The Wall Street Journal December 11, 2000 Review & Outlook Barak Resigns "The logical outcome of retreat," Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have remarked, "is surrender." One would think that as Israel's most decorated soldier, Ehud Barak appreciates the sense of these words, both in politics and in war. Yet as prime minister, Mr. Barak has championed a very different kind of strategy -- the strategy of pre-emptive surrender. That it has now brought him to announce his resignation should surprise no one. Look at the record. The prime minister thought that he could throw Syria off balance and score political points with the West by surrendering Israel's position in southern Lebanon ahead of schedule. He thought he could do the same at Camp David by surrendering Israel's most valuable negotiating chits -- the division of Jerusalem, possession of the Jordan River Valley -- when neither Bill Clinton nor probably even Yasser Arafat expected him to do so. He avoided a vote of no confidence last month by surrendering to calls for early national elections. Now he has again taken everyone by surprise by surrendering his own seat (something he pledged not to do only two weeks ago), though he will remain in office at least until elections are held in 60 days. The outcome of all this is well-known. Israel's northern flank lies exposed to guerrilla attacks. It faces a Palestinian uprising on a scale not seen since the 1930s. It faces unanimous hostility in the wider Arab world and near-unanimous hostility from the West, especially in Europe. And now it faces a grave domestic political crisis. Mr. Barak believes that an early election will sideline Labor party rivals such as Knesset speaker Avraham Burg or Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami. Mr. Barak also hopes his resignation will block out his most popular potential opponent, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is not now a member of the Israeli Knesset and so is ineligible to run in an election solely for prime minister. That would allow Mr. Barak to face a more vulnerable opponent, septuagenarian Likud party leader Ariel Sharon. The Knesset could also pass a law allowing non-members such as Mr. Netanyahu to run in a race only for prime minister (Mr. Netanyahu announced his intention to do so yesterday). This seems a likely scenario as a device to postpone a general election in which many left-of-center Knesset members might be swept away by a Netanyahu landslide. But a Netanyahu victory in such an election would lack a corresponding parliamentary mandate, thereby crippling the government from the outset. There can, of course, be little doubt that Israel will ride out the current tempest, especially once Mr. Barak departs from the scene. Like his Washington mentors, the Israeli Prime Minister has proved not a statesman but a consummate political tactician, always hoping that through clever maneuvering he can evade the responsibilities of campaign promises and "red lines," of principles and consistency. Like his Washington mentors, too, he has shown a remarkable willingness to put his own political needs and ideas ahead of those of his country, thus giving the lie to the very name of his party, "One Israel." Fortunately, the Clintonian politics of spin cannot survive for very long in an environment where bad ideas are swiftly followed by bad consequences. And what follows? Mr. Barak may win another mandate, though it's hard to see what he can possibly do with it. The Palestinians, having rejected his most generous overtures last summer, will not now settle for less. Instead, we're likely to see the ascendancy of either Mr. Sharon or Mr. Netanyahu. These men come from different generations and have very different political styles. But they share an important premise: that in the Middle East today, as elsewhere in the past, "Never Surrender" is a better motto than "Peace Now." New poll 11.12 The Gap Widens! Latest interviews with Netanyahu (Hebrew) interviews with Netanyahu (english) Views of the current situation in Israel Opening Campaign, Netanyahu Invokes 'Will of the Nation' BIBI: THE BEST HOPE FOR PEACE "Never Surrender" is a better motto than "Peace Now" Letters to Netanyahu Facts about the current crisis in the Mid East News update |
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