Two heads of state, both lame ducks, exchanged crutches in Washington yesterday, each leading the other toward pending votes of confidence from their voters. The exchange of letters lacked anything whatsoever in proposing a creative solution for getting out of the dead end of this historic conflict. President George W. Bush's statements, each of which sounded important and unprecedented, have no more weight than election campaign promises.
Any attempt to link Bush's to a long-term sovereign commitment can be categorized as an "Eshkol promise", after the Israeli prime minister who set the principle, "I promised, but I didn’t promise to carry out". The history of US-Israeli relations are full of worthless commitments, such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower's promise of freedom of the seas in the Red Sea, given in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from Sinai in 1956, and President Bill Clinton's promise of an $800 million grant in exchange for the withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
Apropos Eshkol and the value of words spoken by US presidents: President Lyndon B. Johnson told Eshkol after the Six-Day War in 1967, "Don’t see me as tall as I seem. Without the support of Congress, I'm quite small." The same is true for the Bush letter. Without the support of Congress, it's only good for tricking Likud ministers and functionaries and American Jews. In a grocery, the US constitution makes it an uncovered check.
Therefore, we ought to close a small financial account before we consider other values in Bush's support for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. Who is supposed to pay for moving the settlements? The answer whispered into every Israeli's ear - the US, of course - was hinted by the prime minister's aides before the exchange of letters. They mentioned possible US aid for "developing the Negev", or, more vaguely, "substantial benefits" as a kind of offer that Likud functionaries cannot refuse.
President Bush did not only emerge looking righteous, but also cheap. Sharon asked for $5 billion in US guarantees, if not an outright grant. Bush made no promises. He will not risk more than lip service. In the end, Israel will be left with terrorism and a diplomatic dead-end, and maybe another emergency economic plan over the horizon.
Link to the letters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Bush and Sharon letters.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on April 15, 2004