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May 13, 2005

Arab League Brings Its Hostility to the United States into the Western Hemisphere

The first summit meeting of Arab and South American leaders was held this week in South America:

South American and Arab leaders opened an unprecedented summit Tuesday aimed at ushering in a new wave of cooperation and undercutting the international influence of the United States.

...The leaders will hold two days of talks, and are expected to join forces by signing a “Declaration of Brasilia.”

...The draft summit declaration also condemns Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and denounces terrorism but asserts the right of people to resist foreign occupation, according to the document approved by foreign ministers Monday.

...They also lash out at U.S. economic sanctions against Syria and denounce terrorism. But they assert the right of people “to resist foreign occupation in accordance with the principles of international legality and in compliance with international humanitarian law.” The clause was a clear reference to Israeli and American condemnation of the Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hizbullah.

The draft declaration states that they condemn terrorism, but at the same time opposes economic sanctions against human-rights violator and supporter of terrorism, Syria. And it supports “the right of people ‘to resist foreign occupation in accordance with the principles of international legality’”—when there is no foreign occupation by Israel, and the resistance to Israel has almost exclusively been conducted by the murder of civilians.

The hostility to Israel and the U.S. is no doubt sincere; the condemnation of terrorism appears to be lip service.