Fateful Triangle

Aftermath663they have reported on their release; see chapter 5, section 5.3 for a fewexamples. Many Palestinian men have disappeared in the zones controlledby Israel’s client Major Haddad. * Given the general lack ofinterest in this matter by Westerners who would be concerned if thevictims were human beings rather than Palestinians, and who would beevoking images of the Nazis if the victims were Jews, it is impossible tooffer a fuller accounting.6.5.3 More on HypocrisyReturning to the charge of “hypocrisy” expressed by Israel with regardto angry U.S. unofficial reactions, one can again perceive its merit. Theinitial U.S. response encouraged Israel to proceed into West Beirut, andit was only reasonable to expect that some version of Sharon’sprocedures would be implemented once the population was left defenselessby Israeli military operations.The essential point was expressed quite accurately by MeronBenvenisti, the former deputy mayor of Jerusalem whose research onthe settlement programs was discussed in chapter 4:What’s our Army if not the product of American aid? Didn’tReagan proclaim Jewish settlements on the West Bank “not*Personal communication. For more information, see the references cited in note139 and chapter 5, section 5.3; also “Women at risk,” Middle EastInternational, March 4, 1983, describing the techniques used to force womenleft alone with their families to inform on their husbands or pressure them tosurrender to the Israelis, for example, the case of Abla al-Hassan, taken to anIsraeli prison leaving her four children (one an unweaned infant, one amongoloid) without care.Classics in Politics: The Fateful TriangleNoam Chomsky