Barak starts peace efforts with war purchase

By Hans Lebrecht

TEL AVIV - U.S. President Bill Clinton and Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak held three meetings - one in Camp David, a Sunday dinner and an extended talk at the White House July 19.

On the face of it, the Clinton-Barak meetings are to find ways to restart and accelerate the peace efforts in the Middle East and determine the role the U.S. should have in the effort.

However, what the two leaders discussed at their first encounter had little to do with peacemaking. According to reports, the two talked about three main subjects:

First, upgrading the existing strategic cooperation in the Middle East as well as other international issues between the two countries;

Second, with U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen joining the talks, Barak, in his capacity as Israel's Defense Minister, ordered 50 of the most advanced Lockheed-Martin "F-16 Falcon A" super-jet fighter aircraft and a row of tactical helicopter fighters, as well as a new version of the Boeing F-15 fighter jet, a deal worth at least $2.5 billion, said to be the largest "defense" contract ever between the U.S. and Israel;

Third, U.S. funding of a third Arrow ABM system, estimated at a cost of another $200 million, as well as a contract for U.S.-Israeli development of a system of ground-to-ground missile launchers based on missile armed drones (unmanned aircraft).

Barak and Clinton did agree to set a 15-month deadline, ending October 2000 - i.e., before Clinton's term of office ends - for achieving a Middle East peace settlement.

According to the Camp David talks, the Israeli air force, which is waging regular attacks on targets in neighboring Lebanon - the latest during the very weekend Barak was in the U.S. - will be upgraded with the most modern attack systems.

One might ask, for what purpose? For peace? Or rather to give the aggressive Israeli air force the benefit of the experience of the U.S. air force and military-industrial complex in NATO's Yugoslav-Kosovo adventure? And of course, to provide huge profits for the U.S. armament industry.

A small amount of this many-billion-dollar account will be paid by the Israeli taxpayer, while the U.S. taxpayer will pay a vast amount through the so-called "security" and material aid to Israel, amounting to more than three billion dollars annually - "aid" the big U.S. and transnational corporations are profiting from.

Let us hope that Barak's preconditions are only opening positions for the peace negotiations to come, conditions meant to be compromised, as some political observers believe. Real peace forces, in Israel as well as among the Palestinians, and the residents of the neighboring Arab countries, hope that this will leave open the door to genuine peace, a just and lasting peace, which can be achieved solely by respecting the national rights of all peoples concerned, vested in the United Nations Charter and resolutions.

Let us hope that Barak will go into history as the Israeli leader to have achieved peace with all of the Arab neighbors.