From: Ali Abunimah
To: atc@npr.org
Subject: Daniel Schorr out of Touch

May 21, 2001

Dear NPR News,

Daniel Schorr's commentary on All Things Considered this afternoon about the need for a greater U.S. role in Israeli-Palestinian conflict began from utterly false premises.

Schorr argued that we are seeing increased murmurings from the U.S. because "the Bush Administration could not indefinitely remain passive." The trick, Schorr suggested was for the U.S. to figure out "how to be involved without being dragged into the dispute."

This idea of the U.S. not being involved suits ardent Zionists such as Schorr very well because it allows them to ignore several salient facts. The Bush administration has continued the policy of its predecessors of shipping arms and funds to Israel, thus directly fuelling the conflict. The Bush Administration, like its predecessors, vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution which would have put observers on the ground in the occupied territories because Israel doesn't like the idea. The Bush Administration, like its predecessors, is far out of step with the rest of the international community in its approach to the conflict.

Schorr has made it very clear in the past that Syrian or Iranian support for Lebanese resistance fighters against Israel constitutes active intervention by those states. U.S. support for Israel far outweighs anything provided to its adversaries from any other country. So by any reasonable standard, the United States giving more aid to Israel than to any other country, most of it military, would be considered anything but "passive." The United States also cannot be "dragged in to the dispute" because it is already in as deep as it can get without sending U.S. troops to shoot at Palestinians on Israel's behalf.

Never passing up an opportunity to bash Yasir Arafat, Schorr also quoted a leaked assessment of him allegedly made by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, that Arafat is "lost" and "out of touch with reality."

That may or may not be the case, but Schorr's commentaries ensure that if Arafat is "out of touch," he is in good company.

Sincerely,

Ali Abunimah
http://www.abunimah.org