Posted 1/24/2003 09:13:00 AM by Ocean Guy
War in Iraq

I'm not sure if I support unilateral war with Iraq or not... BUT, I am sure that the very real threat of war, including the deployment, preparations, and rhetoric coming from the US, is an essential part of the diplomacy that's ongoing. Without the threat of violent conflict, there is no chance to affect Saddam's behavior. It's a shame some of our Allies cannot understand that. Can you say Paris and Berlin?

Most appalling about German and French behavior and rhetoric is that they appear to have more trust and faith in a Saddam led Iraq than they have in a George Bush led USA. Though, probably it is more likely is that France and Germany are simply acting like petulant, spoiled teenagers, more intent on asserting their independence than in acting in their own best interest. In the end they will come to dinner, but when they do they should be seated at the kids' table.

Anti-war activists do make some valid points in regard to focus on Iraq. Specifically, North Korea and Pakistan are at least as likely to be sources of WMD to terrorists as is Iraq. AlQueda and Hezbollah are more immediate threats to the US than is Iraq. Why then is the President apparently fixated on Saddam Hussein? I wish the administration was doing a better job in explaining it. If they are all related, as I believe they are, then make the case. Too much effort, lately, has been put on explaining things via the language of UN Security Council Resolution 1441. Yes, the President delivered a masterful speech to the UN to help pass the resolution. But he and his administration are NOT following it up by making a good case for action to the public. Too many people are assuming that it is necessary to find the proverbial Smoking Gun to justify any action. There is a bigger and better case to be made, but no one is presenting it. Is it just too difficult to explain? Does the Administration think we won't be able to understand it? Do all arguments necessarily need to be reduced to sound bites? Does any of it matter?

I think it matters, and I'd like to see a more convincing argument. But until then, they Have to make the THREAT of violence very real if there is any hope for a non-violent resolution.

Posted 1/12/2003 07:18:00 PM by Ocean Guy
Nonie Darwish a child of the Middle East and a proud naturalized American citizen:

I hope that my story will shed light on the truth in the Middle East to every American; especially to those who subscribe to the erroneous idea that U.S. policy in that region must have caused Islamic and Arab hatred of the West...

She explains further:

...I constantly felt that the God of Islam was always angry at us and there was a constant threat of Hell. We never discussed love and a large amount of time was devoted to the wars of Mohammed and how he won most of them. He and his followers would engage in wars with other tribes from Mecca and kill and loot their caravans. They did that for 20 years until Mohamed won and Mecca surrendered. As a child, the stories scared me. I am very appreciative that my mother never insisted on us to practice Islam and she had no hatred toward other religions.

The Middle East culture deprived me of my father, and left me and my siblings helpless orphans, with no emotional support from a cruel social structure. I grew up with anger. My trust of people and sense of security were shattered and I learned to question anything and everything, starting with the Arab hatred of Jews. The Moslems' hatred of Christians came next after Jews. I guess there were too many Arab Christians and perhaps the idea was, take one at a time; get rid first of Jews, then Christians.

Christians were commonly called "Blue Bone." I never knew what that meant, but I do know that it meant something bad. When I grew up and finished college I could not stay in this society any longer. My love of life won and I refused to fall into the cycle of hate and live in a society with clashing contradictions. The culture that does not have enough value for life will not have value for people to get together to advance their economic and social condition. That is why most Middle East and Moslem countries are economic basket cases. Thank God a country called the United States opened its arms to people from all across the world, and I was honored to immigrate to the U.S. over 23 years ago and become a part of this great nation.

Read the rest...

Posted 1/10/2003 10:04:00 AM by Ocean Guy
"The Devil Made me do it" Geraldine, aka Flip Wilson
This logic astounds me, especially coming from a, presumably, intelligent man. From bitterlemons.org, Ghassan Khatib, the palestinian Authority's Minister of Labor, says about prospects for peace (specifically the new Road Map):

The first problem is that any new negotiations engagement over substantive issues must, according to the road map, be preceded by two impractical preconditions: Palestinian success in carrying out security tasks and Palestinian success in reform. While Palestinians themselves want to be successful in these two tasks, their success has been intentionally made difficult (if not impossible) by the nature of ongoing Israeli practices designed specifically in a way that inspires new Palestinian violence and prevents any reform progress. The Quartet has missed the crucial point that a balanced first phase would have concurrently addressed violence committed by both sides, while requesting simultaneous Israeli military withdrawal from Palestinian areas occupied since September 2000 and Palestinian reforms.

In other words, "those darned Israelis just make us blow ourselves up! It's the Jews' fault!" Read more....

Posted 1/07/2003 09:39:00 AM by Ocean Guy
22 victims, 6 countries, one tragedy
Mordechai Evioni, 52
Andrei Friedman, 30
Hannah Haimov, 53
Haim Meir, 74
Avi Kotzer, 43
Ramin Nasibov, 25
Staff Sgt. Mazal Orkobi, 20
Ilanit Peled, 32
Viktor Shebayev, 62
Boris Tepelshvili, 51
Sapira Shoshana Yulzari-Yaffe, 46
Amiram Zamoura, 55
Lilia Zibstein, 33
Li Fei Chong, 41, from China
Angelov Kosmov, 32, from Bulgaria
Steven Arthur Cromwell, 43, from Ghana
Ivan Gabtaniak, 46, from Ukraine
Ion (Nelu) Nicolae, 35, from Romania
Mihai Sabau, 39, from Romania
and 3 not yet identified.......
Then there are the wounded... One hundred eleven people. Five critically wounded, and two "very critical" have had their lives shattered senselessly. The surviving families and friends, too, are experiencing senseless pain. Please remember them all.

Imagine a bomb exploding in the food court of a mall you've visited. (a little visual help from Gil) Outrage would not be a strong enough word.