The illegal Occupation of the
Syrian Golan is rooted in the USA
14 December 2008
President of Syria Bashar al-Asad
President-Elect
of the USA Barack Obama
Secretary of State-Designate Hilary Rodham Clinton
Dear Presidents Asad & Obama
& Secretary of State Clinton,
In the interests of promoting a truly comprehensive peace on all fronts of the Iranian/Arab-Zionist
dispute, I invite you to turn your attention to my 29 December 1992 letter to then US Secretary of State-Designate Warren
M. Christopher where I point out certain biases within institutions of the USA which must be overcome before we can ever hope
for a straightforward Middle East diplomacy. Please see http://www.show-the-house.com/id49.html
(Scroll down to read letter).
Once you read this letter you will see that after
16 years, absolutely nothing has changed and we are still at "square one" in "the game"; hard to imagine
if it were not true! There is still no US Government disavowal of New York Times maps showing the illegally occupied
Golan Heights as an integral part of the Jewish state; nor has the US Government stopped the practice of allowing imported
wines from the Golan as "Produce of Israel." What "confidence building measures"!
I have
concluded long ago that 99% of the battle for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East is right here in the USA!
Of course I am hoping the new administration will be different. Obama adviser Dennis Ross oversaw the decomposition
of the USA's stand that the Zionist settlements are "illegal" into a more ambiguous, Zionist-friendly slogan "obstacles
to peace"; do we really need a continuation of this? I am ready to serve the cause of just peace if you are willing
to consider an entirely different "two-state solution" that is a compromise anchored in UNSC Resolution 242 and
inspired by the only provision in the Constitution of the USA never yet exercised.
S. St. John
Will a revolutionary
idea of our founding fathers bring peace to the Middle East? Please see http://www.show-the-house.com/id4.html.
Stephen M. St. John
Post Office Box 449
Rockefeller Center
New York, NY 10185
*************************************************************************************************************************
Mr. Warren Minor Christopher
29 December 1992
Secretary of State Designate
United States Department of State
2201 "C" Street
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Mr. Christopher,
I wish to congratulate you on your appointment to be our next Secretary
of State and, as a private citizen of the United States, I should also like to bring to your attention two aspects of the
Arab-Israeli dispute that, in my opinion, deserve your immediate attention.
First, there is a big problem with the highly influential "newspaper of record" The
New York Times, which, for the better part of the Reagan administration and all of the Bush administration, has repeatedly
published maps that depict the Golan Heights as part of Israel and show diagonal lines denoting "occupied by Israel"
on the West Bank and Gaza regions only. A recent example of just such a map appears at the left. [below]
As I am sure you know, this map showing the Golan Heights as part of Israel is not consistent with the declared policy of
the United States Government. The editors of The New York Times, in effect,
have granted their own recognition of Israel's illegal annexation of the Golan Heights in 1981, which our government has always
refused to do.
Of course, the press is free to publish
whatever it sees fit to print; yet, inasmuch as these maps are very misleading not only to the general public but also to
foreign visitors as well as a whole generation of young students, it is imperative that someone of stature and authority set
the record straight. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you, as Secretary of State, write a letter to the Editor of
The New York Times and declare that their maps, such as the one shown above, do not
reflect the foreign policy of the United States Government, but instead tend to distort and to undermine the true policy objectives
of our Government. Your letter will naturally afford you an excellent opportunity to affirm the United States Government's
adherence to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 and the Charter of the United
Nations.
My second point likewise provides an opening
for the United States Government to assert our nation's visible and pro-active support for Resolution 242 and the Charter of the United Nations, only this time an influential newspaper with an agenda of its own and the resources
to manipulate public opinion is not involved; rather, the issue of importation into the United States of wine produced on
the Golan Heights and bottled with labels that read "Produce of Israel" indicates a Department of Commerce policy
that directly contradicts the declared policy of the Department of State. Our government's official approval of the
importation of Golan Heights wine as a product of Israel is tantamount to de facto
recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan. Therefore, I once again strongly recommend that the Department of
State should advise the Department of Commerce to investigate and reverse its current policy that permits Golan wine to enter
the United States as a product of Israel. A label from such a bottle of wine from the Golan Heights is reproduced below.
Both points outlined above -- The New York Times's maps that depict the Golan Heights
as part of Israel and the Department of Commerce's apparent view that Golan wine is Israeli wine -- I have strived to bring
to the attention of the Bush Administration, but my efforts to instigate corrective measures were to no avail.
In the final analysis, the two points that I have made in this letter
raise serious questions about integrity and credibility, so it is my sincere hope that you see the wisdom of taking a strong
stand on both of them as an "on the ground" confidence-building measure, thereby avoiding the mistake of the Bush
Administration. Otherwise, how can the Arabs have confidence in our Government as an "even-handed broker of peace
in the Middle East" when there is so much evidence of an institutional bias that seems to prejudge the outcome of negotiations
in favor of Israel? What is at stake is our Government's leadership role and the over-all effectiveness of the United
Nations Organization.
I firmly believe that when the Arabs see
that our Government has the will to act forthrightly in the 1981-1993 propaganda war for the Golan Heights right here in the
United States -- even if doing so would require an in-depth look into the background and circumstances of the USS Liberty
incident of 8 June 1967, which is the reasonable goal of the surviving crew -- then they will be ready, willing and able to
help in our Government's efforts to establish a just and lasting peace with the State of Israel. Pursuant to that noble
but elusive goal, and as the sole author of An Eight Part Peace Proposal for Greater Jerusalem,
I'd be very happy to work with the Clinton Administration toward making my unique and comprehensive proposal a viable policy
option for all the parties to the Arab-Israeli dispute.
Very truly yours,
Stephen M. St. John
cc: Mr. Ron
Brown, Secretary of Commerce designate
Mr. Phil Tourney, President, USS Liberty Veterans Association
my file
cc: HE Farouk
Ash Shara'a, Foreign Minister of Syria
Mr. Eitan Haber, Head of Prime Minister's Bureau, Jerusalem
HE Klaus Kinkel, Foreign Minister of Germany
cc:
HE Boutros Boutros Ghali, Secretary General of the UN
HE David Hannay, UK ambassador to the UN
For
those who have read this far, I think you will agree that after seventeen full years, we are still stuck at square one.
In 2009, The New York Times still publishes its obnoxious maps showing the Golan Heights
not as occupied Syrian territory but as an integral part of the Zionist state. And the Golan wine is still imported
into the USA with labels that read "Produce of Israel"!
The
lesson to be learned is that the principles of a sound foreign policy should be reflected first at home; otherwise, we cannot
act with confidence and respect abroad.
Mr. Christopher did not reply to my
letter, and within a year it became apparent that the Zionists were intent on a feigned separate peace with the Palestinians.
The Syrian Golan Heights issue was off the agenda altogether at Oslo and throughout the administration of George W. Bush.
Now we can only hope that the Barack Hussein Obama Administration will be more forthright in its approach to the Middle
East, first at home and then abroad.
