He's a megalomaniac who will do anything to prostitute his books, but I must say, THIS column, although not mind shattering, was cleaverly conceived, and I hope you enjoy it. It rings with a lot of truths, and although I am no Friedman
fan, I think the this article is worth a read.
Dear Ariel and Yasir
October 23, 2001
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
From: George W. Bush
To: Ariel Sharon and Yasir Arafat
I'm writing you
both urgently because I fear your conflict is deteriorating
so far and fast that it's going to undermine my ability to
sustain the war against Osama bin Laden.
Ariel, let me start with you. I'm still not sure you
understand that America is now under attack. We're fighting
for our self-defense. We are fighting to maintain the free
and open society that is the basis of all that is good in
America and Israel. And when your friend America is at war
for its survival, there is only one question Israel should
ask: How can we help?
We're not interested in debating with you whether or not
Arafat is your Osama bin Laden, as you've been saying.
Clearly, you can't make up your own mind. After all, you've
been secretly negotiating with Arafat, and have sent your
own son, Omri, to meet him several times. I've never sent
my daughters to meet bin Laden.
I know exactly who Arafat is. He's like many of the Arab
leaders in my coalition. He's a corrupt, authoritarian,
impossible figure, easily influenced by his "street," who
is awful to deal with - but whose domestic opponents are
even worse. He's part of the problem and part of the
solution.
What worries me is, who is Israel? I have no problem with
Israel retaliating against Palestinians who murder Israeli
civilians. No one can object to that. When your snipers
assassinated the Palestinian terrorist who organized the
suicide bombing of the Tel Aviv disco, my spokesmen made
clear we had no problem with that. But there's a red line
for us. And the red line is if you try to use this
situation, as some in your cabinet are urging, to destroy
the Palestinian Authority and end Arafat's control in the
West Bank and Gaza.
If you do that now, and if total chaos erupts in the
territories or, worse, Islamic radicals take over, which
then forces you to reoccupy these areas, and that inflames
the Arab- Muslim world, you will be seriously undermining
our coalition against bin Laden. And whoever undermines
that coalition undermines us.
I fear, Ariel, that your American friends and your
ambassador - do you even have an ambassador here? - have
not conveyed to you how serious this war is for America. I
know the Palestinian radicals are trying to goad you. I
know you were working for a cease-fire before they killed
your minister. I truly appreciate that. But don't let the
assassination of your minister goad Israel into doing crazy
things. That is exactly what the terrorists want.
Ariel, don't you get it? We know bin Laden didn't attack us
to liberate Palestine. We know the roots of this story are
in the anger of Arab citizens at their own bad regimes. We
know the roots are with the fanatics who want to twist
Islam into a religion of anger and martyrdom. These truths
are too big to hide - unless you get in the way and make
Israel the story. Get off the radar screen! Our resolve is
now being tested by our enemies - we don't need it tested
by our friends. If you do - especially after Americans
start dying in Afghanistan - it will seriously damage the
special U.S.-Israeli relationship.
As for you, Yasir, you say you want to join the world's
non-smoking section - those who oppose terrorism. Well,
then don't come near me smoking cigars. I made clear that
I'm ready to support a Palestinian state, but if you're not
supportive of us in this war, you can forget about that.
If your people want to throw stones at Israeli soldiers,
that's your business. But if you won't crack down on
Palestinians who blow up Israeli discos or assassinate
Israeli ministers and take some of the pressure off Sharon,
as I have asked him to take it off you, then I'll assume
you're on the side of bin Laden and the Taliban - just
another thug who harbors terrorists. And please don't tell
me you can't control your own people. You've sold us that
carpet one too many times. If you won't, Congress
eventually will force me to cut off all aid to you, put you
on the terrorism list and use all our means to delegitimize
you. And why not? The cult of martyrdom and suicide that
you have recklessly allowed to grow among Islamist
Palestinians is not just a threat to Israel and to you.
It's now a threat to us.
For so many years, boys, it's always been about you. Well,
now it's about us. I need you both to postpone your war
now. If you won't do that for us, we'll assume you're
against us.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/23/opinion/23FRIE.html?ex=1004833656&ei=1&en=49fbe17189084aa3
fan, I think the this article is worth a read.
Dear Ariel and Yasir
October 23, 2001
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
From: George W. Bush
To: Ariel Sharon and Yasir Arafat
I'm writing you
both urgently because I fear your conflict is deteriorating
so far and fast that it's going to undermine my ability to
sustain the war against Osama bin Laden.
Ariel, let me start with you. I'm still not sure you
understand that America is now under attack. We're fighting
for our self-defense. We are fighting to maintain the free
and open society that is the basis of all that is good in
America and Israel. And when your friend America is at war
for its survival, there is only one question Israel should
ask: How can we help?
We're not interested in debating with you whether or not
Arafat is your Osama bin Laden, as you've been saying.
Clearly, you can't make up your own mind. After all, you've
been secretly negotiating with Arafat, and have sent your
own son, Omri, to meet him several times. I've never sent
my daughters to meet bin Laden.
I know exactly who Arafat is. He's like many of the Arab
leaders in my coalition. He's a corrupt, authoritarian,
impossible figure, easily influenced by his "street," who
is awful to deal with - but whose domestic opponents are
even worse. He's part of the problem and part of the
solution.
What worries me is, who is Israel? I have no problem with
Israel retaliating against Palestinians who murder Israeli
civilians. No one can object to that. When your snipers
assassinated the Palestinian terrorist who organized the
suicide bombing of the Tel Aviv disco, my spokesmen made
clear we had no problem with that. But there's a red line
for us. And the red line is if you try to use this
situation, as some in your cabinet are urging, to destroy
the Palestinian Authority and end Arafat's control in the
West Bank and Gaza.
If you do that now, and if total chaos erupts in the
territories or, worse, Islamic radicals take over, which
then forces you to reoccupy these areas, and that inflames
the Arab- Muslim world, you will be seriously undermining
our coalition against bin Laden. And whoever undermines
that coalition undermines us.
I fear, Ariel, that your American friends and your
ambassador - do you even have an ambassador here? - have
not conveyed to you how serious this war is for America. I
know the Palestinian radicals are trying to goad you. I
know you were working for a cease-fire before they killed
your minister. I truly appreciate that. But don't let the
assassination of your minister goad Israel into doing crazy
things. That is exactly what the terrorists want.
Ariel, don't you get it? We know bin Laden didn't attack us
to liberate Palestine. We know the roots of this story are
in the anger of Arab citizens at their own bad regimes. We
know the roots are with the fanatics who want to twist
Islam into a religion of anger and martyrdom. These truths
are too big to hide - unless you get in the way and make
Israel the story. Get off the radar screen! Our resolve is
now being tested by our enemies - we don't need it tested
by our friends. If you do - especially after Americans
start dying in Afghanistan - it will seriously damage the
special U.S.-Israeli relationship.
As for you, Yasir, you say you want to join the world's
non-smoking section - those who oppose terrorism. Well,
then don't come near me smoking cigars. I made clear that
I'm ready to support a Palestinian state, but if you're not
supportive of us in this war, you can forget about that.
If your people want to throw stones at Israeli soldiers,
that's your business. But if you won't crack down on
Palestinians who blow up Israeli discos or assassinate
Israeli ministers and take some of the pressure off Sharon,
as I have asked him to take it off you, then I'll assume
you're on the side of bin Laden and the Taliban - just
another thug who harbors terrorists. And please don't tell
me you can't control your own people. You've sold us that
carpet one too many times. If you won't, Congress
eventually will force me to cut off all aid to you, put you
on the terrorism list and use all our means to delegitimize
you. And why not? The cult of martyrdom and suicide that
you have recklessly allowed to grow among Islamist
Palestinians is not just a threat to Israel and to you.
It's now a threat to us.
For so many years, boys, it's always been about you. Well,
now it's about us. I need you both to postpone your war
now. If you won't do that for us, we'll assume you're
against us.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/23/opinion/23FRIE.html?ex=1004833656&ei=1&en=49fbe17189084aa3