Nobel war prize
Sir-- The nomination of President Bush and Prime Minister Blair last week for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, that was widely advertised in the US media, must certainly rank among the most absurd nominations presented to the Nobel Foundation. We have a president who midway between his first term has already launched two different wars of aggression on two much weaker countries, under shady pretexts, laying both of them to waste, killing thousands of people and forcibly changing regimes. He was hardly done with his second war (on Iraq) when he started threatening two other countries (Iran and Syria).His administration (during this short term) provoked North Korea to go down a dangerous path of nuclear deterrence because it fears a similar war of aggression from him, jeopardising the peace and lives of hundreds of thousands in that region.
He pulled out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty and wants to develop low-yield tactical nuclear weapons for use in the battlefield. He has dramatically increased US spending on arms and armament -- the US is now spending more on its military establishment than all the other countries of the world combined.
His administration has divided up Europe into "old" and "new", pitting one against the other. His secretary of state threatened France with "consequences" for non-appeasement. His doctrine of "pre-emption" led India to almost start a nuclear confrontation with Pakistan. He stood by, giving a green light to Ariel Sharon when the latter launched a massive military reoccupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and called him a "man of peace".
And what is truly scary is that he isn't done with his assault on peace around the world yet, and they want to nominate him and his cheerleader Blair, for the Nobel Peace Prize? This is outrageous.
M Asadi
Springfield
USA
Beware the French
Sir-- I hope that you take a really good look at France and Russia. If you look deep enough, you will see that they are the ones who want a one- world government that will rule over us and the Arab countries.They are evil and sneaky and liars. I can tell you, it is not the US that wants to take over and rule as an empire. All the US wants is the safety of all people to live their lives with their own choices of religion and to quit fighting. To live in peace. I pray that you all look and listen and take heed of France; they are pretty scary to us. We know their plan and will fight it forever.
Again, all people should be free and live in peace, and I pray that you know that the American people love you very much. And we worry for the precious people who are killed each day all over the world.
Kim Segar
Mill Creek, WA
USA
American goodwill
Sir-- I read Hani Shukrallah's 'Conspiracy theory' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 15-21 May) and laughed with him at Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein sharing a house. But the latter part of Mr Shukrallah's article troubled me. He said that the recent attack on Iraq sealed the American century. I'm saddened by his hatred of us, but it seems to be typical.Did it ever occur to him that Americans do not try to keep the Arab world down, that it is done by the people who lead you rather than us, and that we are merely responding to your current campaign of suicide bombings with all the concern that any country would? We do not seek to keep you down, in fact we would celebrate with you in your riches if they weren't squandered by your childish leaders. Before stabbing your brother, maybe you should make sure he isn't trying to help you.
Zeke Corlain
Oklahoma
USA
A viable world
Sir-- Re: 'Conspiracy theory' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 15-21 May). A world order with only one superpower cannot be viable, if only because its leaders will eventually fall into the trap of mistaking themselves for God. Fond thanks to Hani Shukrallah for being serious with a sense of humour.Arthur Borges
Xiangtan, Hunan,
China
Good reasoning
Sir-- 'Pacifying foolishness' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 8-14 May) is probably one of the most thought- out, objective and insightful articles I have ever read regarding both the Arab-Israeli and Iraqi war issues. The professor who wrote the article knew what he was talking about and was very reasonable and rational in communicating his arguments. I commend him for his contribution of this valuable information to such a credible and neutral news source as Al-Ahram Weekly.Marianne Sawaya
Los Angeles, CA
USA
Valuable asset
Sir-- 'Pacifying foolishness' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 8-14 May) is well analysed and lucidly written. The author deserves compliments for his excellent command over the language too. A useful man not just for his country, but for the region.Anand Rajadhyaksha
Mumbai
India
Not so rosy
Sir-- I thoroughly enjoyed the professor's article 'Pacifying foolishness' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 8-14 May), however I believe that he is being overly optimistic. Hopefully his optimism will become a reality.Paul Davallou
Harrisonburg, VA
USA
Israel, the victim
Sir-- I think as a respected publication, you should stop depicting the Israelis as constantly being the aggressors and the Satans of the world. If one were to look objectively at what has been taking place since the emergence of Israel 55 years ago, one would notice a clear pattern of aggression that was most certainly not initiated by the Jewish people or the "Zionists".Every time that word is used in that condemning fashion, I think of the fallacy of a book called The Protocols of The Elders of Zion. There is about as much truth to the accusations of many of your editors and readers regarding Israel and the Israeli Arabs, as there was to that publication.
I need not go into the accurate history of what has been going on in the region of Israel since its birth, but suffice it to say that the UN and their sanctions should not be screamed to when Israel violates one of them, if the Arabs in the region won't respect the UN vote to give the disputed land (back) to the Jews as the state of Israel.
Harrison Boyle
New York, NY
USA
From oblivion
Sir-- In his very well articulated article 'Playing for time' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 8-14 May) Mr Graham Usher stated "commemorating Israel's 55th independence..."I think the term "independence" is misplaced. According to my recollection of history, it is Israel's 55th creation. Independence implies the state's existence before its creation, which is incorrect.
Mohamed Hashem
Rochester, NY
USA
Dome-Aqsa mistake
Sir-- The front page of Al-Ahram Weekly's Web page of 8-14 May included a photo with a caption below it reading: "With the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the background, Israeli soldiers fired shots into the air on Memorial Day in Jerusalem."However, in the photograph, the mosque that could be seen in the background was not Al- Aqsa Mosque. It was the Dome of the Rock.
While confusing the Dome of the Rock with the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a common mistake among many -- if not most -- people, I was upset to see that Al-Ahram Weekly would make it on its front page.
Hania Sobhy
Cairo
Egypt
Two sides to a story
Sir-- Azmi Bishara, the author of 'Refusing pessimism' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 8-14 May), is a shining example of Arab attitudes towards Israel -- Israel has no rights whatsoever; Palestinians were "martyred" but no Israeli Jews were killed by Palestinians.Until the Arab world changes its basic attitude towards Israel and also towards Jews generally, there will never be understanding and peace in the Middle-East.
Joe Eshkeri
Malaga
Spain
Spread the news
Sir-- I read Joseph Ferrara's letter 'Pay attention' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 1-7 May) and would like to help him and his "farmers and ranchers at the local coffee shop" understand why "certain Arabs and Muslims wanted to kill them (for no apparent reason)".First, America is the number one sponsor of Israel's brutal military terrorism against innocent unarmed civilians in Palestine. American Caterpillar bulldozers are used not only to demolish homes of family members (who are punished for being genetically related to a terrorist), but also to demolish homes of Arabs who were denied building permits, as well as [raze] any plot of land Israel wants to expropriate to build its "security wall", illegal settlements, or any structure. Israel is also demolishing homes of Arabs and Palestinians who are citizens of Israel by declaring the Bedouin villages that have existed for centuries as "unrecognised".
Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old American girl who was deliberately crushed to death under an Israeli Caterpillar bulldozer because she stood in clear view of a home Israel wanted to demolish -- its occupants, a doctor and his family who had absolutely no ties to terrorism. By the way, a witness who had clear view of Corrie reported that the driver continued to drive forward to bury her in rubble while people with bullhorns shouted for him to stop; he then proceeded forward until she was under his bulldozer then reversed over her without lifting the blade.
Tell your friends at the coffee shop that Israel's army ignored the eyewitness account, never even arrested the driver and denied the American mum and dad their day in court to confront the monster who deliberately crushed their daughter to death in cold blood. Tell your friends that that is the "democracy" of Israel which billions of "their/our" American dollars pay for.
Second, the American media are not giving you and your friends reports from the Middle East about Israel's brutal military terrorist attacks against unarmed civilians in densely populated neighbourhoods. Americans are being denied the right to know how Israel is using billions of American tax dollars and modern weapons.
I believe you should make your own decisions based on reports and articles from the Middle East, Palestine and Israel. I recommend going to Yahoo typing "Jews for Justice Resources" and look at the list of Web sites.
Tikyra Angelique
Lexington, MA
USA
Bad harvest
Sir-- Saddam was a monster created by the Americans to attack Iran after the fall of the Shah. Thousands of people died and Saddam killed many Shi'ites and Kurds while the US looked the other way. Bush's recent war was merely to protect Israel.Iraq should be controlled by the UN because the US and Britain have no business meddling in Iraqi affairs. In fact, Blair has been fooled by Bush; Bush is making a lot of money in Iraq, but Blair is given bones to chew on.
US policies are the worst, and it will reap what it has sown in Iraq.
Ismail Jiwa
Toronto
Canada
Green rush
Sir-- This is a question to Samir Amin who wrote 'The American ideology' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 15-21 May): Why is everybody in the world trying to get a green card?I wonder what your analysis of your country's political history would look like if you were free to write it?
Charles Stewart
Hannibal, MO
USA
False impressions
Sir-- I have not heard of Samir Amin before now, but I applaud his brilliant essay 'The American ideology' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 15-21 May). It shows that the basic elements of a Marxist outlook are useful and highly pertinent when, instead of being accepted as mere communist dogma, they are used for careful examination of social conditions and in active thinking. Samir Amin is a brilliant philosopher.Please understand, however, that I, an American reader, cannot altogether agree with his analysis. Certainly, there are fascist traits associated with the Bush administration: Dick Cheney's secrecy, for example, the attorney- general's curtailment of civil rights, the theatrical disinformation of the Defense Department, and the intimidation of critics, etc. We are, in America now, by virtue of these and other symptoms passing through a sort of psychosis which arises among us at various times but which, thanks exactly to our fundamental liberties (chiefly, of free speech), we do survive, overcome and eventually repudiate. George W Bush will be thought of poorly by our posterity -- if only we can get as far as posterity.
As to religion, we are not mainly fundamentalist and apocalyptic. That is a false impression given by the media which do not challenge the vulgar misconceptions on which so much of their profit depends.
As for Bush's supposed fundamentalism, that's yet another misconception. He is a complete hypocrite about this and even, possibly, self-deceived. But as I happen to know something about "real" American fundamentalism and popular religious life, I believe that he is at best a crippled and debased sort of pseudo- Christian and a man of extremely limited understanding, and of no honest philosophy at all.
Ernest Werner
Trumansburg, NY
USA
Not so just
Sir-- Prior to the US war in Iraq few people harboured any illusions about the behaviour and intentions of the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein. Nonetheless, President Bush's rushed initiative tragically undermines the theory of a just war and will lead to a proliferation of wars and other acts of aggression. Already, this prediction is beginning to unfold. Buoyed by their apparent success in Iraq, the US is now issuing subtle threats against Syria, Iran and other so-called rogue regimes like Sudan and Libya.While the Iraqi people have been freed from the oppression of Saddam Hussein, they continue to suffer now at the hands of US expropriation. It is likely that the US will be in Iraq for many years, even decades. History shows that the development of democracy is a gradual, evolutionary process. A nation's people cannot just change their attitudes and mentality overnight.
Adding to the growing consensus of US dominance in the region is the reluctance on the part of the US to allow the United Nations to take the lead in rebuilding Iraq. To counteract such suspicions the US will likely establish a legitimate government in the weeks ahead, that will attempt to conceal in the world's eyes the reality of an American military presence. The Arab nations however are bracing themselves. Due to growing anti-American sentiment extremist groups are said to be regaining strength.
Lost in the shuffle -- a thorn in the side of the US as an altruistic liberator -- is the fact that in over 30 countries millions of lives are being lost through armed conflict. Evidence continues to mount, then, in the war's aftermath, that America's primary objective in Iraq was to gain control of the oil as well as the Middle East region. Do other nations really want the US to be the world's lone enforcer? Is this not a time to revisit the concept of a "just war"?
Paul Kokoski
Ontario
Canada
Farcical mess
Sir-- Both Washington and London now refer to themselves as "occupying powers" in a letter sent to the current President of the Security Council Munir Akram.However, barely a month ago both governments were bragging about spreading "democracy" in the region and "liberating" the Iraqi people.
Clearly, the only consistency in this farcical mess is how the "coalition of the willing" unscrupulously twists the facts to suit its own actions.
If our American government was really interested in "democracy" they would dismantle all our military bases and leave these countries to govern themselves, democratically or otherwise.
May Beck
California
USA
People's choice
Sir-- Democracy does not necessarily work in every culture and in every country. When Iraqis vote, they may vote for a government that the US may not particularly like.Mark Anthony
Sydney
Australia
Welcome home
Sir-- I am delighted to see that the mummy of Ramses I is being returned to Egypt.Full marks to Dr Hawass for continuing to try and bring back Egyptian relics from foreign countries. May all his endeavours be successful and I wish him well with them all.
As a South African woman who studies Egyptology, has visited Egypt and is writing a book about Ramses II, I can only say that everything Egyptian belongs in Egypt. Egypt for the Egyptians.
Elsabe Nefertari Gildenhuys
Cape Town
South Africa
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 22 - 28 May 2003 (Issue No. 639)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/639/letters.htm