Eureka! American top brass make the Israel/Palestine/terrorism connection

General David Petraeus, head of the United States Central Command and perhaps the most influential member of the American armed forces, has solved a simple equation. Earlier this week, in testimony before the Senate armed services committee, the general declared that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict posed a threat to American interests. He said it "foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favouritism for Israel" and that "anger over the Palestinian question" aided al-Qaida and other jihadist groups to recruit supporters.

This follows a briefing of the top brass at the Pentagon by senior officers of U.S. Central Command that Israeli intransigence was damaging American standing in the region, and that Arab leaders now considered the U.S. too weak to stand up to Israeli.

The only question is what took these guys so long to figure out the obvious. Survey after survey of the Arab people has shown an overwhelming antipathy toward Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians. Indeed, if the Americans had listened to the Arab street, they would never have blundered into Iraq. Or they could listen to the terrorists themselves. Every time Islamic extremists justify their violence, at the top of the list is the suffering of the Palestinians.

And how could it be otherwise? How could the Arab people be anything but furious at the treatment of their Palestinian brothers and sisters at the hands of the Israelis? And how could they not be angry at the United States for its massive support of the oppressor?

The toxicity of the Palestine problem has spread throughout the world, reaching New York on September 11th, 2001. The American military may be primarily concerned about the cost building Greater Israel brings to American soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, but American civilians have also paid a heavy price. The military, largely immune to the pressure of the Israel lobby, are free to say so. Now if only the politicians will listen.