RAYMOND DEANE,
Sir, - Patrick Smyth ("US reluctantly takes up peace role", The Irish Times, March 29th) quotes a US Middle East analyst, Shibley Telhami, as asserting that "we're at a juncture where mere management of the Arab-Israeli conflict is not possible". Such "mere management" was never a morally acceptable approach to a conflict in which the more powerful party has flouted UN resolutions for the past 35 years. Indeed, it might be queried whether the term "Arab-Israeli conflict" is not itself a misnomer for a neo-colonial war in which Israel is in conflict with the rest of the world, as represented by the United Nations.
Of course "the rest of the world" must here exclude the United States which, far from being an actual or potential mediator in the conflict, has been an active participant by virtue of its massive logistical and diplomatic support for the aggressor.
Hence, Colin Powell's appeal (as cited by Patrick Smyth) "to Mr Arafat to speak to his people in Arabic about the futility of violence" comes across as the crassest hypocrisy.
Such obscenities as the Netanya massacre will continue to take place as long as the Palestinian people themselves are given no reason to restrain the potential terrorists in their midst. An end to the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and the creation of a viable Palestinian state are the minimal conditions for a peaceful Middle East, and a fortiori for a peaceful world. - Yours, etc.,
RAYMOND DEANE,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.