Readers' corner
Iran next
Sir-- Is it possible to wage war against Iran, justified or not, while simultaneously continuing to wage a losing (if not already lost) war against a nebulous multiplicity of Iraqi foes? The US hasn't even been able to pacify Baghdad -- and won't be able to, despite the surge. The sectarian violence has only gotten worse, the government seems incapable of actually governing any sort of united Iraq, the insurgents and militias wreak havoc on Iraqi society, and the police force is essentially an extension of the militias, particularly Sadr's Shia militias. Even with embedded US forces the Iraqi military is nowhere near the proficiency required to provide internal security. And, overall, the situation in Iraq is one of civil war, not peripheral sectarian strife. And now Bush wants to open a new front against Iran. Is the US ready for war against Iran? Is it ready for Bush to lead the country into yet another war, a potentially far more disastrous war? Bush and the warmongers, and particularly the neo-cons, have long promoted war against Iran. But just imagine. Iran is far stronger than Iraq. Where Saddam was largely isolated in the Middle East, Iran has powerful supporters, both states and organisations. And what form would the war take? Would it be an air campaign supported by special forces units on the ground? Would there be any international support? If so, from where? Perhaps Iraq was just the beginning. It's hard to believe, but the worst by far may be yet to come.
Suddenly the media is full of Bush's propagandistic assertions designed to make the American public believe that Iran is the enemy fighting against US troops in Iraq. The latest big lie is that the US is not winning in Iraq because of Iran. In 2003, the same technique was used by the Bush administration to shift the public's attention from Osama bin Laden to Saddam. The technique succeeded to the extent that even today a significant percentage of Americans believe that Saddam was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Clearly, the Bush administration expects that it can again deceive the American public.
This administration should have learnt from history that foreign powers can't win guerrilla wars. The British learnt this from our ancestors in the American Revolution and re-learnt it in Ireland. Napoleon learnt it in Spain. The Germans learnt it in Yugoslavia. Americans should have learnt it in Vietnam and the Russians in Afghanistan and are learning it all over again in Chechnya and Americans are learning it, of course, in Iraq.
Ahmad Abdel-Tawwab
Cairo
Egypt
Majority rule
Sir-- It is not only the Christians and the West who are withholding generosity. There are non-Western countries like Iran which can rebuild Lebanon with cash but not send aid to Darfur. Or to south Sudan.
Cultural imperialism is being practised everywhere. The United States does not want to go into Sudanese sovereign territory, but it's alright for Israel to rape Lebanon.
The Berbers have had to fight to speak their own language, and also the south Sudanese, never mind the colonised Africans who have almost nothing left of their indigenous culture in the north and west of Africa. What of the Africans in India? There's the Arab conquest of North Africa and the Africans, and taking away their culture and identity, making them take on Arab names.
Indigenous peoples are still at the mercy of outside ideologies, religions and power-mongers. Perhaps you cannot mention the deeds closer to home that need scrutiny -- the Copts, the Kurdish lands settled with outsiders by Saddam. The whole Burma/Tibet issues, Islamic peoples in China who are being swamped by outsiders from other parts of China. It is not only the injustices that can be selected to fit ideologised grievances and entitlements that would need to be brought forth internationally, but truly a forum to give voice to all. And what about the slavery and human trafficking, thousands per year, that is being aided by many states, and not stopped or apologised for? Are the Zulus to apologise, when they still think themselves superior, and the grandmothers still remember their raids, and the women being killed and abducted and raped? Who is to apologise and be responsible for the murders and rapes of the Congo? The pigmy people and the Khoisan people in the south are disappearing. The Botswana government is right now taking their land and hence their culture... This discourse of entitlement disguises agendas that are not humane, the class and power issues underneath are not exposed and discussed. That is why it is dishonest.
Che Dandri
California
USA
Officially the head
Sir-- President Pervez Musharraf was duly elected by the elected National Assembly of Pakistan as well as the Senate the four provincial assemblies. All the major opposition parties, the PPP and the MMA participated in the election and allowed President Musharraf to stay in power as per the constitution of Pakistan.
Moin Ansari
New Jersey
USA
Like South Africa
Sir-- I recall that as the world was closing in on the South African government there came extremely strong leaks that it had acquired nuclear weapons. The same is happening with Israel.
Jimmie Powell
Oklahoma
USA
Getting smarter
Sir-- Like many Americans I stood by Arabs and Muslims after 9/11. Yet over the past six years we have seen how your media, political and religious leaders actively encourage hatred, ignorance and disrespect while violently protesting when you get a small dose of your own medicine. All polls show that anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment is increasing. This is no doubt because we are educating ourselves about your culture and seeing what a one-way street your demand for respect and diversity is.
Francesca Eane
California
USA
Appeal to all Egypt
Sir-- I urge my fellow Egyptians to heed the timely call for national unity against all attempts by fanatics to use and politicise religion, to say no to sectarianism in any way, shape or form and to remain loyal to our beloved Egypt, the land of one of the greatest civilisations humanity has known.
Reda Wassef
Sydney
Australia
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/866/letters.htm