US crucifying Palestine on Zionist cross By Ameen Izzadeen

At a time when our memories have been refreshed with what happened ten years ago on September 11, discussing political terrorism by the very country which is prosecuting the global war on terror is timely. The victims of the US political terrorism are the Palestinian people. They are unable to free themselves from the yoke of Israeli occupation largely because of the US's blind support for Israel.

The world will be sure to see this week or next week, another act of political terrorism by the US when it blocks the Palestinians' bid to seek UN membership or at least an enhancement of their observer entity to an observer state like what is enjoyed by the Vatican at the world body. (See graphic.)

At a time when the need to eliminate terrorism in every form is spoken about and stressed upon, shouldn't we also oppose the political terrorism of the sole superpower?

An act of terror committed by a group is often condemned but the condemnation depends on whose side the group is. For instance, the excesses of the US-allied rebels in Libya were hardly condemned and the embedded Western media did not highlight them adequately. Similarly, an act of terror committed by a state on civilians is condemned or justified, depending on the state's relationship with the US.

When we talk of state terror in the post-9/11 period, the United States leads the pack of rogue states that have civilians' blood on their hands. Examples are aplenty in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Coming close to the US is Israel, whose wars in the post-9/11 period have killed thousands of civilians in occupied Palestine and Lebanon. What's disgusting is that the US often justifies Israel's acts of terror on civilians on grounds of security. Those who condone an act of terrorism, whether it is committed by an individual, a group or a state, are equally guilty of the same act of terrorism.

Political terrorism by the US in the past and at present nurtures the type of terrorism that it is trying hard or appears to be trying hard to eliminate. If it is genuinely interested in neutralising the threat posed by al-Qaeda or its affiliates, it should first stop its political terrorism which is nowhere more manifest than in its support for Israel despite the Zionist state's illegal activities such as building settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, using deprivation of food, medicine and other essentials as a weapon, killing or imprisoning political activists, including thousands of children.

True, at times, the White House and the State Department condemn Israel's illegal settlement building activity, but such condemnations are confined to words and not action. The United States' blind support for Israel and the billions of dollars worth of US military and economic aid every year have only emboldened the Zionist entity to continue to commit atrocities on the people of Palestine.

The US' political terrorism also manifests in the use of its veto at the United Nations Security Council each time a resolution — even highly watered down motions — against Israel is taken up. If the US had only desisted from using its veto at the UN Security Council, the Palestinian question would have been solved long years ago and there would have been no al-Qaeda today.

Should one remind the US that al-Qaeda and similar groups continue to attract Arab and Muslim youths who want to teach the US a lesson? Their hatred of the US is largely because of the US' political terrorism or its blatant support for Israel. Scores of polls in the post-9/11 period have sent the message that the Muslim World dislikes the US not because of its fight against al-Qaeda but because of its support for Israel at the cost of freedom for the Palestinian people.

This week or next week, the United States will perhaps be the only UN member other than Israel to oppose the Palestinians' quest for statehood. The Palestinians have amassed the support of some 130 countries and are expected to win the backing of many European nations when they present their case before the UN General Assembly if the US vetoes the Security Council process.

For US President Barack Obama, it is, perhaps, a case of 'the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak'. He started his presidency with hopes for the Palestinian statehood and peace in the Arab world. But as his first term enters the re-election campaign phase, his weakness or his servitude to the Zionist Lobby is evident. He simply cannot defy the lobby and expect to win the re-election. Besides, many US congress members, whose support Obama needs to get his budget and legislation passed, are beholden to the Zionist Lobby. The drubbing the Democrats got at New York's special congressional election on Tuesday has only underscored the importance of the Lobby's support if Obama is to win next year's presidential election. Many US analysts see the Democrat's defeat in New York as a repudiation of Obama's Middle East policy. Though the policy is pro-Israel, the lobby wants more.

The President's reelection team has now set up a Jewish outreach programme to tell every Jewish voter in the US that Obama is as good a friend to Israel as any Republican contender could be.

A besieged Obama, in a final bid to stop the Palestinians from taking the UN route to statehood, sent an envoy to the region yesterday to talk to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israel's hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. If the mission fails and the Palestinians succeed at the UN, Obama will certainly be a one-term President.

Can the Palestinians sacrifice the opportunity at their hands to save Obama? They should not. Whether Obama wins or loses, the US will remain a prisoner of the Zionist lobby. It will not stop waging political terrorism on behalf of Israel. The US support for the Palestinian cause is a myth or a political false flag to slow down the Palestinians' quest for statehood. The Palestinians should take the UN route, come what may.