Editorial: This isn’t how U.S. should treat an ally

Friday, Oct. 5, 2001 | 4:30 a.m.

The U.S. government is building a wide-ranging coalition to fight the war on terrorism. That has resulted in the courtship of Arab nations that have for years been harboring or supporting terrorists. Last week these same Arab nations not only had the gall to say that Israel had committed terrorist attacks, but many also said that their support for a war on terrorism is conditioned on solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to their liking. In turn, the U.S. government has put pressure on Israel to resume peace talks with the Palestinians, despite recent terrorist attacks against Israelis.

Finally Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had enough. Last week he warned the U.S. government that it was in danger of appeasing Arab nations in the same way that European countries appeased Hitler before World War II. In response, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that Sharon's comments were "unacceptable." But rather than dismissing the prime minister's take on the situation, the White House should reassess how it is treating this longtime, trusted ally, a democratic nation located in a region of the world filled with dictatorships that typically view both Israel and United States as enemies. The Bush administration should be reminded that this is not the way to treat our friends.

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