Soccer Dad

Nothing succeeds like failure

In an editorial praising the administration's appointment of Lt Gen William Ward to assist with restructuring "A Welcome Appointment", the editors of the New York Times write:

General Ward, the deputy commander of the United States Army in Europe, doesn't come with quite the panache or stature of a Henry Kissinger or a George Mitchell, who have both tried their hands at shuttle diplomacy in Israel and the Palestinian territories. He's not even an Anthony Zinni, the retired marine general who spent a year as the special envoy, making fruitless trips to the region before stepping down in 2003. In fact, General Ward has zero political credentials, long a requirement for making deals in a region where both sides tend to want to talk only to the top-level types they believe can bring home agreements. Yesterday, critics of President Bush's shortsighted hands-off policy in the Middle East peace effort were already characterizing the appointment of General Ward as a ploy to inoculate the president from complaints that America doesn't give a whit about whether the Palestinians ever get their own state.

Some, or all, of that may well prove true, especially if Mr. Bush fails to back up General Ward the way he failed to back up General Zinni.

The failure of General Zinni was due to President Bush's failure to back him up?
General Zinni made three trips to the Middle East from November 2001 to March 2002. Each time his arrival was marked by the IDF pulling back from positions it had taken up to fight terror. Each pullback was greeted with an increase in terror against Israeli civilians.
Don't believe me? Here's what some astute observers wrote back in 2002 just after Gen Zinnia had returned for the third time:

After sounding out Israeli and Arab leaders, it concluded that a new Zinni mission might save lives and check the current slide toward all-out war. General Zinni's main task will be to work for a cease-fire and an eventual resumption of peace talks. Earlier efforts were thwarted by violence, for which the Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, bears primary responsibility.

Who wrote that? Why it was the editors of the NY Times in "A New Urgency on the Mideast" March 18, 2002. (A lot of the rest of the editorial was nonsense, I'm just quoting you the good part.) Within a week of Gen Zinni's arrival in March 2002, ten people were killed in two suicide bombings. Another week later thirty more were killed in the infamouse Park Hotel bombing.
In other words as Israel acquiesced to American demands to let up its defense against terrorism in order to promote the peace process the terrorists with the acquiescence and likely connivance of Yasser Arafat struck severe blows against Israel. That's why Gen. Zinni's missions failed. Not a lack of support from the President.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Posted by SoccerDad at February 9, 2005 2:49 AM