Letters to the Editor
Bush on Palestine
Sir-- 'Make it count' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 26 August - 1 September) is an interesting article. I actually am very interested to hear how Arab Americans feel about what is going on in the world and in US politics. I find it very interesting that if they are so opposed to so many US positions, why would they ever want to live there?
Also, I am curious why President Bush's position on a Palestinian state was not mentioned in the article? President Bush is the first US president to ever say there should be a Palestinian state. Kerry does not say that; he always stays away from that position.
And how is President Bush supposed to work on that issue? He has to work with Sharon (who is uncooperative) and he has to work with Arafat (who has time and time again resisted peace talks).
But then, why is it the US's responsibility to make Israeli-Palestinian peace anyway? I think there are big wrongs on both sides of that story.
Erina Jacker
Cairo
Egypt
Discrimination within
Sir-- Israel could not have unjustly occupied the Palestinians' land and grossly violated their human rights for decades without the constant backing of the world's chief human rights violator -- the US government. All civilised nations should now insist that the United Nations place sanctions on both the USA and Israel for their numerous human rights violations.
Inside America, the USA continues to impose ethnocide and forced assimilation on African descendants as a people. By doing so, it is blatantly violating UN Covenants. White America's racist policies keep millions of Black and Brown people unemployed, and a staggering 80 per cent of all prison inmates are of African roots.
Both Senator Kerry and President Bush have denounced reparations for our people, while consistently supporting both reparations and massive military aid for Israel.
Malik Al-Arkam
Boston
USA
Matter of intent
Sir-- I enjoyed reading your article 'Return of the Ayatollah' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 26 August - 1 September), however I think your assessment of intention is lacking in some cases. Three times, Al-Sadr was given a cease-fire, and three times he has broken it. In calling for cease-fires and in offering amnesty to Al-Sadr, the Iraqi and US governments have consistently demonstrated their willingness to find a peaceful solution, even if that means foregoing justice for a criminal.
In the words of US General Mark Kimmitt: "He's free to surrender. He can walk into any police station and have the warrant served on him (peacefully)." Al-Sadr should submit to the warrant of the Iraqi government for the murder of the Islamic cleric Abdul-Majid Al-Khoei, and face whatever evidence that exists against him. He knows he will be found guilty, so he would rather fight than to be shamed in punishment for his actions.
Despite the fact that Al-Sadr turns places of worship into places of war, the US has been as careful as possible to avoid damage to any holy sites. I'm sure this came as a great disappointment for Al-Sadr, who hoped he could achieve martyrdom while "protecting" the Imam Ali shrine, instead of facing the justice that is due him as a common murderer.
The US is sacrificing many troops and putting many more at risk to try to capture Al-Sadr and end his resistance, instead of just bombing every town, mosque or shrine that he hides in. Why can you not even give the US the smallest hint of credit for their constraint? And you do not give Al-Sadr any blame for deliberately choosing to endanger the shrine and several mosques that he has used. I think that the Arab press should decry any use of holy places for combat, if it wishes to protect them.
Jonathan Lynam
California
USA
Sleeping over Iraq
Sir-- Your comments in 'Catch-22' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 26 August - 1 September) are noticeably without balance and should be titled "Editorial". Consider for a moment how your government would respond if armed gangs seized policemen, government buildings and would not allow the police to provide a safe environment for the majority of people.
Isn't it possible that Al-Sadr's goal is really to further his own political ambitions? And indeed, where was the Muslim response to a Muslim country asking for action and not just words of support?
Egyptian police and military were certainly requested by the Iraqis, but failed to materialise. They could have replaced the American presence and deterred the power grab. But Egypt slept, and continues to sleep while the Iraqis are in need of action and not words.
Lloyd Havel
Fort Lauderdale
USA
Mad with power
Sir-- Your editorial 'It is because nothing changed' ( Al- Ahram Weekly, 19 - 25 August) is outstanding and says it all. Only when the current US administration leaves its arrogance behind, will the ball begin rolling in the right direction in Iraq, in Israel, and with respect to humanitarian needs around the world. The problem is not that they can't, it's that they won't.
Non-partisan goodwill is not part of their makeup; ethnocentric bullying is all they know. This means that only a change in administration this coming November holds out any hope. And even in that regard, the US must learn to let go and trust that the rest of the world -- with far more history behind it -- knows what to do.
America has plenty of power, what a pity it hasn't learned how to use it wisely.
Robert Sichta
Miami, FL
USA
Stem dilemmas
Sir-- A few weeks ago Britain granted its first licence for human cloning for stem cell research. Contrary to the claims of many, there is no scientific evidence to suggest embryonic stem cell research has more potential to lead us to viable treatments for various diseases than non- embryonic stem cells. There is, however, strong evidence to suggest the opposite is true.
Leading stem cell researchers Robert Lanza and Nadia Rosenthal have concluded that embryonic stem cells pose the problem of spontaneously differentiating into a hodgepodge of tissue types, and need "coaxing" to differentiate into desired cell types. In addition, embryonic stem cells carry the likelihood of immune rejection in humans, which makes embryonic stem cell research an extremely dangerous -- if not impossible -- prospect.
It is little wonder that no therapies in humans using embryonic stem cells have ever been successfully carried out. It is also becoming clear that cloning is the only viable method of overcoming these restrictions. However, efforts to produce live animals through cloning have also met with an unusually high rate of deformities and mortality.
Tests using human adult stem cells, however, have produced significant and encouraging results in the areas of Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, cardiovascular disease, sickle-cell anemia, and dozens of other conditions without posing any moral problem. On a biological level, the pre-natal being is not like any other tissue: it is human with its own DNA indicating that, as a human, it has the same fundamental and moral rights as any other human being.
In light of these facts, the cry should be not for an increase in federal funding for embryonic stem cells, but rather an aggressive expansion of adult stem cell research.
Paul Kokoski
Ontario
Canada
Watch your diet
Sir-- Regarding 'What we eat' by Reem Leila ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 19-25 August), on a very basic level, junk food is symptomatic of the worst of what Western culture has to offer.
Not only personal health, but proud indigenous culture is dramatically harmed by such trends.
B J Baldwin
Toronto
Canada
Lessons unlearned
Sir-- Nowadays, so many people throughout the world -- more specifically here in the Middle East region -- have become totally fed up with politics. They are of the view that politics has grown futile and of no avail at all. For them, this is not pessimism, rather, it is sheer realism. However, there is a remarkable unanimity among them that the world will witness much more trouble ahead as long as Uncle Sam -- who has recently lost his head -- has the whip hand over today's world.
For any observer of the ongoing international quagmire, the irrational policies and decisions of the US have brought turmoil and suffering to American citizens, as well as all other people in the world. To give an example, under the pretext of ridding the world of the alleged Iraqi WMDs, the US had waged a war without quarter on Iraq. This act of absurdity resulted in thousands of deaths, causalities and infirmities among the Iraqi people as well as the coalition forces.
Having failed to reach its aim, which has grown impossible in the presence of awareness among people in the region, the US has recourse to its allies to water down its well-earned failure in Iraq. Instead of understanding the Iraqi lesson, the US tries to open new battlefronts in other countries like Syria, Iran, North Korea and recently the Sudan. Furthermore, it finds no direct opposition from its allies who, it seems, want its sudden fall by letting it involve itself in new battlefronts here and there without opposing such absurdities.
Finally, it seems that the Americans have been looking at things from the wrong end of the telescope. Thus, everything seems narrow and small to them. It is time they came to their senses and put their house into order anew.
Sayed Youssef
Minya
Egypt
Miracle worker
Sir-- I read with delight Ms Catta's article 'On the road' ( Al- Ahram Weekly, 19 - 25 August), announcing the appointment of Dr Abdel-Moneim Kamel as chairman of the Cairo Opera.
As an ex-Cairo Opera House singer, I would have liked to hear about what he had in mind for the place. The obvious reason for this appointment is that Dr Abdel-Moneim Kamel (Mike) possesses a combination of being an artist, and having had ample experience as a high-level administrator in the Opera House, thus knowing the inner workings as well as the political ins and outs of the place.
What is not well-known to many, is how love for art motivates Mike. We have seen him over the years distinguish his company over any other in the house, almost killing himself to achieve this end. Mike realises the importance of aspects of stage production that eluded almost everyone else in the House. Aspects as basic as adequate rehearsal time on stage, proper scheduling and planning, a sense of standards to which all performers are to be held, attention to accuracy and detail, high production values, and total discipline within the company.
Having grown up at the Cairo Opera House, I realise that the artists there work miracles every day to keep producing performances, under circumstances that would be deemed unacceptable even by the most provincial of companies in the West. I saw the high standards at which Egyptian artists can perform when given the right circumstances, planning, scheduling and support.
Now that I live and work in the US, I might not have the chance to witness my home Opera House breathe cleaner artistic and administrative air, but I know that the artists at the Cairo Opera deserve better -- a lot better. My hope is that Mike will be the leader who will deliver it to them.
Ashraf Sewailam
Boulder, CO
USA
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