Fairness and Justice Throughout the Mideast

Re “Now the U.S. Has to Live Up to Its Promises,” Commentary, April 10: Rami Khouri reminds us that until the U.S. treats all Arabs with fairness and justice, it will not be trusted in the Arab world. He specifically mentions U.S. support for Israel and the need to award Palestinians with a secure land of their own. Khouri omits -- just as the world seems to have ignored -- the tragedy of another enslaved Arab people in Lebanon.

Lebanon has been occupied for 20 years by Syria. All of Lebanon’s elected officials and all of these officials’ actions and statements serve Syria, not Lebanon. In addition, Syria has armed and supports one of the world’s most vicious terrorist organizations, Hezbollah, inserting its paramilitaries into southern Lebanon as well as enabling it to become an influential political party in Lebanon’s sham parliament. A free Lebanon would have had friendly relations with Israel, but as a vassal state of Syria it lives to reject the existence of a Jewish state.

Seeking justice for Palestinians is a humane imperative, but unless freedom for Lebanon is given at least as much importance, along with the acceptance of a Jewish state, then hopes for a just and free Middle East will remain a dream.

Larry Shapiro

Rancho Mirage

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It is important to note that Khouri correctly identifies the Mideast conflict as “the Arab-Israeli conflict,” not the standard journalists’ “Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

I have long believed that if a leader representing the Arab world, all the Arab world, would suggest a peace conference with Israel, surprising results could be achieved. But as long as it is up to the Palestinian leaders, without the backing of all the other Arab leaders, can one really expect peace in the Middle East?

Michael Risman

Santa Monica