilities for sharing Jerusalem, U.S. advocacy on refugee, water, and land issues, and recent allegations of human rights violations by the Palestinian Authority. Most of all, the Pilgrims wanted to see the current conditions in the area, due to closures, settlements, economic warfare and unkept promises, and the consequences these will have on a final, fair and just peace agreement.

Situation Deteriorated Since 1996 Trip

Charles Darby, a retired auto worker from Michigan, was astonished at the deterioration of the peace process since 1996 when he participated in the Second Political Pilgrimage. "Today, there is frustration and, in some cases, bitterness at the collapsing peace process and the worsening situation for Palestinians in the occupied territories," he noted. However he was somewhat encouraged by information from the Jaffe Center in Tel Aviv, that Israel may return the Golan Heights to Syria and that most Israelis feel that there will be a Palestinian state of some kind.

Again and again, the Pilgrims heard that the peace process must include a commitment to the Oslo accords, based on the land-for-peace formula in U.N. Security Council Resolution 242. Key steps in re-starting the negotiations could include a shutdown of the last active fighting front in the Arab-Israeli conflict, south Lebanon, by a unilateral Israeli withdrawal, and the fulfillment of economic agreements already made with Jordan and the Palestinians.

Many leaders suggested that immediate intervention by prominent emissaries from the United States, backed by President Bill Clinton, could lead to a reduction in tensions and an eventual comprehensive peace.

Upon their return to the United States, the Pilgrims met with and encouraged the staffs of eight members of Congress to take action to change U.S. Middle East Policy. Later in the day, they also had lively discussions with a State Department official and a National Security Council staff member concerning the blind attachment of the United States to Israeli policies.

CNI itself is proposing a congressional resolution calling for a U.S. Embassy in East Jerusalem for Palestine. The proposed embassy would be established concurrent with the pending move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem. "President Clinton should welcome this resolution as a means of responding to the Congress, which has tried to pre-empt the president's authority in foreign affairs," commented Bird.

The Council for the National Interest's Third Political Pilgrimage ended with a sense of overwhelming frustration. Many of the Pilgrims' questions had been answered, but they were not always happy with the responses. CNI will hold its Fourth Annual Conference in October, during which a short video of the Pilgrimage will be shown.