Mary Mostert
Bush and Clinton: Opposite policies on terrorists as "peace" partners
By Mary Mostert
In his press conference today President Bush articulated a policy that is a dramatic change from that of the Clinton Administration in America's treatment of terrorists who end up in control of their national governments.
Clinton supported two known terrorist leaders who seized control of their governments: Nelson Mandela, head of the Africa National Congress in South Africa (ANC) and leader of the terrorist organization called Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was elected president of South Africa in 1994. In 1999 President Clinton supported the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), led by Hashim Thaci which was listed by the US State Department until he removed it in 1998 as one of the top 100 terrorist organizations in the world. Clinton sent US bombers to bomb the army of the elected government of what was left of Yugoslavia in 1999 and the world is contemplating giving control of Kosovo, a province of Serbia, to Albanians that have poured into the area under Tito and since the collapse the Albanian government in the early 1990s.
Since about 1995 the KLA has controlled heroin trafficking through Kosovo and used the money to fund terrorist activity in cooperation with Osama bin Laden.
According to a Wall Street Journal article written shortly after 9-11, links between Osama bin Laden and the KLA began in 1992 when Osama bin Laden recruits who were trained in Afghanistan were "brought into Bosnia by the ruling Islamic party of Bosnia, the Party of Democratic Action, from Chechnya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, as well as Italy, Germany and Turkey. They were all given journalists' credentials to avoid explicit detection by the West. Others were married immediately to Bosnian Muslim women and incorporated into regular army ranks."
Then in 1999, President Bill Clinton sent the US Air Force to bomb Belgrade, the center of the elected government of what remained of Yugoslavia, and Kosovo, which was the heart of the Serbian Orthodox Christian Church until the Serbs were systematically driven out by Tito and Albanians coming into the area.
In today's press conference, President Bush was asked by a reporter: "Mr. President, is Mideast peacemaking dead with Hamas' big election victory? And do you rule out dealing with the Palestinians if Hamas is the majority party? "
President Bush responded by saying he thought that "Peace is never dead, because people want peace. I believe — and that's why I articulated a two-state solution early in my administration."
He then noted that "when you give people the vote, you give people a chance to express themselves at the polls — and if they're unhappy with the status quo, they'll let you know"
The Palestinians were not happy with the corruption in their government, the President continued, and let their leaders know they "are demanding honest government."
Then he added:
In 1994 President Clinton had Nelson Mandela as a guest for his weekly radio address. He said of his guest: "America stands with Nelson Mandela and the South African people through economic assistance, through trade and investment to help them to build the thriving democracy they so richly deserve."
So, exactly how HAS South Africa fared in its 12 years of being headed by first Mandela and now by his hand-picked successor and ANC comrade, Thabo Mbeki? The population of South Africa is shrinking, not growing, due partly to the fact that huge numbers of its white population have left the country because they can't find work in South Africa due its new race-preference policies and because 25% of the population is now HIV positive. Since 1994 the average life expectancy of a South African has dropped from 61 years to 43 years. More than 25% of its adult population is unemployed. And bad financial experiences following the euphoria about investments in South Africa have dried up a lot of US investment in the New South Africa.
Kosovo, incidentally, is also finding that terrorist training is not the best training for a viable, effective government. It has a 50% unemployed rate but its 'grey" economy — i.e. illegal drug trade — are not included in the official figures.
It will be interesting to see how President Bush's "no terrorists for peace partners" plays out and who will support it. This seems to me to be the first really bold policy that addresses the connection between terrorism and the $320 billion global illicit drug trade.
The Palestinians have voted for a Hamas government. Fine. That's their choice and that is their right. However, the consequences of their choice may not be what they expected. Most of the current Palestinian generation has lived on money given to them by the international community — including, of course, the United States, for their entire lives. They think that largesse will continue.
Many black people I met in South Africa in 1991-1992 thought that getting control of the government would also give them control over the property and bank accounts of the white people they worked for. It didn't work out that way — since about 30% of the white people who created the jobs have left the country.
The Palestinians may discover that the American taxpayer is just not ready to help them destroy Israel and kill Jews.
© Mary Mostert
In his press conference today President Bush articulated a policy that is a dramatic change from that of the Clinton Administration in America's treatment of terrorists who end up in control of their national governments.
Clinton supported two known terrorist leaders who seized control of their governments: Nelson Mandela, head of the Africa National Congress in South Africa (ANC) and leader of the terrorist organization called Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was elected president of South Africa in 1994. In 1999 President Clinton supported the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), led by Hashim Thaci which was listed by the US State Department until he removed it in 1998 as one of the top 100 terrorist organizations in the world. Clinton sent US bombers to bomb the army of the elected government of what was left of Yugoslavia in 1999 and the world is contemplating giving control of Kosovo, a province of Serbia, to Albanians that have poured into the area under Tito and since the collapse the Albanian government in the early 1990s.
Since about 1995 the KLA has controlled heroin trafficking through Kosovo and used the money to fund terrorist activity in cooperation with Osama bin Laden.
According to a Wall Street Journal article written shortly after 9-11, links between Osama bin Laden and the KLA began in 1992 when Osama bin Laden recruits who were trained in Afghanistan were "brought into Bosnia by the ruling Islamic party of Bosnia, the Party of Democratic Action, from Chechnya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, as well as Italy, Germany and Turkey. They were all given journalists' credentials to avoid explicit detection by the West. Others were married immediately to Bosnian Muslim women and incorporated into regular army ranks."
Then in 1999, President Bill Clinton sent the US Air Force to bomb Belgrade, the center of the elected government of what remained of Yugoslavia, and Kosovo, which was the heart of the Serbian Orthodox Christian Church until the Serbs were systematically driven out by Tito and Albanians coming into the area.
In today's press conference, President Bush was asked by a reporter: "Mr. President, is Mideast peacemaking dead with Hamas' big election victory? And do you rule out dealing with the Palestinians if Hamas is the majority party? "
President Bush responded by saying he thought that "Peace is never dead, because people want peace. I believe — and that's why I articulated a two-state solution early in my administration."
He then noted that "when you give people the vote, you give people a chance to express themselves at the polls — and if they're unhappy with the status quo, they'll let you know"
The Palestinians were not happy with the corruption in their government, the President continued, and let their leaders know they "are demanding honest government."
Then he added:
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"On the other hand, I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform. And I know you can't be a partner in peace if your party has got an armed wing."
In 1994 President Clinton had Nelson Mandela as a guest for his weekly radio address. He said of his guest: "America stands with Nelson Mandela and the South African people through economic assistance, through trade and investment to help them to build the thriving democracy they so richly deserve."
So, exactly how HAS South Africa fared in its 12 years of being headed by first Mandela and now by his hand-picked successor and ANC comrade, Thabo Mbeki? The population of South Africa is shrinking, not growing, due partly to the fact that huge numbers of its white population have left the country because they can't find work in South Africa due its new race-preference policies and because 25% of the population is now HIV positive. Since 1994 the average life expectancy of a South African has dropped from 61 years to 43 years. More than 25% of its adult population is unemployed. And bad financial experiences following the euphoria about investments in South Africa have dried up a lot of US investment in the New South Africa.
Kosovo, incidentally, is also finding that terrorist training is not the best training for a viable, effective government. It has a 50% unemployed rate but its 'grey" economy — i.e. illegal drug trade — are not included in the official figures.
It will be interesting to see how President Bush's "no terrorists for peace partners" plays out and who will support it. This seems to me to be the first really bold policy that addresses the connection between terrorism and the $320 billion global illicit drug trade.
The Palestinians have voted for a Hamas government. Fine. That's their choice and that is their right. However, the consequences of their choice may not be what they expected. Most of the current Palestinian generation has lived on money given to them by the international community — including, of course, the United States, for their entire lives. They think that largesse will continue.
Many black people I met in South Africa in 1991-1992 thought that getting control of the government would also give them control over the property and bank accounts of the white people they worked for. It didn't work out that way — since about 30% of the white people who created the jobs have left the country.
The Palestinians may discover that the American taxpayer is just not ready to help them destroy Israel and kill Jews.
© Mary Mostert
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