Soccer Dad

Ehud's Mixed Bag

Ehud Barak has some useful things to say in his recent Q & A with Ha'aretz he also has some self-serving things to say.
First of all, whom do you believe Ehud Barak:

The day before violence erupted on the Temple Mount in September 2000, you spoke privately and alone with Arafat in your garden for around one hour. What was said? Did you leave with the impression that an agreement was likely?
Dr. Jonathan Rynhold
Modi'in, Israel

Ehud Barak:
Mr. Arafat is not a highly communicative person, and there is never something important to write home about from our conversations with him.

That should not lead us to underestimate his sophistication as a politician. He is a great actor on the world diplomatic arena who is very skillful in using every tool at his disposal, from the weakness of the Palestinian people to the fragility of his own appearance, as diplomatic tools. It is now clear that he decided deliberately and consciously to turn to terror, and that is something that we will never, ever yield to. Period.

or Yasser Arafat?

But Palestinians drove away from that dinner with something else on their minds Mr. Sharon's coming visit to what Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary and Jews know as the Temple Mount. Mr. Arafat said in an interview that he huddled on the balcony with Mr. Barak and implored him to block Mr. Sharon's plans. But Mr. Barak's government perceived the planned visit by Mr. Sharon, then the opposition leader, as solely an internal Israeli political matter, specifically as an attempt to divert attention from the expected return to political life by a right-wing rival Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister.

To her discredit former NY Times Mid-East correspondent Deborah Sontag believed Arafat without apparently bothering to interview Mr. Barak.
I'm not so thrilled with Barak on the subject of the withdrawal from Lebanon though:

Do you see that the intifada was brought about and encouraged by our unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon? If so, do you think a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza will lead to an intensification of the intifada, as it will be regarded as a victory for terrorism? (A similar question was asked by Nagi N. Najjar from Lebanon)
Dunn Rabinowitz
Rehovot, Israel

Ehud Barak:
That's nonsense. I can understand why the Palestinians adopted this story - or even why the frustrated Hezbollah, which found itself paralyzed from acting against Israel by the presence of the invisible wall of international legitimacy, did so - but I cannot see why Israelis should fall into this trap. Can anyone seriously think that if we were still in Lebanon, bleeding continuously, the Palestinians would never have raised their heads and would have accepted being under Israeli occupation forever? The opposite is true. When the inevitable eruption of violence would have taken place, we would have been paralyzed by the need to deal with two fronts simultaneously, and it would be much more complicated to execute operations like Defensive Shield without risking an immediate deterioration into a regional war.

The whole argument about more terror resulting from leaving Lebanon is ridiculous. We are talking as if there were no Palestinians terror when we were in Lebanon, which is not true. I decided to end a tragedy that lasted 18 years and cost the lives of 1,000 Israelis, and I was proud of being able to do it against the judgement of so many.

The case with Gaza is different, because in Lebanon we could withdraw to an international border backed by a UN Security Council resolution and expect the government of Lebanon to take care of the rest.

Even though it doesn't have the "international legitimacy" Mr. Barak deems so important, it still strikes at Israel with impunity - including this week when a Hezbollah sniper killed two Israeli soldiers on the Israeli side of the border. (Also given the support that Hezbollah is reportedly now giving Hamas and the other terrorist organizations, is he so sure the casualties have not been increased by the withdrawal. When Israel was in Lebanon it would have been a lot more difficult for members of Hezbollah to freelance in Gaza and Bethlehem.) If that "legitimacy" is so important why didn't the UN condemn Hezbollah? Sorry, I don't buy it.
Isn't Israel's economy getting better now?

Do you think that the economic situation in Israel can improve without the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Gal
Freiburg , Germany

Ehud Barak:
A solution to the Israeli -Palestinian conflict would have changed the economic situation in Israel dramatically for the positive. In fact, the last two eruptions of growth in our economy concurred with Rabin's government (Oslo) and my government (Camp David).

But even short of having a solution for the conflict, the very establishment of a fully-fledged security fence as I proposed in 2001 would have dramatically changed the security situation, would have saved the lives of many hundreds and would create a different level of personal safety and provided a precondition for a much higher rate of economic growth.

Still it's nice to know that Barak retains a small sense of realism that many on the left still haven't gotten:

Many on the left accuse you of undermining the peace camp by selling the idea of no partner on the Palestinian side. What is your response?
Brian Little
London, U.K.

Ehud Barak:
I'm not selling any idea, but as national leader I feel compelled to tell the truth, however tough and uncomfortable it might have been. Once we had found that Arafat does not recognize the right of Jewish people to have a state of their own if the price is to give up the political right of return to Israel and recognize our affiliation to our holy places, and that he deliberately turned to terror, it would be total naivete not to be able to recognize this reality, however painful, and take action based on it.

As I have already said, I found that Arafat is no partner for the present. When the time comes for a different Palestinian leader to emerge, who will be ready to change direction and take direction toward peace, I am confident that we will be able to stretch our hand toward peace.

Read the whole thing; I suspect that you will be alternately impressed and frustrated.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Posted by SoccerDad at July 23, 2004 02:28 PM | TrackBack