Don't
get mad, get going!
By Gabriel Ash, YellowTimes, January 8, 2003
(YellowTimes.org) – Will there be war in Iraq? Wrong question.
There has been war against the people of Iraq since 1991. This
war never stopped; it is a war fought by the "civilized" world
with gentle, civilized weapons such as malnutrition, water contamination,
prevention of medical services, etc. The better question is: will
the war in Iraq be escalated to a ground invasion? It seems almost
inevitable, but there is still room for reading the tea leaves.
Dealing rationally with the arguments put forth by the White House
in favor of war is difficult. They are ridiculous. It must be
particularly tough for corporate journalists committed to not
insulting the administration. What can you say, beyond rolling
your eyes, when Bush recently warned of Iraqi plans for transatlantic
remote-controlled aircrafts attacking American cities? Can you
perhaps mention Saddam is also building photon torpedoes? How
can you argue with "secret evidence" of Iraqi nuclear capability
which the administration refuses even to hand over to the weapons
inspectors? Can Cheney at least tip Hans Blix about the whereabouts
of Iraq's alleged secret sites with "warm, warm, warmer, cold
again, warm, warmer"?
How
powerful the Palestinians are
By Betty Anderson, The Electronic Intifada, January 7, 2003
I just got back to Amman from four days in Palestine: Jerusalem,
Abu Dis, Bir Zeit, Ramallah, Qalqilya and Nablus. I was initially
going to write around the theme of walls - the actual ones in
Abu Dis and Qalqilya - and the myriad of kinds found throughout
the country. But, the theme really has to be the strength and
fortitude of the Palestinians. I'm in awe of how they have survived
and even succeeded in overcoming the thousands of obstacles that
face them every day. To give one example, after almost 200 days
under curfew thousands of people in Nablus just walked out of
their houses last month. Hundreds of young kids chased the Merkava
tanks and jumped on the back of some of them. The Israelis have
to keep upping the ante of violence in order to keep up with the
Palestinian ability to adapt and survive. In another example,
my friend's mother in Nablus was murdered in cold blood for the
crime of sitting on her front step during a curfew. My friend
and his family have refused to accept the silence of the Israeli
army so have kept pressure bearing down on them through the Western
media. Yesterday, the commander for the Nablus region came to
visit the house in order to investigate personally. Yet, this
energy is being expended toward survival, not progress. People
have to go through so many manufactured hoops hourly they can't
even think about the future. I also heard heart-wrenching stories
about children. One mental health workers says they're now seeing
mutism in children -- children who have gone mute in reaction
to some trauma. Another father told me his 2 year old son thinks
that "shalom" means soldier. He also refuses to eat and wants
to play only with tanks and guns (they live a block from Arafat's
compound). Girls in Abu Dis talked calmly about jumping the fence
to visit their grandfather. But I keep coming back to how powerful
the Palestinians are. Certainly lost hope is a theme of just about
every conversation but they clearly have a power to survive. It's
growing stronger with each of my trips.
A
View from the Fourth Circle
By Rami G. Khouri, Jordan Times, January 8, 2003
Signs of making war and peace in Jerusalem -- JERUSALEM —
The signs are visible on the street and in talks with people from
all walks of life here in Jerusalem that three significant political
developments are taking place simultaneously among Palestinians
and Israelis. First, the current, violent course of local history
increasingly is being determined by mass popular sentiments on
both sides, while official leaders often only react to events
without being able to guide them. In Israel and Palestine alike,
the centre of gravity of political decision making and ideology
continues to shift from the top towards the bottom, from the government
to the community. Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat spend more and
more time these days issuing a dizzying combination of statements,
warnings, threats, pleas and promises that make more noise than
impact. Both men are nearly immobilised by the mass anger and
fear of their respective populations and the intense ideological
competition within their very pluralistic political establishments.
At best, Sharon and Arafat can try to manage popular fear and
anger; at worst, they feed and aggravate their people's fear and
anger by pandering to these emotions, usually choosing political
expediency over statesmanship.
A
few inconvenient facts about Saddam
By David Aaronovitch, The Guardian, January 8, 2003
Matt Barr is 21, the same age that I was the year the Vietnam
war ended, and the last disgraced vestiges of American intervention
were airlifted over the rooftops of Saigon. In the next few months,
if the war against Iraq looks like going ahead, Matt plans to
be part of a human shield protecting potential civilian targets.
He is braver than I was at his age. I never offered to stand outside
the central station in Hanoi as the B52s approached. The idea
is to "show solidarity" with the Iraqi people, who he visited
in December 2001. "The people of Iraq are as human as we are,"
said Matt, "and yet many would die" if there were a war. I saw
Matt the other night on telly, and he's a lovely looking bloke
from Sussex, with long plaited hair, who plays the electric guitar.
But he has a problem that the Vietnam generation of protesters
never had. Most of us were happy to see the National Liberation
Front win out in Vietnam, and - whether we were right or wrong
- thought Vietnam would be a better place if they did. We had
wispy-bearded Uncle Ho. Matt, on the other hand, has Saddam Hussein.
Sad
case of Muslim American charities
By Fawaz Turki, Arab News, January 9, 2003
Can you pare down the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights to
a manageable, no-nonsense six? Well, not really, but government
authorities sure as heck can try that under the table, especially
when it comes to dealing with those dreadful "Middle Eastern types"
running around the country. For surely you have read about what
had happened to those equally dreadful Italian, Irish, Jewish
and Japanese types before them early in the last century. In mid-December,
hundreds of visitors and would-be immigrants were arrested by
the Immigration and Naturalization Service a day after they showed
up in response to a government-mandated registration drive for
people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and other Middle Eastern
countries who were in the United States on temporary visas. After
being photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed, they were taken
into custody and charged with overstaying their visas, though
many, according to press reports, had nearly completed the process
for legal residency. The INS said about 7,500 immigrants from
these countries would, in due course, be similarly affected nationwide.
G.I.,
do you really know what you're fighting for?
By ROBERT JENSEN
By Robert Jensen, Houston Chronicle, January 9, 2003
Dear member of the U.S. military: Thank you for defending our
freedom," reads the message on the Department of Defense's "Defend
America" Web site. Fill in your name and hometown, and click to
join the more than 2 million who have sent the message. The sentiment
seems hard to argue with. No matter what one thinks of the coming
war against Iraq, can't we all send such a message to those who
serve? Not if we want to be honest about U.S. war plans, for those
troops will not be defending our freedom but defending America's
control over the strategically crucial energy resources of the
Middle East. They will be in the service of the empire, fighting
a war for the power and profits of the few, not freedom for the
many. To some that statement may seem disrespectful. But resistance
to the coming war against Iraq does not signal a lack of respect
for those who do the fighting. I have never served in the military,
but friends and family have, and I have empathy for people on
the front lines who face the risks.
The
Time for Talking Is Over
By George Monbiot, Dissident Voice, January 7, 2003
Those Against an Attack on Iraq Must Do More than Shake their
Heads at the Television -- The rest of Europe must be wondering
whether Britain has gone into hibernation. At the end of this
month our prime minister is likely to announce the decision he
made months ago, that Britain will follow the US into Iraq. If
so, then two or three weeks later, the war will begin. Unless
the UN inspectors find something before January 27, this will
be a war without even the flimsiest of pretexts: an unprovoked
attack whose purpose is to enhance the wealth and power of an
American kleptocracy. Far from promoting peace, it could be the
first in a series of imperial wars. The gravest global crisis
since the end of the cold war is three weeks away, and most of
us seem to be asking why someone else doesn't do something about
it. It is not often that the people of these islands have an opportunity
to change the course of world events. Bush knows that the Americans'
approval of his war depends, in part, upon its credibility overseas:
opinion polls have shown that many of those who would support
an international attack would withdraw that support if they perceived
that the US was acting alone. An international attack, in this
case, means an attack supported by Britain. If Blair pulled out,
Bush could be forced to think again. Blair will pull out only
if he perceives that the political cost of sticking with Bush
is greater than the cost of deserting him. Bush's war, in other
words, depends upon our indifference. As Gramsci remarked: "What
comes to pass does so not so much because a few people want it
to happen, as because the mass of citizens abdicate their responsibility
and let things be."
In
the home of Mohammed Ramadan
By Jaggi Singh, The Electronic Intifada, January 7, 2003
NABLUS, PALESTINE (December 31, 2002) -- Nablus is a city under
siege. The West Bank's largest town is the primary target for
the Israeli Occupation Forces' (IOF) increased campaign against
so-called militants and terrorists. It's a campaign that, in effect,
collectively punishes all Palestinians for being Palestinian.
During the current siege, which has lasted for more than a month,
no Palestinian vehicles have been allowed to enter or leave the
city. Army checkpoints are more aggressive, and in many cases
Palestinians are forced to wait an entire day before getting through,
with at least several men targeted for arrest and detention every
time. Curfew takes effect nightly at 6pm, allowing the IOF to
undertake its self-described "operations" within the city's neighborhoods
and refugee camps. The incursions involve tanks, APCs -- occasionally
Apache helicopter gunships -- and the IOF's special Paratroopers
brigade. Homes are invaded, and residents held hostage, while
soldiers try to locate and kill Hamas or Tanzim militants nearby.
All
they're asking for is fairness
By Myriam Marquez, Orlando Sentinel, January 9, 2003
None of it was true. All of it was made up. But for the Maali
family in Orlando, the damage has been done. Add the mobster label
to the terrorist stigma. Arab-Americans everywhere have reason
to be angry. All they're asking for is fairness. Since The Reckoning
of Sept. 11, all they've gotten is hysterical hyperbole -- and
from the government, no less. Last weekend government informants
in the case against millionaire businessman Jesse Maali claimed
their home was targeted for an acid-bomb attack. A Maali nephew
was arrested Friday for allegedly assaulting a close friend of
a witness. In all, six reports of intimidation were filed by the
two informants since Nov. 16. All were proven false. It was all
a sinister hoax, police learned Tuesday. So it boils down to this:
Maali is no Tony Soprano. Maali may have hired illegal immigrants
to work at his gift shops and other businesses and stiffed the
government from lots of money in taxes he should have paid in
the process. That's a crime, and if it's proven in court that
he broke the law, Maali should pay accordingly. But the smear
campaign that's going on against Maali because he's a Palestinian,
who worked his way up in this country until he built a lucrative
business over the years, smacks of ugly, knee-jerk, racist stereotyping.
