Posted April 17, 2002

Moral Authority

I have come across your site by sheer accident, a happy one by the way. I have been following your editorials on the events in the Middle East with great interest.

These days the "war of terror" in Afghanistan has been moved from the headlines by Israel's terrorist attacks on Palestine. I strongly support the Palestine cause, though I believe suicide bombers blowing themselves up in markets, restaurants and the like are of very little help to the legitimate claim of the Palestinian people. Anyway, Israel has been getting away with simply too much, for less than that NATO bombed Belgrade in '99 (but then nothing has been done yet in Chechnya, so this kind indifference is not unknown).

Now, and at last, the US and the EU seem to be putting some pressure (though mild) to stop the invasion of the Palestinian Territories. However I've been asking myself these last days: what is the moral authority that George W. Bush and Tony Blair have to put that kind of pressure on Israel? Aren't their military forces doing exactly the same kind of thing in Afghanistan?

Congratulations again on your excellent site.

~ Maximiliano B., Argentina

What Made America Great

Keep up your invaluable work. You are what made America great and can again.

~ John M., Australia

Killing Civilians

[Regarding Ran HaCohen's column of April 5, "Suicidal Truths":]

Jan B. (Canada): Surely you have seen the pictures of proud Hamas fathers with their little boys all decked out in fake explosives. Surely you are familiar with the whole idea of going to heaven and getting 72 virgins that these people are brainwashed into believing. They are taught that their own lives are worthless and that they would be best spent blowing up infidel Jews. In other words, they are made to end their own lives -- and the lives of others.

You wrote that "It is not up to you to end someone else's life." If the Palestinians don't qualify in that regard by dooming their own kids to a future (that ends at the ripe ol' age of 19-22) of being ripped apart in a crowded cafe by explosives, then what the hell does constitute ending ones life?

Ran HaCohen: Palestinians educating their kids to martyrdom? I was also raised on Joseph Trumpeldor's "it is good to die for our country" (see my column, "Israel -- a Suicide Bomber?").

JB: You then proceed to expose yourself as being yet another anti-American with serious tunnel vision:

"...only very few backward countries still practice death penalty: Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States. Except for such few exceptions, all other countries have integrated the 'sacredness of every human life' into their legal system and forbid taking the life of any person by another person."

Is legal text all that you base being "backwards" on? What about the Arab nations that treat their women like cattle? What about all the dictatorships around the world that don't allow an opposition or elections and kill/torture those who object?

Granted, the USA has a lot that I don't care for, but it's ridiculous to call them "backwards" in light of the 90% of the world that is far worse. There's a reason why so many people go to the USA as opposed to flee, ya know.

RH: Indeed, the death penalty isn't enough to call the US "backward". But I could also mention global warming, the international criminal court, abortion rights, political theology ("axis of evil") and several other issues in which the US is a prominent arriere-garde.

JB: While you agree that killing innocent civilians is "morally reprehensible under any circumstance" and "unforgivable" you then make a series of ridiculous comparisons in an effort to prove that the Palestinians are no different than the USA: "Just like the American bombing of the shelter in Baghdad in 1991, killing 400 Iraqi civilians."

That attack was the result of the US believing it was a communications facility and not expecting the Iraqis to use it as an air raid shelter. What would the USA have had to gain from intentionally killing 400 innocents other than bad PR and an infuriated enemy? Civilian deaths occur in all wars! It never ceases to amaze me how eager anti-Americans are to compare accidental civilian deaths with cold-blooded slaughter. The civilian bombing deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan were not intentional and cannot be compared to what a suicide bomber does. The US takes great precautions in its bombing and you know it. Were Hamas or Al-Qaida at the controls of an air force they would carpet-bomb every Israeli and US city!

You sidestep this reality of war by saying: "The question of intention is a poor refuge: if you enter Ramallah with 150 tanks, cutting water supply and medical aid, if you drop tons of bombs on Afghanistan or Iraq, don't tell me you never intended to harm civilians."

You obviously have a very twisted view of what war is like -- one where two armies can duke it out and not kill any civilians at all. Using your bizarre logic, when police and bank robbers exchange gunfire and a bystander is shot and killed in the battle, the police meant to kill the civilian! I cannot describe to you how ridiculous you sound when you say that intent doesn't matter. Do you not see the difference between manslaughter and first-degree murder? Why do you think most justice systems hand out more serious penalties for the latter offense? If I were to accidentally hit and kill someone with my car, am I no different than a serial killer? Think about it!

RH: You are convinced the Bagdad shelter bombing was unintentional; I am not. Anyway -- if the pictures from Jenin aren't enough for you -- remember the Israeli bomb killing 100 civilians in Kafr Qanna, Lebanon 1996. An independent UN inquiry concluded it was intentional. The US, typically, pressed UN General Secretary Boutrous Ghali to suppress it. He defied the US, and was punished by being replaced by Kofi Annan a year later.

Rapture

I noticed that in Justin's April 12 column, he talks about the "self-fulfilling prophecies" of Messianists who want to start war in Israel in order to bring about Biblical Armageddon. Let me assure you that not all Pre-Tribulation Premillenialist Christians (i.e. those who believe that the Rapture will occur, then the 7-year Tribulation, then the Millennium, as in the Left Behind novels) are in a hurry to see the Rapture.

I let God take care of fulfilling prophecy; my job is to do His will for me in the current age.

~ Michael J. "The Glaivester" Jose

Libertarian Principles

Wow! Justin Raimondo's piece in Laissez Faire Books was fantastic. I have often wondered how Objectivists have been able to rationalize blind support of Israel and enthusiastic support of war. His piece titled "Who's Afraid of Virginia Postrel" was also great. It seems that political expediency has become more important than principle for many libertarians.

I'm also enjoy reading Ran HaCohen's column "Letter From Israel". I'm glad to see that not all Israelis support their government's policies and that some Israelis do view the Palestinians as human, worthy of equal rights as Israelis. Keep of the good work!

Instead of renewing my Libertarian Party membership or buying a new subscription to Reason, I will shortly be giving Antiwar.com some money. It seems that you are the ones that truly understand libertarian principles.

~ RS, Minnesota

Media

Being a foreigner to this country (Pakistani by birth), as a child I used to think about the US as a country that had everything in order, but as a grown up individual everything seems flipped upside down. I don't even know what would happen to people who carry the light of peace and justice to the American people. Then I realize that I already know what will happen to them. They are called Traitors if they are Americans and they are called Terrorists if they are foreigners like me. Now by looking at the biased media coverage I once again realize that it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that American media networks are acting like dictators, not just providing the American public with information but forcing them to accept it. What a democracy.

~ NS, Texas

Bumper Stickers

Idea: How about printing up some bumper stickers that say, simply, Antiwar.com in big, bold letters? Sell 'em for a couple or three bucks, or send 'em to people who contribute. I would put one on my truck for sure.

~ Steve Smith, Chapel Hill, North Carolina