7th Rangers: ‘No’ to Palestinian Statehood - The U.S. should cut funding to the Palestinian Authority if it proceeds with U.N. statehood By Brett D. Schaefer & James Phillips
Fighting Seventh
The Fighting Rangers On War, Politics and Burning Issues
Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
‘No’ to Palestinian Statehood - The U.S. should cut funding to the Palestinian Authority if it proceeds with U.N. statehood By Brett D. Schaefer & James Phillips
Friday, November 30, 2012
The
U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote today on a proposal to elevate
the status of the Palestinian Authority. The PA is currently a
permanent-observer “entity.” It is seeking to become a
permanent-observer “non-member state.” Last year, the Obama
administration blocked the PA’s bid for full U.N. membership by
threatening to use the U.S.’s Security Council veto, asserting
that “efforts to delegitimize Israel will end in failure. Symbolic
actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won’t
create an independent state.”
A unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood would undermine all
internationally accepted frameworks for peace, including U.N. Security
Council Resolution 242 and the U.N.-sponsored Road Map for Peace, as
well as other U.N. statements that call for a Palestinian state and
delineation of borders through a negotiated mutual agreement with
Israel. Diplomatically and rhetorically, the Palestinians would portray
elevated status in the U.N. as validation of their unilateral
declaration of statehood and use it to circumvent bilateral negotiations
with Israel. This effort threatens both U.S. and Israeli interests, and
the administration is right to oppose it.
Moreover, if successful, the Palestinians could exploit their status as a
non-member state to demand participation in international organizations
in a manner consistent with that of other non-member states. The
Palestinian Authority could then use the recognition of it by these
organizations to launch diplomatic, political, and legal challenges to
Israel. For instance, in 2009 the Palestinians asked the International
Criminal Court (ICC) to extend its jurisdiction to the Palestinian
territories and to investigate crimes allegedly committed by Israel.
Earlier this year, the ICC prosecutor concluded
that he does not have authority to initiate an investigation because
the issue of Palestinian statehood is in question. The Palestinians
would likely use their new status in the General Assembly to apply for
membership in the ICC, which would obviate the organization’s previous
determination. Even without ICC membership, GA recognition of statehood
would influence the organization.
Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority has strong support in the General Assembly, with well over 100 countries publicly recognizing “Palestine” as a state. And its support could be much higher even than that, as countries such as France, which does not currently recognize “Palestine,” have stated that they will also vote in favor. Even the United Kingdom,
one of America’s closest allies, has offered to vote in favor if the
Palestinian Authority agrees to resume peace negotiations with Israel
without preconditions, immediately, and agrees not to seek membership in
the ICC or the International Court of Justice or to pursue war-crimes
charges against Israel.
The British tactic is Pollyannaish. Even if the PA agrees to these
conditions, there is no way to enforce their compliance once they are
granted elevated status. Indeed, history is replete with examples of the
Palestinians’ having pocketed a concession while failing to honor their
pledges.The Palestinian effort to use the U.N. to bolster its unilateral
statehood claim is a serious threat to U.S. interests and undermines all
internationally accepted frameworks for peace. If the vote on elevating
the status of the Palestinian Authority in the General Assembly is held
today, it is almost certain to succeed.
Over the past few months, the U.S. threatened to cut assistance to the PA in an effort to convince it to pull back. Undaunted, the Palestinians seem determined to proceed. Considering the administration’s efforts to restore funding to UNESCO even after UNESCO granted membership to the PA, the Palestinians likely doubt that the U.S. will follow through. If the Obama administration proves them right by failing to act, it
will encourage the Palestinians to undertake even rasher actions, both
in diplomacy and in military affairs .
And so, if the Palestinian Authority proceeds, the Obama
administration and Congress should respond immediately, in a direct and
targeted fashion. Specifically, the U.S. should cut economic assistance
to the Palestinian Authority and all funding for the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Moreover, the U.S. must maintain and enforce current law prohibiting
funding to organizations that grant recognition of the Palestinians in
the absence of a peace treaty between the Palestinian Authority and
Israel.
Weakening or eliminating current law, as the Obama administration has
sought to do, would effectively encourage these organizations to
recognize the Palestinians as a state. Representatives Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.) and Brad Sherman (D., Calif.) authored a
bipartisan letter of opposition
to the administration’s effort to waive or amend the law, arguing that
“weakening U.S. law . . . would undermine our interests and our ally
Israel by providing a green light for other U.N. bodies to admit
‘Palestine’ as a member.”
The Palestinians’ effort to use the U.N. and its affiliated
organizations to bolster its unilateral statehood claims is a deliberate
attempt to isolate Israel and avoid concessions that would be necessary
in negotiating a peace agreement with it. If the U.S. fails to act, it
would send an unmistakable signal of weakness that would undermine its
credibility for the remainder of President Obama’s term. National Review
— Brett D. Schaefer is the Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs at the Heritage Foundation. James Phillips is senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at the Heritage Foundation.
