A huge car bomb that murdered almost 200 people in Indonesia
drew worldwide condemnation and an assertion by US President
Bush that it was almost certainly the work of the Al Qaeda
terrorist network that attacked New York City and Washington
D.C. over a year ago. The wanton murder of tourists in
several nightclubs in the resort on the island of Bali was
linked by Bush and other observers to three attacks on US
Marines on training missions in Kuwait and an attack on a
French oil tanker in Yemen.
Mr. Bush was quoted in the press as saying, "I believe the
attack on the French vessel was a terrorist attack.
Obviously, the attack on our marines in Kuwait was a
terrorist attack. The attack in Bali appears to be an Al
Qaeda-type terrorist -- definitely a terrorist attack,
whether it's Al Qaeda-related or not, I would assume it is.
And therefore it does look like a pattern of attacks that the
enemy, albeit on the run, is trying to once again frighten
and kill freedom-loving people."
Mr. Bush added that "they're trying to intimidate us, and we
won't be intimidated."
Experts warned that the recent activity shows that Al Qaeda
was not destroyed in the US operations in Afghanistan. Though
it was certainly weakened, it seems to have been able to
reorganize and resume its criminal activities. Even though
the US is targeting it and confronting it around the world,
and many significant arrests have been made, the worldwide
terror network can still do a lot of damage.
The militants, acting in the name of Islam even though many
Islamic scholars deny that they are legitimate, are oblivious
to the civilized rules of war that say that only military
targets may be attacked. They also consistently target
noncombatant civilians, again in direct violation of the
accepted rules of war based on the Geneva Conventions.
Mr. Bush said that the recent attacks showed that the
campaign against Al Qaeda will be long, and he also noted
that the his determination to disarm Saddam Hussein is also
part of the same struggle.
An upcoming attack on Iraq will certainly be one of the items
on the agenda when Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon meets
US president Bush in Washington this week. Mr. Sharon left
Israel for talks in Washington right after his speech at the
opening meeting of the winter session of the Israeli Knesset
on Monday.
Sharon said he believes there is a "real chance" that next
year could be a "watershed" in relations with the
Palestinians, who may reach a historic decision to make peace
with Israel.
Sharon, said that to make progress towards peace it would
first be necessary to "uproot the murderous regime" in the
Palestinian Authority and replace it with a "peace-seeking"
leadership.
"The bloody conflict with the Palestinians can be ended, and
peace can be reached," Sharon told the Knesset. Addressing
the Palestinian people, he said, "Your suffering is in vain.
Your terrible pain is unnecessary. The blood you have spilled
has been spilled in vain."
Sharon called on them to "replace their leadership," which he
said is leading them from one disaster to another.
According to Sharon, there are Palestinian personalities who
want to reach a peace settlement. He promised that the
government would take advantage of any change in the PA to
make peace. Sharon's policy statement was approved in a 43-24
vote.
Sharon noted that elections are to be held no later than a
year from now. He warned that unlike most years, this year
there would be no concessions made to special interest groups
to secure the passage of the budget. "The cash register is
empty," he said. Sharon said that he would not preserve the
unity government at the expense of the budget.
He predicted financial disaster if the budget framework is
breached.
In his talks in Washington, Mr. Sharon will discuss Israeli
policies during an attack on Iraq. The US has asked Israel to
try to quiet the violence in Israel so as not to complicate
US efforts to get help from Arab countries in attacking Iraq.
Israel has indicated that it wants to respond to Iraqi
attacks on it, but it will coordinate its actions with
Washington. Israeli strategists seem to have made specific
preparations for a response to an Iraqi attack, but they have
not discussed these in public and it is not known if they
have revealed their plans to American officials either.
