Posted December 10, 2002

Accommodation

Regarding "The Israelization of America" by James Brooks:

The article by Mr. Brooks is all too true. I use much the same argument among my Israeli-American friends, usually to little avail. It is a source of amazement to me that the Israelis, in Palestine, or worldwide, really believe they can now win. I relate often the lesson of Outremer, the one hundred and eighty year occupation of much of the same area by the Europeans during the Crusader era. Israel's one, that's one chance of success always depended on accommodation with, and by the Palestinians and the rest of the Arabs. Egypt, Arab in culture but not in race, and Syria and Lebanon, ditto, would never have been a problem, except for the alienation of Israel's brother Semites. When, and if, we launch the Killing of Iraq, and make no mistake, the term "war" is euphemistic here, we kill the last chance for Arab accommodation with Israel.

Power will not avail Israel, any more than it availed the USSR, if she is surrounded for the next several centuries by hundreds of millions of Arabs all of whom detest her, and wait for revenge. The only chance Israel has is to quit lying, accept the fact that it has seized another groups properties by force, and began immediately to compensate lavishly her victims, and seek to assume her natural place in relation to her Arab brothers. She should be a guiding light, leading a hungry Semitic homeland into the modern era, beloved and respected by her own people, the entire Semitic subculture. The Parsees in India are something of a case in point. Anyway, Mr. Brooks, keep up the good work, and thanks for a fine article.

~ Max Cadenhead

Due Process

Regarding "The Israelization of America" by James Brooks:

Your commentary is direct and correct. It should be added that the thieves are seeking Iraq's oil fields and as of late have been scouring about, seizing assets of charities that may or not donate to Islamic charities. This seizure is being done whiteout due legal process. Strange new concepts these days.

~ Joe Salzano

Bias

Regarding "The Israelization of America" by James Brooks:

...As someone who has lived in Israel and feels strongly about protecting her at all costs, I don't condone the behavior of the Israeli government or the military. Having said that, the term "occupation" is one that dangles dangerously from Mr. Brooks' lips. Mr. Brooks' article implies, no make that directly asserts, that Israel is an unprovoked bully – randomly picking on any Arab neighborhood to get rid of some bullets.

...This isn't true. And saying it is negates the very cause I normally support: The freedom for Arabs to live a life with basic human rights and the ability to make choices regarding their own independent government. Nowhere in your article to you hold accountable the Palestinian "leadership". Nowhere in your article do you site the textbooks praising the destruction of Jews. To accurately describe a situation like the one in Israel and the entire Middle East you must point a finger, of equal size, at all parties involved.

As a Jew whose family lives in Israel, I wish the US would get its grubby paws off the land – would butt out and leave Israel to its own decision- and policy-making. But regardless of the repugnant attitudes among the modern Israeli leadership, Mr. Brooks has no right to rewrite its history. A history begins well before you decide to start paying attention. The Jews who lived in Israel (specifically in Jerusalem, Tzfat and Hebron – where the population was overwhelmingly Judean until only the last 100 years, and dispersed only through violence and policies conveniently forgotten by Palestinian citizens clamoring for truth) all the way through, and survived the regime-changes and denial of rights to govern and own land – are they so easy to discard as you seem to believe? That would make you an Ariel Sharon/George Bush/Donald (shudder) Rumsfeld in liberal clothing. Preaching the same bias with different names and nations inserted in virtually the same sentence. ...

~ L. Grossman, Northeastern Pennsylvania

Opposite of David

Regarding "The Israelization of America" by James Brooks:

I recently became aware of the injustices in Palestine by a friend I met in medical school. I guess the media in America tells us only what they want us to hear, and portrays Israel as the helpless "David" protecting himself when its actually the opposite. I am really shocked and stunned by what I have learned of the situation in Palestine. I feel helpless as to what is going on in America's foreign policy. The fact that the we taxpayers are funding the Israeli occupation is alarming to me, and want to see an end to this free money for killing innocent people. I hope I do not get into trouble for voicing my opinions. Please let me know what there can be done to try to ameliorate this situation. I know I can't do much, but maybe your information can educate me and others as well.

~ Edward Ferrer

Flogging Schwartz

Regarding "Portrait of a War Bird" by Justin Raimondo:

I subscribed to the Anderson Valley Advertiser for almost the entire 1990s, and editor/owner Bruce Anderson flogged Schwartz almost weekly. Part of his methodology was to print rants by Schwartz and then mercilessly attack. Despite being on opposite ends of the bogus "political spectrum," Anderson and Raimondo remind me of each other – this is a supreme compliment to both!

~ Renny G.

Red Star

Regarding "To Russia, With Love" by Justin Raimondo:

I don’t think the Russians had any option but to invade Chechnya. They don’t have the resources to build a giant fence around it and patrol it, and – you may find this upsetting – they may have wanted to protect the few remaining Russians living there who hadn’t been forced into slavery, killed or cleansed. The population did shrink by 2/3 from the end of the first war to the start of the second.

The Red Star was Leon Trotsky’s idea. It represents communism on 5 continents. Now, if you were to read Leon Trotsky's books, reread again and again until you can understand them, you would be able to explore the issues. You would know that the flagrant fascism of the USA state isn’t just the result of a few crazy fascists like you imply, it’s the inevitable result of economic and social crisis for which no solution within the bounds of capitalist economy and class society exists.

~ Peter F., Japan

End Military Aid

Regarding "Our Incoherent Foreign Policy Fuels Middle East Turmoil":

Excellent article by Ron Paul. End all military aid to those Middle Eastern countries, including Israel – it's all madness leading us into an endless and bottomless pit, stealing from American taxpayers all for naught. Not to mention most of us know or have a relative in the armed services, most young people, who are being dragged into conflicts that are not threatening the United States, the country they signed up to save, but some other place in the world the U.S. has allowed itself to get too involved with. It's insane!

~ Jean Rogers

Vets

Regarding "Our Incoherent Foreign Policy Fuels Middle East Turmoil":

I was inspired by Mr. Paul within seconds of hearing his comments on the resolution vote. And I didn't even know who he was. I rarely vote for donkeys or elephants, but anyone who not only holds, but embraces historical context, common sense, and an obvious willingness to trust transparency, the truth, would get my vote and loud vocal support anytime.

I hadn't been to a veteran parade since I was a child. But this year I marched with Vets for Peace and was overcome with emotion ... – what a slap in the face to every vet anytime servicemen are sent anywhere for anything frivolous! And how often are the goals "frivolous"? And if they are sent somewhere frivolous, and come back debilitated, how can we not supply them with more care than they might ever need? Let alone, reneging on promises....

~ David A.

Hypocrisy

Please excuse me if I decline from joining in on the effusive praise given to Ron Paul by the writers of the letters posted on December 6, 2002, for his Antiwar.com article "Our Incoherent Foreign Policy Fuels Middle East Turmoil." Rep. Paul states, "The decision to attack [Afghanistan], while treating some of the region's worst regimes as 'allies' is just the latest example of the deadly hypocrisy of our foreign policy in the Middle East."

Rep Paul needs to ask himself who provided the Executive Branch with the cover to make the decision to wage the hypocritically deadly war upon Afghanistan. It was none other than the United States House of Representatives with its passage (also passed unanimously by the Senate as S.J.R. 23) of House Joint Resolution 64 Bill Summary & Status whose summary says in part "Authorizes the President to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons, he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on 9/11/01...." In other words the President with the backing of Congress is judge, jury, and executioner in deciding who was involved in 9/11. It should be noted that Rep Paul in the Final Vote Results for Roll Call 342 voted for this resolution.

Until Rep Paul, or for that matter any other member of Congress (save Barbara Lee of California who voted against it), renounces his vote upon this resolution he cannot credibly speak out against the United States' hypocritical foreign policy without himself being a hypocritical antiwar spokesman who speaks out of both sides of his mouth in voting one way for one constituency, and arguing the other way for his other constituency. Then again, what else is new with the political class?

~ DW

Read and Heed

Regarding "I Want My Country Back" by Harry Browne:

Excellent article! Well said – couldn't agree more – now if only some of the "flag-waving, mass media believing, pro-Vietnam war, glad we nuked the Japanese" types would take time to read and heed it! ...

~ Michael Hauser

Fantasy of the Forefathers

Regarding "I Want My Country Back" by Harry Browne:

Why must Americans always perpetrate this fantasy of it having been a peace-loving, benevolent country, of the "forefathers," somehow carrying the virtues of saints? America has never been a peace-loving, benevolent country, at any time in its history: Mexico, Hawai'i, the Native American nations (one of the greatest holocausts in history, making the World War II holocaust of the Jews pale in comparison – a systematic decimation of an entire continent of people. Have you ever researched just how many people lived on the continent before the arrival of the Europeans?), the Philippines, Japan before Pearl Harbor (an event that cannot be considered an attack on American soil, because Hawai'i was a sovereign kingdom, not part of the United States at the time. Hawai'i was forcibly overtaken by the American government), Britain before American independence (how would Americans feel, and what would the American government do, if Oregon were to try break away from the Union?), Cuba, Rhodesia, Chile, etc.

I agree with just about everything that you wrote in your article and am glad to see more people now speak out against what is happening both in America and in other countries. I don't hate Americans (I am German/ Filipino and grew up here in Japan), but day by day as I watch what the America is doing, my anger grows to fury. I can barely keep my fists from clenching or a scowl from forming when I see Bush appear on the evening news. I am not a man who hates, and am fundamentally opposed to violence of any kind, but with Bush the feelings are growing into loathing. After more than a year the feelings are at an explosion point. I believe these feelings are about to boil over all around the world, certainly not just in the Arab world. Daily I endure the thunder of American war planes passing over my apartment, shaking the windows, and at times making it hard for me to listen to my music or concentrate on my job as a writer. The whole world feels as a victim of a mugging might feel, pressed up against an alley wall with a knife to your throat. Perhaps the US hasn't driven the knife home yet, but the fear of that possibility is affecting everyone.

Just who the hell do Americans think they are? I live in this world, too.

Now if I can feel these feelings and am quite a moderate man of peace, just think what people in other places with less tolerance and patience feel. It is when no one makes complaints that the possibility of murderous hatred is lurking beneath the surface. What Bush and the American presence is doing to the world can only be guessed at, but I certainly don't have any benevolent feelings for the US right now. And it is hard not to despise those Americans who support what is going on. Don't even ask about Israel, the nation that continues to criticize Germany for World War II, but thinks nothing of doing what it is doing now; a nation whose modern existence grew out of the horror of the holocaust, has the gall to justify itself right now – and the US supports them!

In just one year the world has become an unbearably intolerable, ugly place. I don't want America back. I want America to be stripped down to size, to be part of a fair and balanced equilibrium, wherein everyone in the world has access to prosperity, safety and freedom, not just Americans. It is time for Americans to stop talking only among themselves, as if no one else is in the room. Being big and muscular never gave anyone the right in domestic law to bash everyone else around. Why should that not also apply to the whole world?

~ Miguel Arboleda

Life in a Police State

Regarding "I Want My Country Back" by Harry Browne:

Your essay is excellent – can it be published in the major newspapers and magazines? The American people who are glued to MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, and the other major networks seem to be clueless as to what is happening to their country, their freedoms, and their collective morals. I think it is not an exaggeration to compare the US with Hitler's Germany, considering that there seems to be direct correlation between the aggressive, invasive international practices and the amount of repression and, in fact, police-state type policies being pursued domestically.

I hope that you and others will not shy away from such descriptions with a view to recent history, because perhaps that comparison will alert Americans to the reality of life in a police state such as that of the Third Reich. In some respects, the police state we may face could possibly be even worse, given all the technological advances that will and are being used to intimidate and control citizens who do not agree with government policies.

~ Naomi Jackman, New York

Middle Path

Regarding "What Really Happened at Srebrenica" by Nebojsa Malic:

I am a frequent visitor to Antiwar.com and the victim of a Serb concentration camp as well.

Antiwar.com, being a strong critic of US foreign policy, does a good job, but sometimes tends to go the extreme and side with everybody who might be an 'opponent' of the US policies.

I have read Nebojsa's article three times and tried to find the middle path. He has not presented one. He criticises the 'official' version of the story and supports his own version by citing links of the websites that in the past (and in the present) openly propagate hatred towards Bosnian Muslims and Croats (Serbian Unity Congress – check the archives). He did not cite single website with the 'official' version presented. He laughs at the victims of the massacre that took place in Eastern Bosnia. Is he trying to divert the readers' attention by highlighting the the fact that some people involved in the event were criminals (being a thief does not necessarily make you a murderer)?

Srebrenica was not where genocide happened. It was Bosnia and Croatia where genocidal hatred inspired by power circles in Serbia were translated into ethnic cleansing and genocide....

Present all versions to the reader and let them judge the arguments themselves. ...

~ Dragan Bosnawi

Nebojsa Malic replies:

Neither my article nor the resource page on Srebrenica contain a "middle path," if only because I do not believe splitting the difference is a meaningful epistemological practice. Nor did the article offer my version of events – it merely suggested that the official version was absurd, and an insult to those who really lost their lives in and around Srebrenica during the war. To that extent, I've offered some (by no means all) links to resources indicating gaps in the official theory, and argued the necessity of establishing what really happened without resorting to either mythomania or political whitewashing. Those who talk about "concentration camps" and "genocidal hatred" ought to back those harsh words with some evidence, yet there never seems to be any. Only more words, assumptions and allegations – and, of course, condemnation of anyone who dares to challenge any of them. When I expressed my controversial opinion on this understandably tender topic, I signed it with my full and real name – something that my critic in this case has avoided doing. So much for searching for the truth.

Sauron in Washington

You should have seen Charlie Rose last Tuesday!

They had on Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, and Viggo Mortensen plugging The Two Towers.

Viggo was wearing a "No Blood For Oil" T-shirt and Rose let him denounce the war and American foreign policy in general and the attempts to link them with the Lord of the Ring trilogy.

I thought of Justin's commentary from last year when Fellowship of the Ring came out. I'm thinking about sending Viggo a hard copy.

~ Eric Martin

In a Moment's Time

(for Philip Berrigan)

The presses might have stopped in their tracks
Television might have shut down in mid-commercial
The Internet might have gone off line – and
The War might never have begun –
If only for one moment of praise.

But none of this happened –

While those of us who know
And those of you who knew
Silently morn the passing
of an impeccable hero.

~ Hammond Guthrie

Charlie Rose Show

I was very pleased to watch the interview of Jessica Matthews (Carnegie Endowment) on the Charlie Rose Show. It seems that Main Street is starting to realize the dangers of the war against Iraq and the whole issue of the preemptive policy. The most important part of her analysis was that Bush is trying to find an exit to the war after all the campaign in that direction started by his hawkish partners. Ms. Matthews final analysis is that Bush will not go to war quite soon, something that Justin Raimondo also had analyzed a few weeks ago. I have the feeling that most of the American elite already know the real truth but prefer to stay silent to avoid problems. However, everyday there are more people that are starting to talk regardless the consequences, like the actor Frodo Mortensen.

I hope that real truth someday can be exposed to the general public and not only to the readers of Antiwar.com and other almost underground publications. ...

~ Eduardo Kamisato

Who Are the Bad Guys?

I would like to address this war with Iraq like a 6-year-old. Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. They are bad. The United States has weapons of mass destruction too. We are good? Many other countries also have weapons of mass destruction. They are better?

My point is that we detest Iraq for no real plausible reason, other than that they threaten some of our resources. We should condemn Saddam because he kills his own people, rather than killing more of his people. We had the chance to save Iraq from Saddam's rule over 10 years ago, but we pulled out as soon as our oil was safe. Who are the 'bad guys'?

~ Homo Erect