Within days of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Bush administration prepared to recognize Palestine and push Israel to accept pre-1967 borders
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Israel’s God-Given Land
The Bible is clear that God promised much of the Levant as an “everlasting possession” to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac. While God exiled them because they forsook the covenant, God’s covenant is everlasting and He promised He would bring their descendants back.
God stood behind this covenant at least twice in the 20th century, in 1948 and 1967. In both of these years, Israel’s neighboring countries tried to remove them from the land. Against overwhelming forces, Israel prevailed and gained more of its covenanted land. The outcome of the muti-front Six-Day War in 1967 could only have occurred by God’s hand. Miraculously, Isreal defeated overwhelming forces from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Lebanon in just six days.
In the Six-Day War, God delivered land including the Golen Heights and the West Bank that Jordan had taken in 1948. In doing so, God gave Israel a much-needed barrier between it and its hostile neighbors.
Ever since that day of victory, the world has tried to force Israel to return the land to the same Arab nations that tried to wipe it off the map. And there is a long history of catastrophes befalling those who push Israel to do so.
It appears that this was exactly what the Bush administration was about to do on the eve of 9/11. 9/11 diverted America’s attention to more pressing matters in the Middle East and likely forstalled Bush’s plans. Could there have been a connection between President Bush’s plans and the terrorist attacks of 9/11?
A Hint of Bush’s Plan Before 9/11
An article appeared in the New York Times on October 2, 2001, entitled, Before Attacks, U.S. Was Ready To Say It Backed Palestinian State. According to this article, unnamed Bush administration officials claimed before the 9/11 attacks, they were on the verge of announcing a plan that would include U.S. support for creating a Palestinian state.
The officials stated that Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was to announce this to the United Nations General Assembly. This would be the first time a Republican President would back creating a Palestinian state. The speech was also reported to include settlement of border issues, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and possibly Jerusalem’s future.
The National Security Council meeting decided in the first week of September that this plan was to be presented to the UN in the last week of September.
Days later, terrorists struck America.
Details of the Bush Plan Revealed
President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell revealed their intentions in two subsequent speeches to the UN.
On November 11th, President Bush addressed the UN General Assembly and stated, “We are working toward a day when two states, Israel and Palestine, live peacefully together within secure and recognize borders as called for by the Security Council resolutions.”
This speech was significant for two reasons. 1) According to the Institute for Palestinian Studies, this was the first time that the U.S. had used the term Palestine to describe an independent Palestinian state. 2) Bush referred to borders as called for by the Security Council Resolutions.
What borders was Bush referencing? The primary UN resolutions that deal with the Isreal/Palestinian borders are Resolutions 242 338, and 1322. The latter two refer to 242, issued after the Six-Day War, which demanded Israel withdraw from the “recently occupied territories” and demanded sovereign “independence of every state in the area.”
So Bush was calling for Israel to return the West Bank to Jordan (which it illegally invaded in 1948), the Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights. These territories are absolutely critical barriers for Israel’s defense from nations that want to destroy it.
If there was any ambiguity in Bush’s statement, Colin Powell made it clear and even went further. One week later on November 19th, he addressed the UN General Assembly. In this speech, he used the term “occupied” to describe these territories five times. This is a heavily loaded word because it infers that Israel has no ownership or rights over these territories.
This term stands in direct opposition to God’s covenant with Israel.
So what was the impact of 9/11 on these plans?
The Impact of 9/11 on the Bush Plan
In the months to follow, it is clear that the 9/11 attacks changed Bush’s plans. According to the New York Times article, “in the aftermath of the attacks… [Powell] signaled to friendly Arab countries that the administration would follow through on its desire for a more visible role in the Middle East by the United States. But the Israeli-Palestinian initiative was postponed.”
We all know what happened next. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and the Bush administration became embroiled in Middle East wars and nation-building.
Twenty years later, with the disastrous pull-backs from Iraq (with the rise of ISIS) and Afghanistan, we can look back on 2001 with perspective. The victim’s families, the U.S., and the world were forever changed, yet the issue of Israel’s borders continues. And the nations continue to overwhelmingly oppose Israel on this issue.
Many times over Israel’s history, God allowed enemy attacks on the nation to bring about repentance. This raises the possibility that in the U.S.’s meddling with Israel’s land that God allowed the 9/11 attacks to occur. This possibility is bolstered by a long history of U.S. disasters coinciding with Presidential interference with Israel’s borders. (my next post will address this topic)
While we cannot say for sure that President Bush would have succeeded in his efforts, we can see from history that he carried through with his stated plans, wise or ill-advised.
Very insightful. I believe the greatest threat to the USA is our politicians monkeying around with Israel!