Dangerous spiral

If the suicide bombing attack in Haifa, which killed 19 and wounded 50 Israeli Jews and Arabs, was unquestionably a crime against humanity, ...

If the suicide bombing attack in Haifa, which killed 19 and wounded 50 Israeli Jews and Arabs, was unquestionably a crime against humanity, the Israeli air strike against Syria is a clear crime against the UN Charter. The difference is that while all civilised people across the world condemned the terrorist attack, some are silent on the act of violence against another country. The UN Security Council must take cognisance of both acts of terror. The central question remains unanswered: would the strike against Syria actually help in restoring the peace process, or would it only add to the spiral of violence? German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder is right in saying that the air strike deep into Syria would make the 8220;peace process more complicated8221;, especially since the 8220;sovereignty of a country is violated8221;. France has termed the Israeli strike as an 8220;unacceptable violation of international law and sovereignty rules.8221;

Both Israel and the Palestinians must recognise that continuing on the downward spiral of violence is unlikely to achieve peace for them. And without peace and a commitment to solving problems through mutual adjustment, there can be little hope of restoring the rights of the deprived and a promising future for the young. The anger on both sides may be understandable. But what the innocents of the region require is statesmanship by the leadership on both sides which seems to have been in short supply. The US is the only country with the power and influence to press them to move toward the road map that it had tried to craft. Unfortunately, the road is slippery with blood, and the map only seems to serve the purpose of launching ever more strikes. The time may have come for the international community to take a more active interest in resolving the problems.

Israeli intelligence is acclaimed as one of the very best in the world. But initial reports of the air strike suggest that there may be serious deficiencies in the evidence on which the strikes into Syria were based. Most countries would be very careful about the facts and the reason for an attack into another sovereign country even if it were seen as unfriendly. Syria claims that even the political offices of the Islamic Jihad on its soil have been closed down. More important, photographic and other evidence that formed the basis for the strike should be available; and this can easily be compared with the realities on the ground. Israelis and Syrians would be well advised to place all evidence before the international community to establish their respective claims. The world is currently being subjected to the spectacle of intelligence mismanagement by two of the world8217;s most advanced countries for political ends. It cannot afford another such mismatch.