Informant38

�America�s policy choices have consequences. Right or wrong, it is simply a fact that American policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and American actions in Iraq are dominant staples of popular commentary across the Arab and Muslim world.� �or, in the vernacular, �It�s the policy, stupid!�
Michael Scheuer, the CIA analyst author of 'Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror' , emphasizes that Bin Laden�s �genius� is his ability to exploit U.S. policies�first and foremost, our one-sided support for Israel�that are most offensive to Muslims, and notes that it is particularly difficult to have a serious debate regarding U.S. policy toward Israel.
As if to prove Scheuer right, Commissioner Bob Kerrey yesterday on ABC�s This Week recited a familiar mantra: You cannot negotiate; you cannot compromise with those who have reached the conclusion that terrorism is their only option.
I was reminded of Rumsfeld�s complaint on the same program some months ago: �How do you persuade people not to become suicide bombers; how do you reduce the number of people attracted to terrorism? No one knows how to do that.�
I find myself hoping that Rumsfeld, Kerrey and others will read and ponder the implications of what is said on pages 374 and following of the 9/11 commission report.

Ray McGovern/TomPaine.com/Common Dreams Jul.26.04