The Foreign Service Journal, September 2003

(as seen in the April 22 speech by Newt Gingrich, reported in the June AFSA News ). They are no friends of ours. There are many dedicated, hard- working officers who are uncomfort- able with current trends in U.S. for- eign policy but who are already past the midpoint of their careers and are unwilling to voice open dissent in the current climate or to face the eco- nomic risks of resigning before they are eligible for retirement. That is what makes the actions of the three officers who resigned recently so courageous and, to my mind, praise- worthy. Perhaps David should have con- sulted more of his Foreign Service colleagues, both active-duty and retired, before launching his intem- perate attack on those three brave officers. Nicholas A. Stigliani FSO, retired Okinawa, Japan Acts of Integrity David T. Jones’ attack on the three FSOs who resigned over Iraq policy was both offensive and fatuous. The fact that they cut short their careers on principle speaks for itself in answer to Jones’ libelous implication that they were “time-serving drones.” To take the ultimate step of resign- ing over policy disagreement short years before retirement eligibility, as was the case with at least one of the three, is an act of highest integrity, whether or not one agrees with their reasons. Brady Kiesling worked for the government with passion and bril- liance, and his departure from our ranks is a loss to mourn. Jones’ attempt to besmirch the honor of those who resign over principle is con- temptible. Mark Fitzpatrick FSO Department of State Don’t Blame the Palestinians I served as deputy principal offi- cer in Jerusalem from 1976 to 1980 and would like to comment on Claude Salhani’s article in the June issue, “Resolving the Palestinian Question.” Much of this article is good analysis of the Israeli- Palestinian struggle. However, there is a glaring and significant misstate- ment when the author puts the blame primarily on the Palestinians for the non-resolution of this strug- gle. He quotes that old saw of Abba Eban: “The Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” This is as inaccurate as it is unhelpful. The real fact of the matter is that the Palestinians have seldom had any opportunity offered to them. On the contrary, for decades the United States looked on the Palestinian issue as a refugee prob- lem and denied there were any Palestinian national rights. After the PLO was formed, the U.S. and Israel refused to recognize it during the 1970s and 1980s. It was only when Israel dealt with the PLO in Oslo in 1993 that it became possible for the Palestinians to have an ongoing rela- tionship with the United States. One may criticize the Palestinians for many errors, but one should not single them out as the reason for the non-resolution of the Israeli- Palestinian issue. That prize must at least be shared by the U.S. and Israel. It is because of our failure to deal properly with the Palestinians since 1948 that the Arab and Muslim worlds have been so enraged at us. History would have been so much different if we had dealt with the Palestinians as generously as we have dealt with the other party, Israel. Donald A. Kruse FSO, retired LaGrange Park, Ill. Middle East Myths Ambassador Kampelman’s article, “Toward a True Israeli-Palestinian Peace” ( FSJ , May), contains perhaps the most partisan, pro-Israeli version of Middle East history I have ever read. The ambassador’s claim that the Occupied Territories are actually not “occupied,” but merely “disputed,” is preposterous, especially in light of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s recent proclamation that the “occupa- tion” must end. Perhaps Amb. Kampelman should visit the Occupied Territories and explain to Palestinian refugees who have suffered under Israeli curfews, closures, travel restric- tions, checkpoints, arrests without trial and home demolitions that they have not been living under military occupation these last 36 years. I also find Amb. Kampelman’s claim that Arab nations should have “absorbed” Palestinian refugees racist. The insinuation here is that all Arabs are the same, so why should they have the right to live where they choose? After the 1999 Kosovo conflict, no one told the Kosovar refugees that they should be “absorbed” into Albania and Macedonia, and rightfully so. The ambassador should recognize that most refugees don’t want to be “absorbed” into another country — they want to have the right to return to their homelands. Finally, as Amb. Kampelman begins to analyze the current intifada, he dubiously perpetuates the twin myths that Ehud Barak generously offered 95 to 97 percent of what the ambassador refers to as the “Disputed” Territories during the most recent Camp David talks, and that Arafat rejected the generous offer and instead launched the “terrorist intifada.” Nearly all recent accounts written by those at the Camp David talks, including a piece in the New York S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7 L E T T E R S