Posted December 2, 2002

Memories

Regarding "Forged Memories" by Nebojsa Malic:

Thank you very much for throwing the light over events in former Yugoslavia. I am one of the "aggressors" in Croatia. My ancestors lived and defended the land for centuries, ... subjected to genocide 1941-1945, and finally ethnically cleansed in this latest war. Please continue to tell the truth. I lost most of my family in west Slavonia during World War II. In this war our refugee columns were bombed when escaping Croatian Ustashis and others.

~ Rhoda Dimitrov

Media Rubbish

I thoroughly enjoy reading Nebojsa's articles. I get so frustrated by the ridiculous state of affairs in the Balkans with all this US/UK meddling. Even yesterday, in The Daily Mail in the UK, admittedly a rubbish right-wing newspaper, they were talking about human-trafficking and immigrants coming into the UK from the Balkans, implying that the main transit point was Belgrade, yet in the article, Belgrade barely gets a mention, unlike Sarajevo, and there is virtually no reference to the real troublemakers, i.e. the Albanians. It happened again on the UK BBC1 10pm news on Monday evening, they talked about the problem of smuggling out of Kosovo. But whose fault is this? It must be Albanians again, and only because the UN are there instead of a decent police force, like the Serb/Yugoslav one. I'm not being anti-Albanian, but all the time when there is trouble in the region they blame 'the Balkans' or 'former Yugoslavs' in general, when most of the time it has nothing to do with the Serbs, but of course they are the 'evil' ones according to western media.

~ Andrew B., UK

Corporate Media

Would it be possible for you to use less corporate media in your newswire stories? I realize that you have to use some for veracity as well as for purely practical purposes. However, do you really think that this corporate slant is appropriate for an antiwar site? I mean, the L.A. Times! I strongly suggest you reduce your reliance on such blatantly corporate media. As a Canadian, I suggest you look outside the typical American bias and glean more material from Canadian sources. Moreover, check out the CBC, The Globe and Mail, National Post (still corporate but way less than the average newspaper in America).

...I love your site but it needs a little variety and a little less corporate media. If given the choice, I would happily read the Guardian every day on your site.

~ Neil M.

Managing Editor Eric Garris replies:

Would you be willing to help? Most of our stories come from volunteer researchers. If we got more submissions of links from Canadian sources, we would run more. I would definitely like to broaden our sources. Send news link suggestions to egarris@antiwar.com.

Fort Riley National Guard Medic

During George I Gulf War a woman doctor in Kansas refused on moral grounds to report for active duty with her Guard unit. Her objection was that she was going to be used against the women and children of Iraq. And she refused to do this. The Kansas Board of Healing Arts revoked her license to practice medicine in the state of Kansas.

At a time when everybody seems to be running tail and hiding behind Stars And Bars there are (very) few unsung heroes. I don't know this woman's name, but if I did I would try to find a plaque somewhere to inscribe her name

~ Debby D.

Wagging the Dog

So, let me get this straight: Bush is this helpless little fella being bullied by War Party flacks into waging war in the Middle East on behalf of Israel.

And what of this vast conspiracy theory that JR keeps flouting as the god's honest truth about the whole business behind 9/11? Once again Bush and his ilk are cast as a mere innocents in the whole affair, and all of the blame for what happened that day lies at the door of Israelis and Muslims – JR's vast Muslim/Israeli conspiracy theory.

What's in it for JR to take this Pollyannish view that completely dismisses the gains that were clearly to be realized not just by the Bush administration from this catastrophe, but the entire Washington establishment? Why does he refuse to acknowledge the possibility that Bush and his ilk indeed knew? Are they not capable of 'wagging the dog'?

He can't accept the fact that any conservative could possibly do any wrong. It would reflect badly on him and everything he values. Conservatives, particularly the American variety, must remain beyond reproach come what may to everyone else.

His are not the views of a libertarian. Libertarians take an institutional view of the State. It matters not one whit what party is in power at any given moment or what their agenda might be. The mere fact of their presence in the State apparatus is deemed the source of all misery-inducing activity.

~ Alan Koontz

Rabin's Assassination: A precursor to 9/11?

You have no doubt heard the expression: the more things change, the more things stay the same. I just came across a very interesting article from the Toronto that suggests Noble peace prize winner Yitzhak Rabin wasn't killed by a lone gunman, but rather that he was murdered as part of a plot organized by Israeli intelligence with the goal of undermining the peace process and protecting the dream of a Greater Israel. Another article from Ha'aretz suggests that Shin Bet had foreknowledge Yagil Amir might attempt to assassinate Rabin, but did nothing to prevent the attack (Sound familiar?). Now, the question arises, if Israeli intelligence and elements of Rabin's own party could conspire to assassinate their own Prime Minister in order to sabotage the peace process, what other radical steps might this clique take in order to guarantee their dream of a Greater Israel? Hypothetically speaking, could this clique of Israeli extremists make common cause with a group such as Al-Qaeda (assuming, of course, Al-Qaeda was willing to ignore the Palestinian issue), if they thought such an arrangement would bring them closer to their dream of a Greater Israel?

~ GM

Kenya Netanyahu?

Sharon reiterated a statement he had made earlier in the day, that the terror attacks were an attempt "to influence the elections in Israel."
~ Haaretz

Keep in mind that these attacks all occurred while Israeli elections were happening, and included an attack on a Likud voting station. Who could possibly benefit from an upsurge of terrorism against Israelis? The organization which took credit has never been heard of before.

When Sharon was in a coalition with Peres, it was easy to note how Sharon could have been initiating attacks on Palestinian leaders while
ceasefires were being discussed so as to provoke suicide bombing retaliations. Now the fulcrum has shifted further to the right, and it could very well be that it is now Netanyahu who represents the most intransigent force, and which will use even self-inflicted, false-flag attacks on Israel and elsewhere to justify their plans for Palestinian 'transfer' aka ethnic cleansing.

These attacks have the effect of hardening the resolve of Americans to go to war in the Middle East and Africa. Intensifying the easily activatable fears of Americans, and evoking empathy from Jews in North America and Europe, these attacks help to galvanize support for war with all comers – Iraqi, Saudi, etc.

Finally, another thing to note is that last week US intelligence experts were cautioning that surface-to-air missiles were the next major category of threat that had to be dealt with. Could there also be an intent to use this event to justify a crackdown on international arms sales?

This could fit into the emerging pattern of a systemic split with the networks that fought the Cold War on one side versus those that feel compelled to cut out of the action their former henchmen. From Noriega, to Saddam to al Qaida, and maybe even sections of the CIA and Mossad, we could be seeing the mounting conflict from those who were allowed to make big money in the fight against the Soviet Union, as they are being pushed to the sidelines by the real ruling mafia families who are operating via the Pentagon and OHS. In this light, the Kenya incidents could be the results of this desperate struggle and have little to do with indigenous Arab struggles against the empire. Although the specific operatives could have been Arab guerrillas acting according to their strong convictions, but incited and enabled for a specific time, place and manner of action determined by the targeted country's strategic goals. ...

~ SN