For top EU diplomat, terrorists are not so terrible
IMRA ^ | 12-4-04

For top EU diplomat, terrorists are not so terrible

Geostrategy-Direct, www.geostrategy-direct.com, December 7, 2004

Javier Solana's mandate is for Europe to compete with the United States for influence in the world. So, when it comes to the Palestinians, Solana's credo is "Anything you can do, I can do better."

As a result, Solana, foreign policy chief of the European Union, has been negotiating with Hamas as well as with other groups the EU itself deems as terrorists. In 2003 the EU, under U.S. pressure, designated Hamas a terrorist organization. But Solana made sure that the decision was never implemented.

Over the last 18 months, Solana has been secretly meeting Hamas to discuss its role in any future Palestinian state. Solana, a former Spanish foreign minister, bragged that he held secret talks with Hamas in 2004, more than a year after Brussels banned the group. Solana said the meetings were meant to explore the positions of Hamas and determine whether it would be prepared to end attacks against Israel.

"I have had direct contact with Hamas, but not in the last few days," Solana said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. "Those meetings were not long. They were just to pass a clear message of where the international community was."

Solana did not specify when the meetings took place. He said the last meetings were months ago and at the time held the promise of a political breakthrough.

These days, Solana represents EU foreign and defense policy and may have as much if not more power than anybody else in Europe. He has been selected by the Council of the European Union to be its first foreign minister under the new EU constitution, expected to be ratified by 2006. Solana will be in charge of a 26 billion euro budget, more than the budgets of most nations.

Solana has long represented European security. He served as NATO secretary-general from 1995 until 1999 and was regarded as exercising more power than anybody else at the post. In 1999, Solana was given sole power to make all military decisions over NATO operations in the Balkans. This included whether NATO should bomb Yugoslavia, a policy pressed and implemented by the United States. All this from a man who wrote a pamphlet in his openly Marxist days, "50 Reasons to Say No to NATO."

Solana then left NATO to take the EU posts of High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, dubbed the czar of European military and foreign policy. According to former NATO military chief Gen. Wesley Clark, Solana's rule of thumb has been: "Make no enemies. Then never ask a question to which you do not know or do not like the answer."

Solana has been careful with whom to make enemies. In July, he clashed with Israel, particularly Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who refused to meet the visiting Solana. Solana arrived in Israel and said that whether Sharon liked it or not, both he and the EU would remain active in the Israeli-Palestinian decision-making process.

As EU foreign policy and security chief, Solana has spearheaded the EU's opening to the Middle East, specifically the Mediterranean states. He wooed dictatorships, notably Syria, in joining the Treaty of Association, meant to result in a Mediterranean free trade zone by 2010. Solana brushed off concerns by Britain, France and Germany that Syria was a terrorist sponsor and weapons of mass destruction proliferator and completed negotiations for Damascus to join the EU association.

Solana has now approved an EU grant of $937 million to Middle East states in 2004 to promote peace, particularly between Israel and the Palestinians. Where will that money go? Even EU parliamentarians acknowledge that one beneficiary will probably be Palestinian terrorists.

"There have been persistent reports that the Palestinians have used foreign aid, in particular from the European Union, to finance terrorism," a report by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies stated. "The EU has provided the Palestinian Authority with 2 billion euros [$2.7 billion] since 1993 and it is the largest single contributor of direct budgetary assistance, giving 112 million euros [$149 million] between January 2003 and June 2004. The EU vehemently denies that EU funds have been used by terrorists but has launched an internal investigation into the claims."

In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, even a small amount of money can buy a lot of terrorism. On Nov. 25, Israeli special operations forces killed two senior Hamas operatives and critically injured a third in Hebron. Israeli military sources said the Hamas operatives were responsible for the double suicide bombing in Beersheba in August 2004 in which 16 people were killed.

Israel captured 400 members of the Hamas network just in Hebron, an indication of the size of the terrorist organization.

"Each cell was instructed to carry out shooting attacks in the Hebron region, but also to help the Hamas headquarters to recruit suicide bombers, prepare them for attacks and film them, and also to purchase arms and materials for the preparation of explosive devices," an Israeli security source said.

In August 2004, the Hamas cell in Hebron recruited terrorists to gather intelligence on targets in Beersheba. Two operatives were given suicide belts and sent for a final night in a brothel before the attack. On Aug. 31, the two operatives were given 300 shekels in travel expenses and sent to Beersheba. Hours later, two buses exploded and 16 Israelis were killed.

"The cell used a great deal of weapons and tirelessly recruited suicide bombers, until they reached a point where there were more suicide bombers than suicide belts," the security source said.

But Solana, who was briefed by Israel on Hamas activities, had no problem meeting the terrorist group. EU sources said Solana's mandate was to convince Hamas to agree to a ceasefire through a series of incentives.

One incentive was the continuation of Hamas fundraising in Europe. The United States expressed disappointment with EU policy toward the Palestinian organization. U.S. officials said the EU, which designated Hamas a terrorist group in 2003, continued to allow Hamas to raise money.

"There are still charities operating within Europe that we have designated in the United States that in our view are clearly funding Hamas, and therefore funding terrorism and should not be operating," said Stuart Levey, U.S. Treasury undersecretary for enforcement and head of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Solana's boasting of his Hamas meetings has generated embarrassment for British Foreign Minister Jack Straw. During his visit to Israel last week, Straw had sought Israeli approval for expanded EU involvement in security issues in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Asked about Solana's statement, Straw refused to say whether the EU official's meetings with Hamas represented the policy of Brussels.

That left Solana with egg on his face. So, hours after his interview, Solana's office merely retracted the entire interview. The office said that neither Solana nor the EU met with Hamas.

"At no time did Dr. Solana wish to imply that direct contacts between himself and Hamas had taken place," Solana's office said.