Stupid White Men: A Selection of Editorial Commentary from The New York Times

New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. and executive editor Howell Raines

Since the September 11th, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center by Saudi Arabian suicide bombers calling for war against Americans and Jews, New York Times editorials have offered Yasir Arafat "one last chance" to end terrorism again, and again, and again. Here are some examples, in chronological order:

Perhaps Mr. Arafat cannot impose his will on every would-be terrorist. But he and his police must do a better job of preventing attacks launched from Palestinian-ruled areas like Gaza and must arrest and detain those responsible for anti-Israeli violence. Israel must also exercise restraint. Despite cease-fires declared on both sides, more than 25 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops over the past nine days. (5 October 2001)

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The murder of Israel's tourism minister this week was a disturbing escalation of Palestinian terrorism against Israeli democracy. It occurred at a particularly sensitive moment, with Washington trying to hold together a disparate coalition against international terrorism that includes Arab nations as well as Israel. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and the Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, must now act firmly and responsibly to contain the consequences of the attack.

Mr. Sharon has warned that unless Palestinian police promptly arrest and extradite Mr. Zeevi's killers, Israel will retaliate. The implication of Mr. Sharon's ultimatum is that if his demands are not satisfied in the next few days, Israeli military forces could try to retake Palestinian-administered areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip by force. That would be a terrible setback for Israelis and Palestinians as well as Washington. The primary responsibility for avoiding it belongs to Mr. Arafat, who must find and arrest all those involved in the murder. Given the Palestinian Authority's uneven record of prosecuting terrorists and keeping them behind bars, Mr. Sharon's insistence on extraditing the suspects to Israel is understandable. (19 October 2001)

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Last week's assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister should have spurred the Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, to find and arrest the killers without delay. Regrettably, Mr. Arafat has not done so, and his inadequate response has provoked Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, to launch ill-advised military operations in Palestinian-ruled areas of the West Bank. Mr. Sharon's actions have made it less likely that a reduction in violence will be negotiated any time soon and have strained relations between Israel and the United States. (26 October 2001)

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As President Bush did earlier this month, Secretary Powell held out the vision of an eventual state of Palestine living peacefully alongside Israel. He bluntly reminded Palestinian leaders, however, that movement toward such a peace could proceed only if Israelis were able to live their lives free of terrorism as well as war. Reinforcing this point, he called on Yasir Arafat to produce not just declarations but actions to prevent attacks against Israelis and prosecute those responsible for them. The practical path back to the negotiating table was outlined earlier this year by a commission headed by former Senator George Mitchell. It outlined steps both sides needed to take, including stronger Palestinian moves against violence and an end to all new Israeli settlement activity. These proposals were broadly accepted by both sides and remain the central element of American policy. (20 November 2001)

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The coordinated attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa, claimed by Hamas, aimed at killing as many Israelis as possible. They left at least 25 dead, many of them teenagers, and hundreds wounded. They also represent a direct challenge to Mr. Arafat. A decisive moment is now at hand in which Mr. Arafat has to assert his authority with actions, not merely words. (3 December 2001)

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"Yasir Arafat's Last Chance"

Yasir Arafat has a long and frustrating history of fudging or postponing hard decisions. Now he can postpone no more. Last weekend's deadly terrorist attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa by Hamas suicide bombers have all but shattered his credibility as a negotiating partner. Important Israeli political leaders are ready to write him off and wait however long it takes for a more politically courageous and decisive Palestinian leader to emerge. Their impatience is readily understandable. Mr. Arafat's reluctance to shut down terrorist groups like Hamas has again led to the death of innocent teenagers and adults and thrown yet another set of Israeli families into mourning. Still, Israel should not take this decisive step just yet.

Although Mr. Arafat's latest pledges of a thoroughgoing crackdown on terror seem familiar and unconvincing to most Israelis, they ought to be tested over the next few days.

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Time is rapidly running out on Mr. Arafat. He must decide now whether he is a leader who can and will complete the ambitious peace effort he began in 1993. If he cannot, it is hard to see how he has any meaningful role left to play. (4 December 2001)

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Give Yasir Arafat credit for some encouraging first steps against Hamas, the group that claimed responsibility for last weekend's deadly terrorist bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa. Placing Hamas's spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, under house arrest sent a clear message to Hamas supporters, who have responded with angry protests. The real test of the crackdown, however, will be whether Mr. Arafat's security forces break up Hamas's actual terrorist networks, starting with the arrests of approximately three dozen people for whom Israel has provided evidence of involvement in terrorist attacks against Israeli targets.

It should take no more than a few days to carry out these initial arrests. (7 December 2001)

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Last week, on the eve of a visit by Washington's special representative, the retired Marine general Anthony Zinni, Israeli naval forces intercepted a shipload of weapons and explosives apparently destined for Yasir Arafat's Palestinian Authority. Such an arms delivery would violate the Oslo peace agreements with Israel. In response, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon characterized Mr. Arafat as Israel's "bitter enemy" and may soon ask his cabinet to break relations with the authority. That could make future negotiations about a peace settlement, or even a formal cease-fire, virtually impossible. The facts of this episode have not yet been fully investigated and the nature of Mr. Arafat's involvement, if any, in the arms shipment has not been clearly established. Israel should reserve judgment until an investigation is completed. (8 January 2002)

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Yasir Arafat, op-ed "The Palestinian Vision of Peace"

But no degree of oppression and no level of desperation can ever justify the killing of innocent civilians. I condemn terrorism. I condemn the killing of innocent civilians, whether they are Israeli, American or Palestinian; whether they are killed by Palestinian extremists, Israeli settlers, or by the Israeli government. But condemnations do not stop terrorism. (3 February 2002)

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Left alone, this situation will only get worse. The death toll will mount and the entire region will be further destabilized. One certain casualty will be the Bush administration's hope of a new drive against Saddam Hussein and his unconventional weapons. Although Washington's recent efforts to reduce tensions and renew peace talks have all failed, it must try again. President Bush was right yesterday to pledge increased efforts for peace and to reaffirm American support for an eventual Palestinian state. He was wrong, however, to insist on an end to Palestinian attacks as a precondition for serious peace efforts. The need for active American diplomatic intervention is too compelling to retreat in the face of continuing violence. It should be clear by now to Israelis and to Washington that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's purely military strategy has not worked. Force alone, in the absence of credible peace proposals, has not battered the Palestinians into submission. To the contrary, Yasir Arafat's secular militias have openly engaged in combat against Israel. Suicide missions have become far more frequent and attacks on Israeli soldiers more effective.

This week Mr. Sharon promised to respond with even more force and less diplomacy. Only after the Palestinians have "been battered," he said Monday, "will we be able to conduct talks." Fending off calls from his foreign minister, Shimon Peres, for political discussions with the Palestinians, Mr. Sharon declared, ". . . it's either them or us. We are with our back to the wall, and this is war." That kind of language is understandable in a traumatized society. Yet what is needed are not martial sentiments but a redoubled search for peace. (6 March 2002)

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It doubtless seems bizarre to Ariel Sharon that 20 years after sending the Israeli Army to the edge of Beirut to force Yasir Arafat out, he is now expected to let Mr. Arafat return there to be toasted by Arab leaders. Mr. Arafat, whose strategy of talking peace while waging war is spreading death across Israel, wants to be the guest of honor at tomorrow's Arab summit meeting. Bizarre and frustrating as this may be, letting him go is the smart thing to do.
. . .
These are dark days in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in some ways the darkest ever. Each side has convinced itself that the other understands only the language of force and is using it in horrible new ways. A near suicide cult has taken hold among many Palestinians. Israeli military reprisals this month were especially brutal. Mr. Sharon says he understands that there is no military solution to this conflict, but he has failed in his year in office to lay out a clear alternative vision. He must do everything he can to encourage and promote the gestures and substance of peace. Permitting Mr. Arafat to go to Beirut would be just such a gesture. (26 March 2002)

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President Bush's path-breaking speech las week touched on virtually all these points. In contrast, the hopeful visions offered so far by Israelis and by Arab leaders have omitted crucial elements. Yasir Arafat has been even less forthcoming. Although he pledged in the 1993 Oslo peace agreement to negotiate a two-state solution by peaceful means, he has all but shattered his credibility as a negotiating partner by again embracing terrorism in recent months. Mr. Powell's task is to turn the full package, as enunciated by Mr. Bush, into the basis for a new round of peace diplomacy to replace the shattered Oslo framework.

A good place to begin is by perusading Arab leaders to condemn Palestinian suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism, a step they inexcusably failed to take last month in Beirut and again yesterday in Cairo. (7 April 2002)