encourasca by their almost casualty-free victory over the Taliban. and egged on by the ismol Zionists. it seems that the tight-knit gang of foreign policy and mintary hawks around George Bush are now preparing for war Economic sanctions, coupied with systematic bomband British jets, have of course continued ever since taking a horrendous toil of the lives and health of Iraqi children and poorer families. lems.
But the survival of Saddam's dictatorship and its ruthless efficiency in crushing any signs of interstant irritant to Washington, and Bush junior is clearly seeking a pretext to go back and finish the job which his leave incomplete.
US strategists at the time, Powell chair of the joint chiefs of staff, believed it maintain the integrity of Irag as a state than to overtum saddam ate risk or a tas mentation that could destaDilise the remon. on whether to oust Saddam mired in the complex prob- have for em of finding an alternative some even either the US or the increas gestions for ingly jittery Arab despots on a full-scale wrom impenest suotery in the area depends. a puppet regme.
Potential anti-Saddam caders appear to be einer too positive about democSaudis, Kuwaitis and others), too soiled with past strongly connected with specific minorities within Iraq Iraq. combination of these probBut the US policy in Afghanistan, of simply blitzing the old regime into submission, and allowing the various domestic factions to be Somal a which the US takes no responsibility, seems to herin which the main objective striking distance of Iraq. would be to eradicate regime, leaving open the War, has also moved to issue of what would take its Qatar place, and even whether the borders of Iraq may be reThe questionable strength and political allegiance of opposition, coupled with the brushed aside by hawks. ease of victory achieved bardment in Afghanistan, However most scenarios US invasion of traq, to install also point to a key role being played by Saudi Arabia So with the Afghan war and Kuwait. At present most winding down to a seek-anddestroy operation against neancy wrao states - Jordan Syria, Egypt and the Saudis the vanished Taliban leader- have opposed an attack on ship (with occasional massacres and US bombing fias- seems to be in a position to obstruct a determined US has been made in principle effort. to shift the offensive towards Meanwhile since November a stream of forUS Defence Secretary ner Iragi senerals and tor Rumsfeld, one of the leading re chiefs have been flown Christmas holiday that the expense to the US, for disalliance should "prepare cussions on how best to now for the next war and denied that the target would them, if any, could be useful allies or figureheads in a More than 20.000 US troops have been moved to new regime.
One thing is clear: the threat of a new war is intenThe headquarters of the US 3rd sifled by the victory in Afghanistan: and those Army, which led the Gull the pincers of Saddam and the Pentagon will once again Complaints from support-- be the werking people and ers of Secretary of State children of Irao. Colin Powell, that an attack Blair's endorsement of a on Iraq would smash the alliance pieced together for new war is being taken tor granted in Washington: it is vital to build an anti-war movement big enough to who argue that the US could head off another round of acrest suddam with support only from bases in Turkey. miass sougher by walton ger Bush. • belligerent speech Arafat. Metz: Barak lost patience: "Okay, what difference does it make stopped and that's (Ha'Artz, 27 December).
Barak (the only member of Rabin's cabinet to oppose the Osio agree ment) sought any opportunity to renege on Israel's side Arafat.
The process enabled Israel to consolidate control over the West Bank, Strip, establishing activist Jeff Halper, of the stach Comminice agans. House Demolitions, referred to as its "matrix of control over the occupied territories. The key elements of this are massive military actions, a campaign of attrition, creground, establishing a paralel system of laws, delaying tactics and dengg le Palestinian Authority:
As Halper notes, 60% of the land of the West Bank. and 60% of Gaza, are now under the control of some 400,000 settlers in 200 illegal settlements. This mented by the construction of 450 kilometres of highways and "bypass" roads, the exclusive use of israelis Other Isracli tactics include house demolitions, expropriation, permanch. closure and prolonged curfews, restrictions on freedom World Zionist Organisation in 1982 checked, under the title "A Strategic This document, which was the political background to all'." anon in June 1982, calls for 'the liquidation of Jordan under the present regime and the transfer of power to is not possible to go on living in this country in the present the two nations, the Arabs to cight Jordan and the jews to arcas have The essential difference between this "two states for two nations" project of the Zionist left is the location of the border between the master and slave states, not the nature of these has In the face of this strategy of division and domination, groups have signally failed to articulate a strategic response. Nor has any coherent strategy or leadership yet develoned from the Palestinian uprising. The uprising, however, does show the face in attempting to more to the next stage of this strategy - the systematic uprooting of Palestinian communities It Is HUW clear that the approach initiated at Oslo by comple- Rabin, Arafat and Peres has failed. The task now, for the Palestinian and Israeli left, 1s for to develop a strategy which interest and future of the land peoples of Palestine, and snows ine waw towards units rather than apartheid.
Outlook