home as published by The Hamilton Spectator (Jul 13, 2005) Anyone with even a brief exposure to the history of the Middle East knows about the C.I.A.-engineered overthrow of a democratically elected government in Iran, to be replaced by the Shah's brutal dictatorship. And wasn't Saddam the U.S.'s man in Iraq up to the first Gulf War? Didn't the U.S. arm Osama bin Laden and others in Afghanistan as part of their global sparring with the Soviet Union? Didn't the C.I.A. blow up a mosque in Lebanon in a botched assassination attempt? Didn't the U.S.-led embargo on Iraq between the wars cause hundreds of thousands of deaths? And didn't Clinton OK the bombing of an Aspirin factory under false information that it was a front for al-Qaeda? Hasn't the U.S.'s unconditional support for Israel's occupation of Palestine kept that area a festering sore against peace for decades? The attack on the World Trade Center didn't come out of nowhere. In fact, it wasn't even the first. A decade earlier another attempt was made that killed scores of people but left the tower intact. The center had not been targeted because it represented freedom, but rather because it was the symbol of U.S. economic imperialism. This does not excuse the killing of civilians, but let's keep things honest. You can't call it senseless murder when one side does it and collateral damage when the other does. Iraqi deaths are just as abhorrent as the deaths of New Yorkers or Londoners. Before the invasion, the people of Iraq only wanted to get rid of Saddam. Now their common enemy is the nations that occupy their land. Bush got re-elected largely thanks to the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Al-Qaeda used to be a minor organization. Thanks to those same invasions, it seems to have grown into a world-wide popular resistance movement. There are two sides to this conflict. There are those who want peace and there are those who want war. Sadly Bush, bin Laden and this letter writer all seem to be on the latter side. The war on terror cannot be won with guns and bombs. Gary Dale |
as submitted: re. The struggle is one that pits freedom against terrorism Ronald Wexler demonstrates why so many people throughout the world dislike the United States. Whether he is ignorant of U.S. actions in the Middle East over the last half century, or whether he just chooses to ignore them, his pretence that the problems started with George W. Bush is ludicrous. Anyone with even a brief exposure to the history of the region knows about the C.I.A. engineered overthrow of a democratically elected government in Iran, to be replaced by the Shah's brutal dictatorship. And wasn't Saddam the U.S.'s man in Iraq up to the first Gulf War? Didn't the U.S. arm Osama Bin Laden and others in Afghanistan as part of their global sparring with the Soviet Union? Didn't the C.I.A. blow up a Mosque in Lebanon in a botched assassination attempt? Didn't the U.S.-led embargo on Iraq Hasn't the U.S.'s unconditional support for Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine kept that area a festering sore against peace for decades? The attack on the World Trade Center didn't come out from nowhere. In fact, it wasn't even the first! A decade earlier another attempt was made that killed scores of people but left the tower intact. The Center had not been targeted because it represented freedom, but rather because it was the symbol of U.S. economic imperialism. This does not excuse the killing of civilians, but let's keep things honest. You can't call it senseless murder when one side does it and collateral damage when the other does. Iraqi deaths are just as abhorrent as the deaths of New Yorkers or Londoners. Before the invasion, the people of Iraq only wanted to get rid of Saddam. Now their common enemy is the nations that occupy their land. Bush got re-elected largely thanks to the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Al Qaeda used to be a minor organization. Thanks to those same invasions, it seems to have grown into a world-wide popular resistance movement. There are two sides to this conflict. There are those who want peace and there are those who want war. Sadly Bush, Bin Laden and Wexler all seem to be on the latter side. The war on terror cannot be won with guns and bombs. |