Were the State Department to Speak in Plain English
There is an American diplomatic disease that seems to choke plain English. Secretary of State Rice met with Abu Mazen, the Palestinian “President” whose party lost the January election and who is contemplating a civil war to restore his station. She “stressed the need to find ways to help the Palestinian people,” according to The Washington Post. Dr. Rice said, “I’ve been discussing with the president ways that we might be able to better address some of the great needs that are there with the Palestinian people.”
There is an American diplomatic disease that seems to choke plain English. Secretary of State Rice met with Abu Mazen, the Palestinian “President” whose party lost the January election and who is contemplating a civil war to restore his station. She “stressed the need to find ways to help the Palestinian people,” according to The Washington Post. Dr. Rice said, “I’ve been discussing with the president ways that we might be able to better address some of the great needs that are there with the Palestinian people.”
As patriotic Americans, we offer language for the Secretary for use in helping the Palestinian government help the Palestinian people: “Stop spending your money, your political capital and the lives of your children in pursuit of the destruction of Israel. Don’t kill anyone. Don’t venerate killing. Don’t steal. Don’t lie.”
Or, say it in the affirmative: “Build Palestine where you are instead of coveting that which you do not have and will not get. Teach your children the skills modern men and women need to live in a globally wired world. Grow food. Build buildings. Plant trees. Read books, preferably history and politics, that encourage the building of a positive nationalism. I recommend Hamilton, Madison, Lincoln and Herzl.”
That was fun. Let’s try it on the other apparent subject of American-Palestinian discussions, Abu Mazen’s request for arms and equipment for his secular terrorist army ostensibly so it can do battle with Hamas’s religious terrorist army.
Suggested language for Dr. Rice: “No.”
America’s experience with Palestinian “police” and “security forces” is that they exercise their upgraded skills and equipment against Israel. We should refuse to further enhance their capabilities. In the meantime, all factions of the Palestinian government have been engaged in smuggling arms and equipment from Egypt. Abu Mazen wants to keep that particular arsenal for use against Israel and get a new one for internal use. If he wants to conquer Hamas, fine, but he’ll have to want it enough to use the weapons he already has.
One more. Dr. Rice told Abu Mazen she would ask Israel to open Gaza border crossings to make “movement and access” easier for the Palestinians and “to make possible a life … that is not subject to the kind of daily humiliations that we know have been associated with the occupation.”
Suggested language for Dr. Rice: “I’ve changed my mind.”
The Karni crossing has been closed because of Palestinian terrorism and the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. Israel is under no obligation to make Palestinian terrorist “movement and access” easier, nevertheless, Karni was reopened Tuesday as a gift. It was immediately closed by a strike of Palestinian government workers. The Palestinian government, not Israel, causes the “daily humiliations.”
Plain English isn’t hard. Now, if we could only get the State Department to try it.