Klarinet Archive - Posting 000153.txt from 2001/11

From: "Rien Stein" <rstein@-----.nl>
Subj: [kl] final remarks on unjust war
Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2001 20:18:42 -0500

When I wrote in one of my mailings "unjust war" I knew I would get some
reactions. I had not expected to get so many. And especially not, to get so
much venom over me. Very few were published on this list, most were sent to
my private e-mail address. This list is not meant to be a political forum,
but there are so many reactions I think, I better give one reaction and then
do not answer anymore to any one.

Let me make clear first one point: I definitely do NOT sympathise with
terrorists, from whatever origin they are and whereever they operate. Not
with IRA or ETA, not with Bin Laden and his bent, not with Saddam Hussein
and Arafat, and not with the Israelian prime minister Sharon, whom I also
consider a terrorist. Why people think I do sympathise with them I don't
know.

Some people even declared me an enemy of the USA. How do they know I am? (I
am not). When I make a critical remark to my wife that does not mean I do
not love her anymore.

One of the things the USA are proud of, is freedom. Freedom of speech makes
part of it. But apparently only as long as they are in agreement with the
heares opinions?

In my opinion **war can never be justified**. Violence can never be
justified. But there is a difference between being attacked and defending
oneself. I think it is legitimate to defend oneself. It is not legitimate to
attack. Afghanistan did not attack the USA. The USA attacked Afghanistan. In
this country some time ago the word "senseless violence" caught on. I think
all violence is senseless. Terrorism is a very bad form of violence. It can
take many forms, from pestering a school child to human and car bombs to
flying planes into buildings. To attacking a small country because you don't
like its government. I am not an enemy of Afghanistan. I hate the Taliban.
Too much misery caused by them have I seen. I support refugees when they
happen to come to Maartensdijk, and I heard terrible stories. of what these
Taliban did. Most Afghan don't like them

Some persons wrote - and in later reactions some still continued to do so -
"Herr Stein". This is assumed to be insulting.
When I saw such header, I knew already it was going to tell me how these
great and sympathetic US people gave their lives for our freedom. Fact is,
that by the time the USA entered into the war in Europe, the main battles
had already been fought in the East. Alas, I must add, I don't like it
myself. But when the American forces came to Europe, the battles of
Stalingrad, Moscow and Wolgograd had already been lost by the Germans a year
before. The German and Italian armies in Africa were decimated. And I am
grateful to all the many USA people that died for our freedom, but these
lifes were
offered to another cause: economic reasons. And Churchil's opinion the
Russians would take over power from Hitler. There was not the slightest
form of idealism in it.

Just as it was not in the Marshall help: the only incentive to support
Europe financially was, that new and previously unknown markets would open
up.

And that war was **unjustly** begun by Herr Schickelmeier (i.e. Hitler). I
have read about many wars. Most wars were started because of some economic
reason, not to fight unjustice. Some wars were begun because it is so nice
to be in power, like the Alexandrian wars. The people that get killed are
the ones that have least to do with the causes. How many people haven't
already
died and still will die due to American "precision" bombs falling where they
were not intended
to fall? How many will be marked the rest of their life? A war ruins much
more than the lifes lost. And I can speak from experience. I met many people
broke by WWII, that never had any physical injury. Many of my closer and
less close relatives were seriously marred by this war. I was born during
that war. I consider myself to be second generation war victim. Because the
burden WWII laid on the shoulders of people I have been intimate with. My
father was Jewish. He was not in a KZ, but his father was. My grandfather
survived. He lived with us. For both my grandfather and my parents war ended
when their lives ended.

Someone wrote about the USA: "We have been very generous to our friends and
our enemies". I think that topic is the heart of the matter: you Americans
have NOT been generous. This person was as mistaken as one can be. The USA
always were generous to governments that supported US interests in their
countries. Pinochet and Videla were supported by the USA because they
supported US interests and in that way got very rich themselves. What did
the
USA do for the man in the street? The man in the street was arrested,
because he used drugs,
and in the USA drugs are a real threat to society.

An important cause in this discussion is propaganda. I a country where
advertising is so well-developed propaganda usually is not made the blunt
the Russians did during Soviet Union times, but it is made much more subtle.
The national anthem is sung whenever two high school teams have a match. It
is in terming the USA "The greatest nation on the earth", or even worse, to
call it "God's own country". (How can you abuse God in this way?)

Nonetheless: God bless America. And all other countries in the world. Let's
pray for it. And also let's pray for those shortsighted and blinded, or even
absolutely sick minds of terrorists! That they may come to a more human
insight.

I have no hard feelings about those, who, sometimes very hard and unjust,
attacked me. But this is the last thing I say about the matter on this list.

Rien

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