Bedein Leaves More Questions Than Answers

Back on August 10, Bedein wrote in US Pressures Determine Israeli Policy:

Yet, one of the common assumptions over the past two years is that the Sharon government's plan to expel Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria, and unilaterally hand the area over to an independent Palestinian entity, had been an entirely autonomous Israeli decision.

It can now be determined that the US government was behind it all along.

Apparently he is saying that the US is behind the Disengagement and initiated it. But looking at the sources he brings in his article to prove this point seem to only indicate that the US is pressuring Sharon to follow through on the idea as part of an agreement with the US, an idea that Sharon picked up on back in 2003 after opposing the idea during the election.

For instance:

1. Sharon's answer to Rabbi Cohen: "This is what the U.S. StateDepartment is demanding that I do, and I must do it". [After Sharonkept pushing the Disengagement, what did he expect?]

2. "Sharon is now making it clear that he is under pressure from theU.S. government, and that its that." [Pressure from the US on this isnothing new--Sharon made a promise and the US expects him to deliver]

3. "In meetings with concerned American citizens, Danny Ayalon, Israeliambassador to the U.S, clearly states that Sharon's disengagement planis part of an overall Israeli-American agreement." [An agreement--nomention of it being Bush's idea; and the US expects Sharon to do whathe agreed to do]

4." In late June, Ayalon met with representatives of the OrthodoxUnion, one of the largest contingents of United States Orthodox Jews,and told them clearly that "Prime Minister Sharon is left with nochoice. He is doing exactly what the U.S. expects him to do"" [Again,the US expects Sharon to do what he promised]

5. "Furthermore, the Israeli ambassador asserted that "Disengagementhas to be viewed in the context of Israel-United Statesrelations…"This pullout did not follow an agreement with thePalestinians, but it followed something which is much more important,an agreement with the United States. Disengagement is something thatcreates a common agenda between us and the United States."" [same asbefore]

So maybe Bedein is just saying that the US was "behind" the idea "all along" as in supporting it all along.

But that doesn't jive with his saying that our previous assumption was that the Disengagement "had been an entirely autonomous Israeli decision." The US being supportive all along has nothing to do with, nor does it contradict, the idea that the Disengagement being an "autonomous Israeli decision"

Besides, on December 18, 2003 at a Press Briefing with Scott McClellan we have the following:

Q Scott, if I could follow. Sharon also said, however, that if the Palestinians don't make some headway within several months on the U.S. backed road map, he's calling for implementing what he's calling "severance procedure," a procedure he said that is pursued in maximum coordination with the United States, including moving some settlements, drawing new security lines, and altering the deployment of Israeli forces. Is this a plan the administration endorses?

MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things -- one, the plan the administration supports is the road map, because that is the way to get to the President's vision that he outlined on June 24, 2002, here in the Rose Garden of two states living side by side in peace and security. And Prime Minister Sharon, as I pointed out, again said that that is the best way to achieve true peace. And we believe that the road map is the way to get to the President's two-state vision.

Secondly, we would oppose any unilateral steps that block the road toward negotiations under the road map that lead to this two-state vision. Steps that ease the conditions of Palestinian life, that reduce friction and violence, or that help block terrorist activities are, of course, part of the road map. And they are steps under the road map.

And I think what you're referring to was that Prime Minister Sharon stated that such actions, under what you discussed, would be undertaken only if there is no progress on the road map.

We are continuing to work hard with Israel and the Palestinians to make progress on the road map. And we don't think it's best, at this point, to be discussing now what to do if progress is not made, because we're staying focused, working with the parties to achieve progress on the road map.

So the US was not behind/supportive of the Disengagement all along and originally saw it as an obstacle to the Road Map.

So what exactly is Bedein saying?

He can't just be talking about increased pressure from the US to get this done, because that is clearly in the news and there is no chiddush in Bedein writing an article about it.An article with a name like "US Pressures Determine Israeli Policy" is not telling us anything that has not been true since 1948 and beyond.

And if Sharon really has been railroaded into a US planned Disengagement all along against his will, why has he not come forward saying so or resign?

If we knew for sure the beginnings Sharon's plan for the Disengagement, maybe we would have a better of idea of where this will end up.