George Caesar, the Imperator of the new Rome, likes Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). He has invitedhim to the White House and showers him with compliments.
As in ancient Rome, the likes and dislikes of the Emperor shape the policy of the Empire. All theministers, eunuchs, officials, proconsuls and local rulers act accordingly, whilemouthing words of flattery and praising the wisdom of Caesar, irrespective of whether he isreally wise, like Julius Caesar, stupid like Tiberius or downright mad, like Caligula.Caesar is Caesar.
George Bush is a simple man. His mental world, like a Western, contains Good Guys and Bad Guys.His impressions are personal and come “from the gut”. They have nothing to do with logic orpolitical analysis. Arafat made Bush angry, he is a Bad Guy. Abu Mazen is a Good Guy, mainlybecause he is not Arafat.
Like King Herod, who lived in Jerusalem but whose ears picked up the slightest murmur in Rome,Ariel Sharon listens to every whisper in Washington. In order to influence Bush, he always hasto know exactly which way the wind is blowing. If Bush likes Abu Mazen, so Sharon, too, likes AbuMazen.
More than that, he lays out a blue-and-white carpet for him to walk on. He invites him to hisJerusalem office, exchanges smiles and handshakes over the emblem of the State of Israel,publicly orders his people to strengthen Abu Mazen in every possible way, watching over himlike a good father over a promising son.
But with friends like this, one has no need of enemies. I would advise Abu Mazen not to turn hisback when Sharon is around. Definitely not.
Because Sharon’s hidden agenda is far removed from his public one. As we have said many timesbefore: don’t listen to what Sharon says but pay attention to what he does.
From the day Abu Mazen was appointed Palestinian Prime Minister, Sharon’s sole aim has been totopple him from his rickety chair as quickly and as forcefully as possible.
It started with statements from Sharon and his henchmen that made Abu Mazen look like anIsraeli stooge, a sub-contractor for Israeli security. It is continuing by denying him anypolitical achievement at all, making him look like a “featherless chicken”, as Sharon hascalled him.
Sharon’s many statements about releasing prisoners as a gesture of generosity have beenloaded with so many “no”s as to become meaningless. No prisoners with “blood on their hands”.No Hamas and Jihad members. No, no, no, until only 300 remained, including common criminalsand prisoners about to be released anyhow.
At the same time, Sharon has fulfilled almost none of his obligations under the Road Map. Theremoval of some 60 settlers’ “outposts” has become a joke. Only one single inhabited outpostwas removed in a dramatic struggle before the cameras, and two new ones were put up in its place.The freezing of all the settlements has been “forgotten”.
The building of the “separation wall”, whose main aim is the drawing of a new border deep inPalestinian territory and grabbing as much land as possible, is going rapidly ahead,contrary to Sharon’s obligation not to do anything that may change the situation on theground. He is about to spend almost two billion (billion, not million) dollars on thismonstrous enterprise, while the education and health systems in Israel are collapsing forlack of funds and single mothers are sitting in protest tents next to his office.
The withdrawal from the Palestinian territories is a sham. The Israeli army has left someareas in the Gaza Strip which it wanted to leave anyway. The central road has indeed beenopened, but not completely, and it can be shut down again at a moment’s notice. The army has alsoleft parts of Bethlehem, but continues to build walls in other parts of the town. Withdrawalsfrom all the other Palestinian towns “are not under consideration for the time being”.
All over the West Bank, the checkpoints continue to make the lives of the population hell.Every night more people are arrested.
The Chief-of-Staff boasts that the hudna (cease-fire) constitutes an Israeli victory,thereby inciting Palestinians to break it. The commander of the Central Sector accuses thePalestinian security services of not having cooperated in securing the release of akidnapped Israeli cabdriver, after refusing to give them the least scrap of the necessaryinformation
And most importantly, all Sharon’s spokesmen announce day and night that Abu Mazen has failedin his job. Israel, they say, will not make any gesture towards him until he begins to disarmHamas and Jihad – that is to say, initiates a civil war that will cause Hamas and Jihad to end thehudna and start a new conflagration. This would allow Sharon to wriggle out of his obligationto dismantle settlements.
Abu Mazen is also told that he must replace Arafat, who is vastly more popular than him. Theongoing imprisonment of Arafat in his wrecked Ramallah compound is, of course, weakening AbuMazen and strengthening Arafat.
Putting together this pattern of behavior, there is only one possible conclusion: whilepraising Abu Mazen , Sharon is doing everything possible to bury him. He is not fightingagainst Arafat alone, he is also – and primarily – fighting against Abu Mazen.
Unlikely? Strange? Not at all. Like Herod in his time, Sharon knows the vital importance ofkeeping in Caeasar’s favor, so as to be able to manipulate him and take advantage of him. Arafatdoes not disturb Sharon in this pursuit. Bush hates him. But Abu Mazen has turned out to be adangerous competitor for Bush’s favor. He must be eliminated. And quickly.
But this is a sensitive job. Care must be taken to avoid suspicion in Washington. Annoying Bushmust be avoided at all costs. Therefore, when Sharon hears dissatisfied murmurs from theWhite House, he is quick to make concessions. Not 300 prisoners will be released, but 400,including some Hamas and Jihad members. They want the removal of another “outpost”? OK, bringon the TV cameras to witness another dramatic struggle. In any case, one can rely on thesettlement rowdies to come back in the night. The main thing is to satisfy Caesar and hiseunuchs.
Hail Caesar, those who are about to kill Abu Mazen salute you.