On one hand, we can understand that President Bush wants a broad coalition to help in the battle against terrorism. On the other hand, we have a lot of difficulty with some of the countries Bush is courting.
For instance, the administration is trying to bring Syria on board. Damascus has been on the U.S. terrorism list for years, and it continues to harbor numerous terrorist organizations. There has been no indication those terrorists will be expelled any time soon.
Saudi Arabia is part of the coalition. But that’s the country that gave birth to Osama bin Laden, and his family members are still prominent, affluent members of Saudi society. Are we to believe bin Laden gets no money or support from his family? That presumption would be naive.
And what about Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians? The Bush administration is exerting a lot of pressure on Israel to reach some kind of deal with Arafat quickly. If that issue can be resolved, it is hoped that other neighboring Arab states such as Egypt and Jordan will also participate fully in the coalition, But let’s not forget that 10 years ago, the Jordanians supported Iraq during the Persian Gulf War.
Meanwhile, Arafat has surrounded himself with Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Hezbollah and other militant groups that get funding from Iraq and Syria.
And how can we ignore the fact that countries such as Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Saudia Arabia are rife with militant Muslims who not only support bin Laden but may even be members of his terrorist cell?
Yes, we need the help of those countries to battle Afghanistan’s Taliban. But can we trust these countries not to betray us and to really help us?
Maybe we need to insist that before joining the coalition, they perform some demonstrable good-faith action such as ejecting members of Hezbollah or Islamic Jihad from their midst.
If not, the coalition will be suspect from the start and its chance of any real success doubtful.