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Gen. Zinni delivers Ethics Program lecture
 Gen.
Anthony C. Zinni , USMC (Ret.), who graduated from Villanova’s College
of Commerce and Finance in 1965, delivered a lecture on the status of
peace negotiations in the Middle East for the Ethics Program lecture series
on Nov. 3 in the Villanova Room of Connelly Center.
Zinni spoke from his experience as a military commander who spent more
than 20 years in the region and also in his capacity as U.S. Envoy for
Peace in the Middle East. Zinni said that peace in the Middle East is
not irretrievable nor will it come quickly or easily. He explained some
of the issues and why dividing the area is almost an impossible task.
The Middle East is an area “where Christians see the realization
of every prophecy they believe in, where Christ comes to fulfill his Destiny,
His greatest moment and the greatest tragedy on the cross; where Muslims
believe that Mohammed the prophet, rose up in the Golden Chariot and saw
the seven levels of Heaven and returned. So this is the land that represents
your beliefs, your culture, your history, your religion, your very being--where
you’ve seen the Crusades, the bloodshed, where you’ve seen
the magnificent moments of [Muslim history], of David, of Christ, and
where you’ve seen the worst moments in your history.” Zinni
addressed the questions relevant to ethical negotiations including, how
do you sort that out for people that need that place? How do we divide
the area and what are the moral issues? Who has a greater historical right
to that? What is the significance of land? “The land is neither
very arable nor impressive, but the land is important—and so is
the encroachment of the land. The land means something to you. It’s
a place where steeped in this much history, every piece of terrain no
matter how small, has a significance—where the names ring out in
your own religious beliefs and in the history of your culture.”
The Villanova alumnus elaborated on the issues faced by the people involved
in this conflict. He empathized with their pain in watching settlements
rise up where they once lived, watching an expansion defied in the face
of agreements, how they feel as they watch the land being consumed. He
addressed the moral right to being controlled by someone else, and how
the United States fit into this picture.
Commenting on the United States’ responsibility to the Palestinians,
Zinni firmly stated that this country needs to support them. “We
have an obligation to try to empower these people—to help them.
They have to be seen as viable. The Israelis and the Palestinians are
traumatized. Their 9-11s have been the death from a thousand cuts. It
didn’t come in one blow like it did for us in the twin towers. It
has come from a series of incidents on both sides, a series of struggles,
a cumulative effect of deaths and violence—the most horrible kind--
to innocent people. They are shocked, confused, fearful, and angry. That’s
the way they vote—that’s where they are coming from. That
anger, confusion and fear has to be mitigated before you can move on to
serious negotiation., to make something last and work. And those who would
not have this work, those who advocate violence or extremism, on either
side, do not want that confusion, fear and anger to leave them. Their
acts are designed to promote [the violence] and keep it going.”
Zinni explained he had spent much time with the generals of the Israeli
defense force, and knew well how they felt about the conflict. “They
all told me, almost to a man, that “there is not military solution
to this. The military acts of retaliation only make the situation worse
and drive the Palestinian to despair. On the other side, Palestinian people
say that retaliation on their part won’t work. It won’t get
us anywhere. My Arab friends tell me the same thing. [The violence] is
destroying their societies. In my view there has to be a serious commitment
from the international community to resolve this [violence and killing].”
Zinni said that what impressed him most from the time he has spent in
the area is “the desperate need of the people on both sides to end
this thing [conflict]. What surprised me most is that the vast majority
of people saw the end solution as having to be fair and just for the other
side—not just a win for their side. If the vast majority of people
feel this way, the puzzle is why is it that we can’t make it happen
on the ground? What will it take?
The retired Marine general concluded by saying he was convinced that there
has to be a worldwide consensus for peace. “I am convinced that
there has to be a coming together of the leadership of the civilized world
and a commitment of resources, as well as the focus that makes this happen
in a concentrated way, despite whatever obstacles are thrown in our path.
It will not be easy but this in and out, touch and go, won’t work.
The sequential step-by-step arduous, painful process won’t work.
The idea that we have to deal with leaders who are incapable of making
the final solutions won’t work. Somehow we have got to empower the
people and show them the world is behind them to pull this together.”
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