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Recent
Stories
June
6, 2003
David
Krieger
The Big Lie
Ramzy
Baroud
Sharon and the Myth of the Peacemakers
Anthony
Gancarski
Sharansky: "Crucifixion is a Privilege"
Sam
Hamod
His Own Little Country
Sean Carter
Why Indict Martha Stewart and Not Ken Lay?
David
Lindorff
Cracks in the Consensus
Stew Albert
Ari's Great Set
Elaine
Cassel
Ashcroft the Insatiable
June
5, 2003
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Pools of Fire: The Looming Nuclear
Nightmare in the Woods of North Carolina
Imraan
Siddiqi
Ann Coulter's Foul Mouth
Michael
Leon
Clinton, Reno & Waco: Remember What They've Done
Robert
Jensen
Texas Pledge Law Undermines Democracy
Ann Harrison
Rosenthal is Free, But the Fight isn't Over
Paul
Dean
How You Can Be Deliriously Happy in the Age of Bush
Gary Leupp
When Spooks Speak Out
Website
of the Day
Evidence in Black and White?
June
4, 2003
Alexander
Cockburn
Federal Judge Blinks; Rosenthal
Walks
Lisa
Walsh Thomas
The Isaiah Crowd: The Threat of Neo-Christianity
Jason
Leopold
Manufacturing the Iraq War
John Chuckman
Blackmail as Policy
Mazin
Qumsiyeh
Summit: Peace or Pretense?
Issam Nashashibi
Sharon's Sword of Damocles
Steve
Perry
Wolfowitz of Arabia: the VF interview transcript
June
3, 2003
Chris
Floyd
Copycat Killers: Bush, Jakarta and
the Slaughter in Aceh
Jason
Leopold
Wolfowitz Tells All
Elaine
Cassel
We Interrupt Your Normal Show to Bring You an Important Message
from Michael Powell: "Go to Hell, Americans!"
Tom
Crumpacker
The Politics of US Cuba Policy
William
S. Lind
Fourth Generation Warfare in Iraq
Sam
Hamod
The Final Brick in the Wall
Uri
Avnery
The Altalena Affair
Hammond
Guthrie
Stepping into Some Deep DARPA
Steve
Perry
The WashTimes'
al-Qaeda nuke "exclusive"
June
2, 2003
Arundhati
Roy
Day of the Jackals
Norman
Madarasz
Behind the Neo-Con Curtain: Plato,
Leo Strauss and Allan Bloom
Alain
Frachon and Daniel Vernet
The Strategist and the Philosopher: Strauss and Wohlstetter
Anthony
Gancarski
Anti-Imperialism, Then & Now
Standard
Schaefer
Wasted at the Pentagon
Jason
Leopold
Rocky's Advice to the Dems
Guthrie
& Albert
HUAC 58 Years Letter
Steve
Perry
The Politics of Terror Alerts
May
31, 2003
Alexander
Cockburn
A Whiner Called Horowitz
Gary Leupp
The Frauds of War
Dave
Lindorff
Clinton, Bush, Lies and Impeachment
Tom Stephens
Does It Matter that the Bush Administration Lied?
Sasan
Fayazmanesh
Who Is Next?
Joanne
Mariner
Trivializing Terrorism
Wayne
Madsen
Ayatollah Ashcroft's Busy Week
Larry Magnuson
Is a Television a Radio or a Billboard?
Elaine
Cassel
Wake Up, America!
Gila Svirsky
Waiting for the Lament to End
Susan
Davis
Kitchen Dreams
Chris Clarke
Barbra Streisand: Environmental Hypocrite
Chris
Floyd
Bush Locates Source of World Evil: God
Adam Engel
Gravity's End Zone
Poets'
Basement
Reiss, Guthrie, Orloski, Albert
May
30, 2003
Ben
Tripp
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Agenda
Neve
Gordon
The Bad Fence
Todd
Steiner
Endangered Ocean
Robert
Freeman
Bush's Tax Cuts: a Form of National Insanity
Sean
Carter
Utah Gets Fired Up for Executions
Daniel
Bacher
How Bush's War Violated International Laws
Tariq
Ali
Re-Colonizing Iraq
Steve
Perry
Bush Wars
Web Log
May
29, 2003
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Jason
Leopold
Despite Thin Intelligence Reports,
US Plans Overthrow of Iran Regime
Ron
Jacobs
Popular Uprising, Inc.
Michelle
Ciaccorra
Bush's Nuclear Policy: Do As I Say, Not As I Do
Yves Engler
The Economics of Health Care in
America: Pay More to Die Sooner
Kimberly
Blaker
Vouchers for Jesus
Harry
Browne
Stakeknife: Britain's Army Spy at
the Top of the IRA
Stew
Albert
Cops of the World
Steve Perry
Greens 04: In or Out?
Hot Stories
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Cindy
Corrie
A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter
I Can't Hear From
Elaine
Cassel
Civil Liberties
Watch
Michel
Guerrin
Embedded Photographer Says: "I
Saw Marines Kill Civilians"
Uzma
Aslam Khan
The Unbearably Grim Aftermath of War:
What America Says Does Not Go
Paul de Rooij
Arrogant
Propaganda
Gore Vidal
The
Erosion of the American Dream
Francis Boyle
Impeach
Bush: A Draft Resolution
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June
7, 2003
If This is the Road,
I'd Rather Be Lost
Where
is the Hope? Where is the Justice?
By AMELIA PELTZ
It could be argued that that the average male
has a very difficult time admitting when they get lost. Only
as a last-ditch effort to save face will they stop and ask for
directions. If only they had checked the map, their destination
could have been reached in half the time.
So it was with great pomp and fanfare
from the US Administration (with the backup of the Quartet
the EU, the UN, the US, and Russia), and a tremendous amount
of wary scepticism from the people of the Palestine and Israel,
that President Bush presented his so-called "Road Map"
for Middle East peace. The plan that is supposed to guide those
gone astray in reaching the elusive goal of peace.
In this world of sexist politics dominated
by men, and my own delight in finding ironic metaphors for analyzing
the political rhetoric in comparison with the reality of our
daily lives, I found it somewhat amusing that this gang of acronyms,
all headed by some of the most arrogant men in power, were calling
their grandiose plan a "Road Map". A slight attempt
at humility in the wake of a history of evil deeds in this region?
Hardly. Perhaps the need for a catchy title to cover up the fact
that this plan is not based on anything that resembles social,
political or economic justice? Definitely.
Despite the tremendous uncertainty over
the viability of such a plan, combined with the knowledge that
there is not an ounce of justice contained in its pages, many
Palestinians still held onto a shred of hope that, perhaps, life
will become a little easier now. Maybe we won't have a real state,
human rights, the right of return for refugees, or a seat at
the United Nations, but maybe we will have the opportunity to
work and put bread on the table.
A Road Map. Maps can be dangerous things
when they are not drawn well. One slip of the hand can inadvertently
erase an entire city, draw a river where one does not exist,
or fail to properly illustrate the sharp curve going around a
mountain pass. This "Road Map" for Middle East peace
has been drawn with such a careless hand that one could hardly
imaging getting anywhere useful by following its guidance. Based
upon the same pitfalls as the Oslo Agreement, the "Road
Map" makes no mention of the most critical issues that need
to be addressed such as Jerusalem, the dismantling of all settlements
in the West Bank and Gaza, the control over water resources,
and acknowledging the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
One of the starting points on this map
was to be an "easing of restrictions on Palestinians in
order to improve the humanitarian conditions." From my own
experience and eyewitness on this issue alone, I can say without
hesitation that so many wrong turns have been taken that it seems
almost impossible to imagine that we can find our way out.
The first wrong turn came right after
US Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to the region in mid-May.
During that visit, Israel committed itself to being easing the
humanitarian crisis that the Palestinians have been suffering
under for almost three years. Instead of going left, the government
of Israel turned right. A full closure was imposed on Gaza. No
one Palestinian or foreigner was allowed to enter
or leave the overcrowded swath of land. If a humanitarian aid
worker, such as myself, wanted to enter Gaza, they had to sign
a waiver issued by the Israeli army absolving them of any responsibility
if we were shot AND stating that we were not a part of any kind
of international peace and justice organization such as the International
Solidarity Movement. When we refused to sign, we were denied
entry. As a result, some international organizations such as
Medicines du Monde have been forced to cease their life-saving
programs on which so many have come to depend upon. Then there
was the shooting of the Swiss diplomat's car in Beit Hanoun,
northern Gaza, that sparked further outrage but yielded little
results. To this day, access to Gaza remains extremely limited
as the poverty slips further to the point of no return in this
already devastated area of Palestine.
Then, in a renewed set of commitments
ahead of this weeks' summit in Aqaba, Jordan, between President
Bush, Prime Minister Abbas and Prime Minister Sharon, the Israeli
government once again stated that as of (last) Saturday at midnight,
it was easing restrictions on Palestinians' movement and would
allow workers to get to their jobs.
Another chance, another wrong turn. Instead
of moving forward, we moved backwards.
Monday morning, on my way to work with
three of my colleagues, the soldiers at the DCO checkpoint at
the north end of Ramallah denied us passage, saying that Palestinians
who hold West Bank IDs were not permitted to cross. Furious,
I took the lead in arguing with the soldier that we pass here
every day, that we all work for the same humanitarian organization,
and that we needed to get to our office in Al Ram (the north
end of Jerusalem).
"No, you must go back," the
soldier replied flatly.
After ten more minutes of cajoling and
stating that, according to statements made this soldier's government,
we were supposed to be allowed through the checkpoints to get
to work, he relented, stating that this would be the last time.
Then, later in the day, the bend in the
road became sharper and sharper until we found ourselves thrown
headlong into danger. Following this road map, believing that
it was telling us at least the partial truth, did not prepare
us for the crisis of yesterday afternoon. Around 2:30pm we were
informed that Ramallah was being placed under curfew. Half an
hour later, word reached us that Qalandiya checkpoint, the hideous
military blockade that divides the Jerusalem-Ramallah corridor,
was closed along with all other roads in the area. Unsure of
what to do, those of us who live in Ramallah decided to leave
work a few minutes early in the hopes of getting home before
the situation deteriorated further. Maybe we could reach the
northern DCO checkpoint before it closed and get back into the
city.
Upon reaching the road that leads around
Qalandiya towards the DCO, we were stuck. All roads were blocked
and there was no way to pass. Realizing that reaching the northern
entrance to Ramallah was impossible due to all of the roadblocks,
we parked the car on the side of the road and decided to travel
on foot to the Qalandiya checkpoint. Upon reaching it, we discovered
that it was closed off by barbed wire and concrete blocks. Hundreds
of people were desperately trying to get through the checkpoint,
but to no avail.
We were trapped. The checkpoints into
Jerusalem were closed. The checkpoints into Ramallah were closed.
Then the shooting started.
The Israeli soldiers on both sides of
the checkpoint were firing live bullets, tear gas, and concussion
grenades at the desperate crowds of people. It was a horrible
scene. Even the elderly were not spared; I saw one old man begging
to be allowed to pass through the checkpoint to go home, but
the soldier grabbed him roughly and dragged him to the back of
the anxious crowd.
After two more hours of shooting, panicking,
and outright begging, some people (myself included) pushed their
way through the checkpoint and made it safely to the other side.
But the chaos ensued for another few hours before most people
were allowed to proceed.
And now, the day after, those of us living
in Ramallah are still under curfew. All of the checkpoints are
totally closed. No one can move either within the city or outside
of it.
Where is the hope? Where is the justice?
Why should we believe any promises, statements, pledges or maps
when life on the ground for us ordinary people continues to be
a daily struggle for survival?
If this is what the "Road Map"
looks like, I think that I would rather be lost.
Amelia Peltz
can be reached at: atpeltz@attglobal.net.
Today's
Features
David
Krieger
The Big Lie
Ramzy
Baroud
Sharon and the Myth of the Peacemakers
Anthony
Gancarski
Sharansky: "Crucifixion is a Privilege"
Sam
Hamod
His Own Little Country
Sean Carter
Why Indict Martha Stewart and Not Ken Lay?
David
Lindorff
Cracks in the Consensus
Stew Albert
Ari's Great Set
Elaine
Cassel
Ashcroft the Insatiable
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