Readers' corner
American boobi
Sir-- I really appreciated 'Squaring the circle' (22-28 November) until it came to the last paragraph:
"So to recap: minimal decentralised government, a gold standard, government 'by the book', war strictly as self-defence, charity instead of government welfare. But wait! This is very much like Mohamed's vision of a just society, with the Quran as the constitution. Add to this Paul's pledge to end 'aid' to Israel, withdraw from the Muslim countries the US has illegally invaded, and stop undermining foreign governments. No wonder there is already a Yahoo group 'Muslims for Ron Paul', urging block voting for him in the primaries. Who better to make peace with the Arab world -- the entire world?"
There is a large group of people in the US that can only react in their characteristically negative knee-jerk way when shown anything at all even vaguely positive about anything Muslim/Islamic. For lack of anything better to call them, some of us refer to them individually as boobus americanus. They are pathetic, ignorant, and unwilling to see that there is anything other than what happens as disseminated by Fox News commentary, or Rush Limbaugh. Unfortunately for Ron Paul, the statement beginning with "But wait!" is all that any of them will take into their petty little minds. They are irrationally frightened enough as it is. Boobi americani do not need ammunition that feeds their paranoia. I so wish you had not added this odd little thing. It really wasn't necessary, and I don't think it did Congressman Paul any justice.
Sharra Rasheed
Phoenix
USA
How low can you go?
Sir-- 'Turning in his grave' (22-28 November) provides chilling reading. That Arafat's Fatah could sink so low as to side with the enemy against its own people shows how desperate the plight of the Palestinians has become. The credibility of Fatah has fallen so low that it is not a real "partner" for Israel in its machinations. The only cause for optimism here is that Annapolis is dead on arrival and the struggle for justice will continue, however long the road.
Abdullah Shaban
Cairo
Egypt
President Cheney?
Sir-- In 'Bush's Divine Comedy: Part I' (15- 21 November) I just want to clarify for you why Dennis Kucinich chose Cheney over Bush in his impeachment motion. Cheney, who is far more evil than Bush (if that is possible), has to be impeached and removed first. The reason for that is to prevent him from becoming top dog should Bush be impeached and removed. It has nothing to do with Bush playing "war prez". First, since only Congress can declare war, there officially is no war -- another impeachable offence? Probably not since Congress has been financing the criminal attack, invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. In any event, there is no and should not be any precedent against impeaching him, regardless of what he calls himself. The stumbling block to impeachment is Nancy Pelosi ("impeachment is off the table") and the Dems, who are as power mad as the Repubs. Imagine what Bush's successor, should there be one, could do with all the power he has grabbed, which is why impeaching Cheney and Bush, and removing them from office, is so important.
Bev Conover
New Jersey
USA
Sad betrayal
Sir-- The excerpts from Egyptian and Israeli politicians in 'Peace lost' (15-21 November) were very informative. The Israeli government has never been serious about allowing a Palestinian state and president Anwar El-Sadat was well aware of this according to his foreign ministers Ismail Fahmi, Mohamed Kamel and Boutros Boutros-Ghali. It remains a mystery to me to this day that Sadat would risk Egypt's standing and the fate of the Palestinians to his gamble on establishing peaceful relations with Israel.
John Stanwick
Cape Town
South Africa
Inside Egyptians
Sir-- I agree with Rania Khallaf ('Greater than sales' 8-14 November) that Egyptian writer Alaa El-Aswani is a phenomenon. He has pushed the bounds of open criticism without being strident or fanatical. His critical yet sympathetic portrayal of the radical idealist in both The Yacoubian Building and Chicago shows the dilemma for the individual who wants to make a difference in society. His accessibility draws the reader into his world and provides great insight into the sad reality of Egyptians today.
Sarah Miles
Surrey
UK
Musharraf of human rights
Sir-- Musharraf will go down in history as an unprecedented facilitator of human rights because the UN International Covenants on Human Rights are not worth the paper they are written on for the simple reason that countries do not sign the optional protocol which empowers the UN to intervene, even militarily, in member countries when a member state blatantly denies human rights to its citizens. Hence, hapless citizens have no effective remedy against human rights violations. To give only just one example, the entire international community including the US and its democratic allies, shed crocodile tears over the state- sponsored massacre of thousands of innocent Muslims in the state of Gujarat, India in 2002. But these killings could have been prevented and the culprits brought to book had Pakistan developed a political/legal culture where martial forces take responsibility for preventing criminal violations of human rights. This principle and practice may then have been extended to the UN through the UN High Commission for Human Rights.
Therefore, Musharraf ought to ensure that Benazir Bhutto remains under house arrest until the 2008 January elections are over and announce that Pakistan will have joint martial and civilian rule even after the elections.
Hem Raj Jain
New Delhi
India
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