Instead, they swallow Arab propaganda whole, never forgetting to address the master terrorist as "Chairman" and effusively thanking the Arabs who lie and manipulate the news. "Oh good night, Mr. Terrorist Spokesman, and thanks so much for taking the time to be here with us today. We know how busy you must be." And busy they are, planning the next outrage, but don't expect any healthy skepticism from what passes for journalists on American TV.

Jenin

The UN is awash in self-righteous descriptions of the "horrors and mass destruction and loss of civilian life." The facts are different. Most of Jenin is intact. The mosques, shops, streets and homes are unharmed, but cameras don't show that.

What they take you to is the bulldozed and flattened area of the refugee camp on the outskirts. The area of destruction is roughly 500 by 600 meters.

Israel has shown clear evidence that the area had few civilians. Those who were there were encouraged to leave before the house-to-house fighting.

In the camp, the IDF uncovered 3.5 tons of terrorist weapons. Homes were booby-trapped with explosives controlled by cell phones. Ambulances approaching the area contained explosives and arms. Even closets and refrigerators and television cabinets were stockpiled with weapons. The camp was a terrorist's lair and factory.

There is absolutely no evidence of a massacre, and, frankly, no reason for the camp to be rebuilt. In fact, those who talk about dismantling Jewish settlements should turn their attention to dismantling all "refugee" camps, which are the real obstacles to peace since they harbor and encourage suicide bombers and terrorists. The Saudis and other wealthy oil states might want to hold a telethon to raise money for permanent housing for the Palestinian Arabs they claim to support.

Israel, for its part, should demand that the destruction of these camps be part of any present or future negotiations.

Sharon's Campaign

This relatively minor police action has elicited obsessive media frenzy and thousands of commentaries in virtually every single national newspaper, radio program, and network news. On April 22, 2002, the New York Times had a half page map of the entire so called West Bank, complete with arrows, colors, symbols, icons and topographical scales that must have resembled General Eisenhower's strategic papers. A little dose of of reality is in order. The entire area of the so-called West Bank is exactly 2270 square miles -- roughly the size of Delaware. Kosovo is twice the size. So are several cantons in Switzerland, to say nothing of several ranches in Texas, and Native American reservations in Arizona.

Israel, including that area, is about 10,500 square miles, the size of New Jersey. So, it is not exactly a vast empire, but a small space within the millions of square miles controlled by surrounding Arab enemies. Sharon's campaign is really like going into a different borough to hunt down serial killers. The most serious casualty of the media frenzy surrounding Israel's operations in Judea and Samaria is our nation's war on terrorism coverage, now relegated to the back pages.

In the New York Times of April 23, there is again front-page coverage and several pages inside the first section dealing with Israel. The terrifying news that Al Qaeda may have the means to develop and smuggle a small nuclear device rates one column on page ll. This marks the success of a deliberate attempt by the Arab nations to derail our determination to remove Saddam Hussein. The Arab League's coordinated and systematic manipulations of the Israel-Arab conflict, tying all coalition efforts to U.S. involvement and pressure on Israel, have rendered our own President and Secretary of State hostage to a crisis they cannot solve. They are best advised to abandon the so-called peace project and resume our own crucial and just war.

The Prince of Araby

On CNN, April 25, Andrea Koppel waxed ecstatic over Renaissance Man Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. It is true, she stated, that in Saudi Arabia women may not drive, sit in the front seat of a car, open a bank account, or appear in public without a face and head covering. However, the Prince was looking into reforming all that. She gushed about his vast knowledge, his ability to watch 55 televisions in one room, and how he means what he says. This is the prince, it must be noted, who was invited for a cook-out, but delivered a shakedown to our President. While Andrea babbled on, the ribbon news reported that 79% of respondents to a CNN poll said they don't trust Saudi Arabia. I guess this proves that 79% of the American public is smarter than Andrea.

May 2002               - 11 -               Outpost