The Hindu : Suicide bombing may undercut U.S. plans

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 23, 2002

International

International

Suicide bombing may undercut U.S. plans

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA (BAHRAIN) Oct. 22. The suicide car bombing that killed 14 people in northern Israel has arisen as a fresh challenge to the U.S. effort to subdue resistance in the region to its plans to force Iraq to disarm.

A Palestinian bomber on Monday drove a car packed with 220 pounds of explosives into the back of an Israeli bus as it stopped to pick up passengers. The collision ignited a series of blasts that burnt the bus completely. The Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said, was meant to avenge the assassination of its founder in 1995, and the killings of several Palestinian civilians in recent Israeli raids.

The U.S. now apprehends that any exaggerated retaliatory action by its ally Israel will anger Arabs in the region and increase opposition to its plans to consider using military force against Iraq.

Aware of the U.S. concerns, Israel has signalled that it might not retaliate in big way immediately, while keeping open the option of a selective strike. Israel's Interior Minister, Eli Yishai, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, said on Tuesday, "Although I think that an extensive operation should also be considered, at the same time a harsh, precise response must be carried out.''

The U.S., apart from seeking to influence reactions on the Arab street, is also addressing its other concern of opening another front in case of a war with Iraq. Washington wants to roll out ethnic Kurds, residing in northern Iraq against the regime of the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein. This move is, however, being vehemently opposed by the NATO ally, Turkey and Iran. Both Turkey and Iran that have Kurdish populations of their own, fear that an upheaval in northern Iraq would lead to the creation of an independent Kurdish state in that zone.

Turkey has threatened to use military force to prevent the emergence of an independent Kurdish state, while Iran, on its part, has said that "it is hostile" to such a proposal. The Turkish resistance to the involvement of the Kurds in unseating Mr. Hussein, has, nevertheless, opened an interesting diplomatic opening for Washington.

The question now being asked of the Turks is: Will they, in case they do not wish to involve the Kurds, compensate by expanding their cooperation with the United States to open a second front against Baghdad? Not surprisingly, talks related to the Kurdish question and Afghanistan took place on Monday in Turkey between the U.S. Central Command Chief, General Tommy Franks, the NATO commander, General Joseph Ralston, and the Turkish Chief of Staff, Hilmi Ozkok.

While an official dialogue between Iran and the United States has not begun, there have been reports that Iran may be willing to provide the U.S. and Britain two bases for operations against Iraq.

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