That Elusive Roadmap

by Christopher G. Adamo

As is the case with those diehard fans of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, who after seeing the tragedy for the hundredth time, still lapse into bouts of “if only,” so are the pundits and policy makers travailing once again over the present Israeli/Palestinian situation. Judging from their reaction to recent events, it might be easy to assume that things are just now inexplicably coming unraveled. But every bit as unlikely as is the possibility of the venerated bard somehow altering the indelible text of his centuries-old manuscript in order to provide fans with a happy ending, so is the probability that one day the world may wake up to the elusive peace that so many are bound and determined to concoct out of all the violence and murder being waged against Israel.

From the highest levels of the U.S. State Department on down, ensuing acts of Palestinian terrorism have regularly been treated as catastrophes primarily because such incidents are deemed as some sort of setback to the “peace process.” Certainly they are horrific, but not because “peace” was ever a prospect. Rather, it is because each and every attack constitutes the reality of Israel's future for as long as it is coerced into abiding by U.S. demands that it pursue reconciliation and mutual cooperation with a regime and a people who seek only its annihilation.

In his September 12 Washington Post column, Charles Krauthammer describes the departure of Palestinian "Prime Minister" Mahmoud Abbas as “a spectacularly missed opportunity.” Yet to what “opportunity” does Krauthammer refer? What pattern of murderous terrorism ever abated or changed in any way during the tenure of Abbas? Admittedly, Abbas publicly denounced every single terrorist act in the strongest of terms, but then again so did Arafat. Indeed, Abbas no doubt recognized the likelihood that he too might one day be the victim of such violence, inflicted from within his own organization, unless he quickly moved on to less risky endeavors.

While Yassir Arafat should in no way be exempted from the massive bloodshed he has instigated for decades, and with virtual impunity, neither should he be regarded as the sole obstacle to peace in the region. Such a suggestion is tantamount to claiming that Gray Davis alone is to blame for the malignancy of socialism presently ruining the California economy. While each has certainly made his own contributions to the sorry present state of affairs in his dominion, neither could have done so without widespread encouragement and support from a like-minded population. In California, one has only to look at the makeup of the State House to grasp this point. On the West Bank, those massive, jubilant celebrations that occurred on September 11, 2001 inarguably make the point.

In its September 22, 2003 hourly radio broadcasts, CNN news reported two back-to-back stories that epitomized the inability of those in the West to grasp the reality of the Israeli/Palestinian situation. In the first news item, Israel was excoriated for proceeding with its plans to build a security fence to prevent terrorists from infiltrating and perpetrating their murderous acts. Immediately following was an item pertaining to the latest bombing at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, and specifically how the construction of a barrier around the facility had prevented any injury or loss of life.

It wouldn't be so discouraging if the irony of the two stories was only limited to those who aired them (this was, it should be remembered, a CNN broadcast). Unfortunately, the derision and condemnation hurled at Israel, for pursuing completion of its security fence, goes far beyond the predictable editorializing that CNN reporters admittedly cannot resist. Were the American people exhorted by the State Department to remain defenseless against regular terrorist attacks in such a manner, they would shortly be demanding the resignation, and possibly the imprisonment, of every responsible individual.

The installation of Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian “Prime Minister” proved to be no more significant as a true step in the direction of “peace” than have been the countless resolutions and accords contrived and offered over the years under the banner of “peace.” Despite assertions from the State Department and those relentlessly naive pundits, absolutely nothing about this situation has changed as a result of the Abbas resignation. His exit, accompanied by the monotonously predictable reemergence of Arafat as supreme authority among the Palestinians, stands if anything as inarguable proof that events are continuing to unfold just as they have for the last fifty-five years.

Growing up during the turbulent decades of the ‘60's and ‘70's, Christopher  Adamo saw, to his dismay, the nation's moral foundations being destroyed  before his very eyes. But even then he was a staunch Conservative at heart,  and rejected outright the tenets of America's counterculture revolution.

 After a hitch in the Air Force, where he specialized in airborne  electro- optical systems, he pursued a career in the field of aerospace,  working for major defense contractors in California, Florida, and Colorado. But his career plans abruptly changed during the industry-wide downsizing that followed the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

Presently he is working in the field of industrial instrumentation in the state of Wyoming. Concurrently, he has become involved in that state's political process, attending state GOP conventions as a delegate, and serving as a member of the Wyoming Republican Central Committee. He has also aided in the candidacies of local legislators and state senators, as well as a U.S. Senator and Congresswoman.

From 1993 to 1996, he edited and wrote for “The Wyoming Christian”, the state newsletter for Christian Coalition of Wyoming. During that period, he developed an acute awareness of the harm being done to Conservatism by liberal activists within the Republican Party as well as the Democrats. This remains a favorite theme of his articles, which now appear as a regular feature on GOPUSA.