Klarinet Archive - Posting 001028.txt from 2004/03

From: Jeremy A Schiffer <schiffer@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Use of the word LOVE
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 18:58:42 -0500

On Wed, 17 Mar 2004, Andy Raibeck wrote:

> And speaking of why the world is in the state that it is in today: frankly, I
> am tired of hearing George Bush blamed for the world's ills. I hear lots of
> hate and bile spewed in his direction, yet none at all for the real
> perpetrators of the crimes.

Which crimes are you talking about? While there is substantial evidence
that the administration knew a major attack was imminent, no one has ever
suggested that Bush is responsible for 9/11 or knew it was coming that
particular day. But it _is_ fair to hold him responsible for the poor
economy, for destroying the image of the US abroad, for alienating our
allies, and for many other things which it would bore us all to list.

> It isn't as if George Bush held a gun to the heads
> of those who flew planes into buildings or bombed the trains in Madrid.

And it isn't as if the previous administration warned Bush's crew during
the transition that they needed to focus on Islamist terrorism as the
major threat to American national security, which they then ignored. Oh
wait, that _did_ happen.

> I hear
> nothing from the Bush critics about the thousands, probably hundreds of
> thousands of people that were raped, tortured, and/or murdered under Saddam
> Hussein's regime.

You don't hear us talk much about the sky being blue, but that doesn't
mean it isn't so. The reason is that many of us recognize the hypocrisy in
the Bush administration's position, since the people who spent every day
from 9/11/01 until the bombs started falling in Baghdad talking about how
'evil' Hussein is had all spent the entire 80's praising him and sending
him weaponry for his fight against Iran. Well after it was known how much
of a tyrant he was, Rumsfeld shook his hand and praised him effusively.
Even after the first gulf war, Cheney, as CEO of Halliburton, secured
billions of dollars of contracts with Iraq that benefited Hussein
financially.

The silence you hear is due to the jaws of the international human rights
communities being slack, because they're shocked and awed by the cynical
use of human rights by the current administration. Bush and company coddle
administrations that are as bad as Hussein at his peak, yet have openly
supported two coups in this hemisphere against democratically elected
leaders (Hugo Chavez and Aristide) when they've dared to disobey the White
House's marching orders. So much for democracy and human rights.

> Nary a bad word against Bin Laden. Maybe *that* is really the
> sickness in the world today, that people would rather bury their heads in the
> sand than stand up to evil.

The sickness is that our president diverted our major intelligence and
military assets from the fight against Islamist terrorism to attack a
country that had not threatened anyone credibly in a decade.

Evil is a subjective term (we consider Bin Laden evil, he considers us
evil...). There are legitimiate battles that need to be fought in order to
protect American national security. This administration has chosen its
battles poorly, and in the few times when they were on the right track,
they didn't proceed with the maximum possible effort and the results have
been underwhelming.

Did you know that the Taliban now controls greater than 1/3 of
Afghanistan, again? And that they are gaining in power, rather than losing
it?

> And by the way, removing Saddam didn't make the world a less safe place... you
> probably don't remember, but there was an even more horrific event way back in
> 2001 that made the point.

It has, without a doubt, made Iraq a less safe place than it was before.
Hussein ruled with an iron fist, but he was consistent in his methods.
People knew what to do to avoid leaving the good graces of the Mukhabarat.

Now, however, it is anarchic chaos. Women never leave their homes for fear
of being raped and murdered, as has happened to hundreds, if not
thousands, of women since the occupation began. I know people working for
NGOs in Iraq trying to improve the situation, but they may not be there
for long, since they are now being seen as legitimate targets.

As for that horrific event - I know, I was here in New York City when it
happened. I will never forget, but that does not mean that I wish to see
the shedding of blood of anyone who was not responsible for that act. I
wish to see justice for the murderers, not retribution against countries
or individuals which bear no responsibility.

Respectfully,

jeremy

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