Shame on You, Madeleine Albright.

• Author: Ashrawi, Hanan

In her interview on NBC's Meet the Press (Sunday, October 8, 2000), U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright represented the epitome of the willful blindness, moral vacuum, human insensitivity, political cynicism, and strategic ignorance that have characterized the U.S. handling of the Arab-Israeli "peace process" and the Palestinian Question in particular.

When asked about the U.S. abstention on the U.N. Security Council's Resolution 1233 deploring the (anonymous) "provocation carried out at Al-Haram Al-Sharif in Jerusalem on 28 September 2000" and condemning (also anonymous) "acts of violence, especially the excessive use of force against Palestinians," Albright immediately waxed apologetic.

She was defensive not about diluting the text of the resolution and eliminating any explicit reference to Israel's culpability, not about abstaining when the U.S. should have cast an affirmative vote in condemnation of the horrific and tragic loss of Palestinian lives (mainly children), and not about American passivity before the very visible crimes against humanity that are being committed by Israel with impunity and arrogance.

Rather, Madam Albright expressed contrition at not casting a veto on this hesitant, apologetic, and inadequate expression by the international community of minimal recognition of Palestinian humanity and suffering.

Why? Because the U.S. wants to "safeguard" its role as an "evenhanded peace broker."

To the Palestinians, this came as a complete surprise since the U.S. has never been evenhanded or fair or even remotely human in its brokerage of the peace process.

Given the chance to atone, however modestly, for such double standards and bias, the U.S. once again insists on failing the test of moral integrity and humanity.

Worse yet, Madam Albright (with a straight face) declares in a cold and deliberate tone that the Palestinians have "placed Israel under siege."

I immediately assumed that she had confused her nouns, and that she had inadvertently given the converse version of reality.

In the next breath, however, and with the same deadpan, expressionless, emotionless, glazed look, Madam Albright repeated: "Those Palestinian rock throwers have placed Israel under siege," adding that the Israeli army is defending itself.

At the risk of tediousness and redundancy, it is appropriate to remind Madam Albright of a few basic facts that may have escaped her notice:

It is Israel that is the belligerent occupant of Palestine (and not...