In Focus: No easy journey Predictable it might have been, but Bush's tour of the Middle East did nothing to mitigate growing concerns over the future of the region, writes Galal Nassar Bush's tour of the region held no surprises. It turned out exactly as expected. To entertain hopes that it might have positive results would have required terminal optimism. Bush once again asserted his right-wing and conservative politics, and the Zionists were thrilled. At one point during his visit we heard that a third world war could not be ruled out if Israel's existence was threatened. It was the rhetoric of someone with born-again zeal. At another point the US president seemed to brush aside the very existence of the Palestinians, wanting the Arabs to recognise Israel as a Jewish state. The gist of his message was simple. Forget about the Arab peace initiative. Get on with the normalisation. Keep Israel happy. The journey from alcohol abuse to being a born-again Christian was clearly not an easy one, even if it did happen almost overnight. The US president clearly believes himself to be on a "holy mission". In one slip of the tongue after another he revealed exactly how he thinks. Having toured the Church of Nativity Bush acknowledged a sense of "spiritual satisfaction". Only one man voiced opposition to Bush's visit, Father Atallah Hanna, a man worthy of our deepest gratitude. Having emerged from the Church of Nativity Bush walked straight into Olmert's embrace. At one point, even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice begged him to shut up. He thought it was funny. A majority of Americans have now lost faith in Bush, cheerleader for America's conservative right wing and its allies in the region who still view Arabs as backward and primitive. They seek to offer guidance, though guidance of a kind that is the last thing we need. Ironically, liberals in the region were once thrilled by US policies, seeing in them a promise that they could become a political alternative. That was never on the cards. It seems that we have to choose between Bush's counterfeit democracy, brutish liberals who make a travesty of their own doctrine or ugly and corrupt regimes. But what about ordinary people? What about their needs? Has anyone thought of them? Bush came to the region to curtail aspirations of national liberation in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. He came to ask us to stand with him against Iran. His biggest "achievement", though, was on the Palestinian front, where he offered to undermine the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. He validated Israeli settlement policies while fomenting inter-Palestinian divisions, referring repeatedly to the "paradise" of the West Bank and the "inferno" of Gaza. He also, suggest reports, endorsed Salam Fayyad as the next Palestinian president. But few could have forgotten the US administration's actions during Israel's boycott of president Yasser Arafat, when Washington attempted to wrest power from Arafat and give it to the then-prime minister. It was the moment that triggered the divisions that currently rent the Palestinian scene, the beginning of the Palestinians' descent into power struggles that have yet to be resolved. But Washington's game is not over yet. The Palestinians are being asked, yet again, to show more moderation. The problem is not about Fayyad, but about attempts to undermine the Palestinian national movement. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) may not be perfect, but US attempts to sidestep it are thoroughly devious. Already the US is piling new pressure on the Palestinians. All the promises made at the Paris conference may end up being put on hold because the US is not yet done with its destruction of Palestinian unity. Oddly enough, President Mahmoud Abbas seems to be playing along, even condoning the exclusion of Fatah from political power in Ramallah. But Ramallah is not the ultimate prize in this game. What is at stake is Palestinian national liberation and self determination. Everyone knows that the US administration and the Zionists have long wanted the PLO to remain crippled. Now the US wants to put in office someone who will do its bidding, someone who will make a clear break with the past. The Palestinians are being wooed with money, perhaps even a respite from security threats, but they stand to lose everything. If they listen to Bush, the Palestinians will end up with a state that has no function aside from keeping down the resistance and running economic life. Is this to be the end of decades of struggle? Will Fayyad, and like-minded politicians, endorse the US agenda? It is up to patriotic and Islamic forces to force an answer to this question. The last thing the long-suffering Palestinians people need is someone, backed by their occupiers, to start running a one-man show. The Palestinian people need their leaders to come out of their coma. Despite their many difference, Fatah leaders cannot afford to abandon their responsibilities. And let's be frank, the challenges ahead are too big for Fatah to handle alone. So for a change the Palestinians should forget incendiary rhetoric and sit together. They should restore the PLO to leadership and abide by the agreements signed in Cairo. There is nothing wrong about some Palestinian leaders expressing independent views. There is nothing wrong about so-called Palestinian technocrats. But the technocrats cannot be allowed to change a nation's course in the name of realism. Fayyad sounded an ominous note when he talked about the need to disband the armed wings of the resistance, including Al-Aqsa Brigades. The Palestinians don't deserve the weak leaders wished upon them by America and some Arab regimes. They are too vibrant a nation to capitulate.
