Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook
President George Bush arrives this week in Israel to further his promotion of a Palestinian state. Last month PMW director Itamar Marcus was invited to the US Congress by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Elliot Engel of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to release a report documenting the dangers to US interests of a Palestinian state with ideological alliances to many US enemies. "Strengthening America's Enemies" The ideological allies of a future Palestinian state," now being released, concludes: "There is overwhelming evidence that the contacts between the Palestinian Authority and the enemies of the United States are relations between allies who share a common ideological bond. Strikingly, hatred of the United States and disdain for the US role of world leadership are what unite them. Unless the Palestinian Authority demonstrates a major shift in ideology, a future Palestinian state will be firmly allied with North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Iran, Chavez's Venezuela, and Hezbollah, the forces that are seen as threats to the US and which are linked to world terror...There is no reason to believe that were a Palestinian Fatah state created, and its dependency on the US reduced, it would then choose to embrace the US. Indeed, in all likelihood the ties with the enemy states would intensify."
The following is the executive summary of the report.
[Click here to read the full 30 page report in PDF]
Strengthening America's Enemies:
The ideological allies of a future Palestinian state
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook
Executive Summary
At the Annapolis Conference, the US initiated a peace process with the goal of creating a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), headed by Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah movement. This initiative is based on the assumption that the creation of a Fatah-based Palestinian state is in America's interest and will encourage long-term peace in the Middle East. This report examines the assumptions upon which the new peace initiative is based.
Methodology
This report examines the current ideology and political allies of the Fatah government as expressed by Fatah leaders and in the Arabic-language Palestinian Authority (PA) media. Documents examined include contacts and statements by the Fatah political, academic and religious leadership, reporting, editorials and education in the Fatah-controlled PA daily newspapers, PA television and PA schoolbooks. The goal is to determine the likelihood that a potential Palestinian state would be an ally or adversary of the United States, and would support the US goal and policy of promoting world security and peace.
Findings
This report reveals that the Palestinian Authority-Fatah government of Mahmoud Abbas is allied with many states who see themselves as enemies of the US and whom the US sees as threatening US security and world peace. Significantly, the affinity that is felt for such geographically distant non-Muslim countries, such as North Korea, Cuba, and Chavez's Venezuela is precisely because these states publicly challenge and express loathing for the US. The PA admires such organizations as Hezbullah, PA- Fatah heroes are master terrorists such as Imad Mughniyeh, killer of 241 American soldiers in Lebanon and the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 are celebrated almost every annual anniversary with a political cartoon in the official PA daily (see Part 1).
The US, on the other hand, is depicted by Fatah leaders, their controlled media and PA education with disdain and loathing. Language such as, "the greatest Satan in the world, America" [PA TV, March 3, 2008], by a Fatah legislator is routine.
Conclusion - Palestinian State will continue alignment with enemies of the US
There is overwhelming evidence that the contacts between the Palestinian Authority and the enemies of the United States are relations between allies who share a common ideological bond. Strikingly, hatred of the United States and disdain for the US role of world leadership are what unite them. Unless the Palestinian Authority demonstrates a major shift in ideology, a future Palestinian state will be firmly allied with North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Iran, Chavez's Venezuela, and Hezbollah, the forces that are seen as threats to the US and which are linked to world terror.
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