Appeasement's fatal attraction

Last week, I reported President Bush's shocking change in attitude toward Israel. This week, I want to show you why this should be of great concern to Americans.

According to the dictionary, the word "appeasement" means "to prevent further disagreement in arguments or war by giving to the other side an advantage that they have demanded."

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Perhaps the pressure from Bush's domestic enemies has been too intense. Or maybe he has been receiving bad advice. For whatever reason, some of the Bush administration's policy reversals fit the definition of "appeasement" so closely that it's the only accurate way describe them.

History demonstrates that appeasement does not bring peace – it simply defers war. It leaves the problems for a future administration. Worse, appeasement only encourages the aggressor to reach for more. The most famous case was that of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. His appeasement of Adolf Hitler in 1938 left his successor, Winston Churchill, to fight a war for which his country was unprepared and ill equipped.

During the 1967 Six Day War, Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan, and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel chased Egypt back across the Suez Canal and captured and annexed the Sinai all the way to the canal. That was a territorial gain larger than Israel itself.

Using foreign aid as a lever, former President Jimmy Carter was able to persuade Israel to return the Sinai to Egypt in exchange for "peace." To get Egypt to sign the peace treaty with Israel, he made Egypt the second largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid in the world, after Israel. Israel got nothing it didn't already have except an essentially meaningless piece of paper. The Carter deal created a new foreign policy term – "cold peace."

Then, President Clinton launched the "land for peace" initiative between Israel and the Palestinians with the signing of the 1993 Oslo Agreement. The "land for peace" initiative was a textbook example of appeasement in action.

To appease the first Palestinian uprising, Clinton convinced Israel to accept Yasser Arafat as a "peace partner." As with Egypt, Israel got nothing it didn't already have. Arafat got whatever he wanted.

By 1998, the Clinton administration had brokered a deal whereby Israel would give up virtually all of the territory it gained in 1967 in exchange for peace with a future Palestinian state.

By 2000, the deal collapsed into what Israel calls the "Oslo War." The constant drumbeat of appeasement has now apparently infected the Bush administration, although it took a second term in office to accomplish it.

President Bush's recent pronouncement that the final status in Israel will be based on the 1949 Armistice lines was essentially an appeasement offer to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas has not dismantled or disarmed terror groups. He has not ended incitement. He has not closed bomb factories. He has not disarmed or arrested terrorists. And all of this was to be done before peace negotiations even began.

The Palestinian foreign minister wasted no time taking advantage of Bush's declaration of the 1949 Armistice Line being the base from which all negotiations must proceed. He announced Tuesday on Palestinian TV that "Israel must withdraw from all occupied territories before anyone will be disarmed." The "occupied territories" refer to all land outside the 1949 Armistice Land, including East Jerusalem.

On the other hand, Israel has made one unreciprocated concession after another.

At a recent meeting in the White House, Mahmoud Abbas demanded that Israel stop all building in the territories. He demanded that Israel stop constructing the security fence and hand over Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority. President Bush backed virtually all of Abbas' demands despite the fact that Abbas and the Palestinians have done nothing in return. Even the alleged ceasefire that prompted Abbas' invitation to the White House was totally phony.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad met in Gaza this week to discuss ending "the ceasefire." Hamas leader Khaled Mashal brazenly referred to the ceasefire as a "rest for the warriors." Peace was never seriously contemplated.

Mahmoud Abbas appeared on Palestinian television to promise Hamas, "If everything falls apart, they (Hamas & Islamic Jihad) can return to the path of armed struggle." On this tenuous basis, the Bush proposal to increase aid and establish a Palestinian state is the ultimate in appeasement. So is the incredible turnaround in which President Bush promised Abbas that the final status would be based on the 1949 Armistice lines.

Abbas has apparently agreed to an arrangement to share power with Hamas. So the Bush administration now finds itself indirectly aiding Hamas itself.

Winston Churchill, describing his opposition to the appeasement policy of predecessor Neville Chamberlain, famously observed, "those who appease the crocodile will simply be eaten last." Churchill also had some clear advice for future leaders – advice that both the White House and the appeasers on the Left would do well to take to heart before it is too late. He said, "You must look at the facts for the facts are looking at you."

This country was born under the blessing of God. Great Divine light was given to America because it became a base for spreading the Gospel to the world. America also protected both the Jews here and the Israelites' right to exist within the secure borders of Israel. Now that we are removing that protection and abandoning public acknowledgement of God, His protection is being removed from America. "Unto whom much is given, much is required."