[Cerchio] fisk sul medio oriente-in inglese

>The Middle East According to Robert Fisk
>Marc Cooper, LA Weekly
>April 22, 2002
>
>In the age of Geraldo, it seems almost an anomaly that a rumpled,=20
>56-year-old professorial British-newspaper foreign correspondent could=20
>draw a string of standing-room-only throngs to American university=20
>auditoriums. But that's exactly what the London Independent's Middle=20
>Eastern correspondent Robert Fisk has been doing from Chicago to Los=20
>Angeles, generating an often rock star–like reception (a crowd of=20
>900 saw him last week in Cedar Falls, Iowa!). Though he's rarely published=
=20
>in the United States (except for occasional short pieces in The Nation),=20
>Fisk has built a loyal following that pores over his every word via the=20
>Internet with almost cultlike devotion. Fisk, who has covered the region=20
>for 26 years, is considered by many to be simply the best and most=20
>knowledgeable correspondent currently working in the Middle East.
>
>
>But Fisk also has his detractors: critics who allege that he is knee-jerk=
=20
>anti-American and anti-Israeli, a patsy for Yasser Arafat.
>
>
>But any in-depth discussion with Fisk reveals a thoughtful man, immersed=20
>in Middle Eastern history, tempered by decades of reporting and ready to=20
>argue in ways guaranteed to rankle true believers on any side of the=20
>conflict. The L.A. Weekly's Marc Cooper interviewed Fisk on Sunday at the=
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>home of the Independent's Los Angeles correspondent.
>
>
>COOPER: In your public speeches, you have been suggesting that the=20
>Israeli-Palestinian conflict might turn into something as apocalyptic as=20
>the French-Algerian war of four decades ago -- a horrendous war that took=
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>well over a million lives. Are things that dark?
>
>
>ROBERT FISK: I think we already have reached those depths. If you go back=
=20
>and read the narrative history of the Algerian war, you'll see it began=20
>with isolated acts of sabotage, a few killings of French settlers,=20
>followed invariably by large-scale retaliation by the French authorities=20
>at which point, starting in the '60s, the Algerians began a campaign=20
>against French citizens in Algiers and Oran with bombs in cinemas and=20
>discotheques, which today translates into pizzerias and nightclubs in=20
>Israel. The French government kept saying it was fighting a war on=20
>terrorism, and the French army went in and erased whole Algerian villages.=
=20
>Torture became institutionalized, as it has by the Israeli authorities.=20
>Collaborators were killed by Algerian fighters, just as Arafat does so=20
>brazenly now. At the end of the day, life became insupportable for both=
sides.
>
>
>At Christmas, Ariel Sharon called French President Chirac and actually=20
>said, We are like you in Algeria, but "we will stay."
>
>
>And it's quite revealing that Arafat himself keeps referring to "the peace=
=20
>of the brave." Whether he knows it or not, that's the phrase De Gaulle=20
>used when he found it necessary to give up Algeria.
>
>
>COOPER: For those who have watched this conflict over the years, it=20
>sometimes seems confounding what Ariel Sharon is thinking strategically.=20
>If one accepts the common view that Arafat has been a reliable and often=20
>compliant partner with the Israelis, what does Sharon think he has to gain=
=20
>by undermining him and opening the door to the more radical groups like=
Hamas?
>
>
>FISK: Remember that when Arafat was still regarded as a superterrorist,=20
>before he became a superstatesman -- of course he's reverting back now to=
=20
>superterrorist -- remember that the Israelis encouraged the Hamas to build=
=20
>mosques and social institutions in Gaza. Hamas and the Israelis had very=20
>close relations when the PLO was still in exile in Tunisia. I can remember=
=20
>being in southern Lebanon in 1993 reporting on the Hamas, and one of their=
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>militants offered me Shimon Peres' home phone number. That's how close the=
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>relations were! So let's remember that the Israelis do have direct contact=
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>with those they label even more terrorist than Arafat.
>
>
>In the cowboy version of events, they both hate each other. In the real=20
>world, they maintain contact when they want to.
>
>
>As to Sharon, I was speaking with [former Palestinian official] Hanan=20
>Ashrawi last week, and she made the very good point that Sharon never=20
>thinks through the ramifications of what he's going to do, beyond next=20
>week or the week after. That's what we are seeing now.
>
>
>In that regard, Sharon has many parallels with Arafat. When I had the=20
>miserable task of living under Arafat's awful regime in Beirut for six=20
>years, you could see that Arafat also would get up in the morning and not=
=20
>have a clue as to what he would be doing three hours later.
>
>
>But back to Sharon. One thing he knows is that he is opposed to the Oslo=20
>[peace] accords; he doesn't want it. He's systematically destroying the=20
>infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority. It's interesting to note that=
=20
>the European Union is now pointing out to the Israelis that $17 million of=
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>our taxpayers' money, investment in the West Bank infrastructure as part=20
>of the American peace plan, has been bombed and smashed to pieces by the=20
>Israeli military.
>
>
>COOPER: Your critics accuse you of being a mouthpiece for Arafat. But in=20
>your public talks you openly disdain Arafat, calling him -- among many=20
>other things -- a preposterous old man.
>
>
>FISK: I'm more than disdainful! More than disdainful. I always regarded=20
>him during his time in Lebanon as being a very cynical and a very despotic=
=20
>man. Even before he got a chance to run his own state, he was running 13=20
>different secret police forces. Torture was employed in his police=20
>stations. And so it was easy to see why the Israelis wanted to use him. He=
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>was not brought into the Oslo process, and he was not encouraged by the=20
>Americans, and his forces were not trained by the CIA so that he could=20
>lead a wonderful, new Arab state. He was brought in as a colonial governor=
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>to do what the Israelis could no longer do: to control the West Bank and=
Gaza.
>
>
>His task was always to control his people. Not to lead his people. Not to=
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>lead a friendly state that would live next to Israel. His job was to=20
>control his people, just like all the other Arab dictators do -- usually=20
>on our behalf. Remember that the Arab states we support -- the Mubaraks of=
=20
>Egypt, the Gulf kingdoms, the king of Jordan -- when they do have=20
>elections, their leaders are elected by 98.7 percent of the vote. In=20
>Mubarak's case, 0.2 percent more than Saddam!
>
>
>So Arafat fits perfectly into this lexicon of rule. He's confronted with=20
>the choice of either leading the Palestinian people or being the point man=
=20
>for the Israelis.
>
>
>COOPER: So does Arafat now, for his own cynical reasons, encourage or=20
>support the suicide bombings inside Israel as the Israelis insist he does?
>
>
>FISK: Arafat is a very immoral person, or maybe very amoral. A very=20
>cynical man. I remember when the Tal-al-Zaatar refugee camp in Beirut had=
=20
>to surrender to Christian forces in the very brutal Lebanese civil war.=20
>They were given permission to surrender with a cease-fire. But at the last=
=20
>moment, Arafat told his men to open fire on the Christian forces who were=
=20
>coming to accept the surrender. I think Arafat wanted more Palestinian=20
>"martyrs" in order to publicize the Palestinian position in the war. That=
=20
>was in 1976. Believe me that Arafat is not a changed man.
>
>
>I think that if he ever actually sees a wounded child, he feels compassion=
=20
>like any other human being. But he's also a very cynical politician. And=20
>he knows that Sharon was elected to offer security to the Israelis. And=20
>Arafat knows that every suicide bombing, every killing, every death of a=20
>young Israeli, especially inside Israel, is proof that Sharon's promises=20
>are discredited.
>
>
>On the one hand, he can condemn violence. He can be full of contrition.=20
>And in the basic human sense, he probably means it. But he also knows very=
=20
>well that every suicide bombing hits at the Sharon policy, and realizes=20
>how that helps him.
>
>
>COOPER: Is this current phase the endgame for Arafat? Or his 10th life?
>
>
>FISK: Actually, both Arafat and Sharon are in danger. Throughout Arafat's=
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>life, the more militarily weak he becomes, the stronger he becomes=20
>politically. Equally, you might say Mr. Sharon has thrown his entire=20
>military at the West Bank, but he is not achieving the security he=20
>promised. Further, one day we will have to find out what has happened in=20
>the Jenin refugee camp, with the hundreds of corpses -- some of which=20
>disappeared, some of which appear to have been secretly buried. That will=
=20
>further damage Sharon. So as he becomes stronger militarily, he weakens=20
>politically. Way back in 1982, Sharon said he was going to root out terror=
=20
>when 17,500 Arabs were slaughtered during three months in Lebanon. And=20
>here we are again.
>
>
>COOPER: I heard some contradictory notions in your talks regarding the=20
>U.S. I can't tell if you are just plain sarcastic about the American role=
=20
>in the Middle East, or if you are merely disappointed.
>
>
>FISK: I'm way past being disappointed. I am very sarcastic. And=20
>deliberately so. A week ago, I wrote in my newspaper that when Colin=20
>Powell goes to Israel and the West Bank, we shall find out who runs U.S.=20
>policy in the Middle East: The White House? Congress? Or Israel?
>
>
>On an ostensibly urgent mission, Secretary of State Powell -- our favorite=
=20
>ex-general -- wandered and dawdled around the Mediterranean, popping off=20
>to Morocco, then off to see the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, then he went=
=20
>to Spain, then he went to Egypt, then he went to Jordan, and after eight=20
>days he finally washed up in Israel. On an urgent mission!
>
>
>If Washington firefighters turned up that late, the city would already be=
=20
>in ashes. As Jenin was. It was generally hinted at on the networks, in the=
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>usual coy, cowardly sort of way, that Powell wanted to give Sharon time to=
=20
>finish the job, just as he got to finish the job in '82 in such a bloody=
way.
>
>
>And now Powell arrives and we see the two sides of the glass. On the one=20
>hand, he quite rightly goes to inspect by helicopter the revolting suicide=
=20
>bombing in Jerusalem where six Israelis were killed and 80 wounded.
>
>
>But faced with the Israelis hiding their own activities, where hundreds=20
>[of Palestinians] have been killed, Powell does not ask to go to Jenin.=20
>Why? Because the dead are Palestinians? Because they are Arabs? Because=20
>they are Muslim? Why on earth doesn't he go to Jenin?
>
>
>Powell is not being evenhanded. American policy never has been. It's a=20
>totally bankrupt policy. No wonder the Europeans are saying, "For God's=20
>sake, we have to play a role in the Mideast now."
>
>
>COOPER: But till now the Europeans have not acquitted themselves much more=
=20
>honorably in the Middle East. And their role in the Balkans was abominable.
>
>
>FISK: Well, they haven't had a chance yet to make a mess of the Middle=20
>East in the way you Americans have. But yes, if you look at European=20
>foreign policy within Europe, we totally screwed up in Bosnia. We didn't=20
>have the courage of our convictions over the breakup of Yugoslavia --=20
>that's if we had any convictions. We allowed the horror and the tragedy=20
>and the most horrible atrocities to take place in Srebenica.
>
>
>We needed the Americans in Bosnia. We needed the Americans in Kosovo. We=20
>still need American support with their influence over the Republican=20
>movement in Northern Ireland to keep that peace process together.
>
>
>But Europe has a much clearer understanding of the Middle East. Owing=20
>partly to much more forthright press and television coverage of the=20
>region, of what's going on. We do not hide from our readers and viewers=20
>what's happening there. Unlike the American press, we do not hide the=20
>brutality of the Israelis. And we certainly do not hide the brutality of=20
>the Palestinians.
>
>
>The peoples of the Middle East -- Jews, Muslims, Christians -- are our=20
>neighbors in Europe. Not only do we have large numbers of Muslims living=20
>in Europe, but the fault line between the Muslim world and Europe runs=20
>down the Mediterranean -- in many cases through Europe itself, like in=
Bosnia.
>
>
>And we have got to have a proper, grown-up, modern relationship with our=20
>neighbors in the Middle East. You Americans don't have to. You can play=20
>Wild West out there because they are 9,000 miles away from you, and you=20
>will never have to be neighbors. But for us, there are new priorities.=20
>America doesn't even have a real policy in the region. You say, "Well,=20
>it's up to the parties." That's what we Europeans said in Bosnia, and look=
=20
>what happened.
>
>
>How odd. Here's a superpower with enormous leverage, if you care to use=20
>it, over the Israelis. Yet you don't do so.
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
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=20
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>



buona giornata di merdra