Saudi peace plan a dupe

The so-called Saudi "peace plan" is a joke that almost the entire world is falling for. It is merely a diversionary tactic to mask real problems in the Middle East.\nAfter Sept. 11, many people started to question how Saudi Arabia really feels about the U.S. After all, most of the hijackers and bin Laden himself were born and raised in Saudi Arabia. They were exposed to its culture, education and religious institutions. Having most of the participants in the largest terrorist attack in history coming from your country does not exactly help public relations. \nNow the Saudis want to look like peacemakers and make Israel look bad in the eyes of the world. Basically the Saudi idea is that if Israel withdraws from all the lands that came under its control in 1967, then the entire Arab world will make peace with Israel. That is the most absurd notion I have ever heard. Why, after Sept. 11 and the facts it made apparent, did they make a proposal they know won't work? \nAsking Israel to withdraw to the pre-'67 borders is asking Israel to commit suicide. Every competent military analyst knows those borders are indefensible and they were once even referred to as "Auschwitz borders" by a prominent Israeli diplomat.\nIt is important to remember the pre-'67 borders were armistice lines, not a permanent legal border. They would have been a permanent legal border if the Arab states had listened to Israel's offers and made peace but they didn't, including Saudi Arabia.\nThen in 1967 the Arab states were poised to destroy Israel. The government-owned and operated press in the Arab states was full of proclamations and promises about destroying Israel once and for all. Then Egypt fired the first shot by closing an international waterway to Israeli shipping. Surrounded by the armies of seven Arab states, Israel was forced to fight for its very existence.\nIn the course of six days, a great deal of territory came under Israel's control, over 90 percent of which has already been returned in a peace deal with Egypt. After the war Israel offered a full withdrawal from all the territory captured in return for peace with the Arab states.\nA few months after the war, the leaders of the Arab states met in Khartoum, Sudan, at an Arab League summit much like the one in Beirut last week. They came up with a unified policy regarding Israel -- there would be no negotiations with Israel, no recognition of Israel and, most importantly, no peace with Israel. And to this day the fighting continues.\nI think the media should report the Saudi plan for what it really is: a big joke. If the Saudis really wanted peace with Israel, I don't think they would grant a free trip to Mecca for the family of every suicide bomber or give so many millions of dollars to the terrorist groups that set bombs in Israel's pizzerias and cafes. If they want peace so badly, why have the Saudis refused every offer by Sharon or other Israeli officials to meet and discuss their plan? \nThe Saudi plan is just a ploy to change the discussion in the Middle East. Unfortunately, so many people have fallen for their trick. We in the U.S. have only one true friend in the Middle East. Our friend and ally Israel will not abandon us in our time of need, and we should support her in these difficult days of history.