Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September-October 2008, pages 43-44

Other People's Mail

Compiled by Kate Hilmy and Delinda Hanley

Feeble Opposition

To the San Francisco Chronicle, July 7, 2008

The Democratic Party has once again reminded me why I registered Green Party for a dozen years before switching back this year to vote for Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic primary.

By capitulating to President Bush on funding the Iraq occupation and giving the telecom companies immunity for illegal domestic wiretapping, Democrats (with a few notable exceptions) have shown they are not a serious or effective opposition party.

I can only hope a clean sweep in November will strengthen the backbone of the party leaders enough that I won’t regret my decision to rejoin the Democrats.

Arlen Grossman, Monterey, CA

Celebrate Our Freedoms

To The New York Times, July 4, 2008

William Kristol’s column about the Declaration of Independence reminds readers that an elite minority instigated the American Revolution and pledged “their lives, their fortunes,” in the cause of the American War of Independence.

Yes, the instigators of the American war in Iraq were also a small elite, but the rest of the comparison does not hold. With a few notable exceptions, those who agitated for the Iraq war avoided military service and have made rather than pledged their fortunes from this war.

Sam Haselby, Cambridge, MA

Bolton Under Fire

The Los Angeles Times Aug. 1, 2008

It is hard to deny John R. Bolton’s assertion that Barack Obama’s Berlin speech was littered with naive and overly idealistic statements. That said, it seems ironic that Bolton—with his Bush administration, neoconservative mentality of good versus evil and freedom versus totalitarianism—would claim that Obama still has “a lot to learn about both foreign policy and the views of the American people.”

The neocon foreign policy has been tried and tested. Thanks to the Iraq invasion and occupation led by the Bush administration, which included Bolton at the time, it is now painfully apparent that the neocon foreign policy has served to further polarize the world, weakening our country and adding fuel to the extremists’ fire.

Mitchell Cyman, Pasadena, CA

What if Obama Knows Islam?

To the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 24, 2008

I have been following with great interest the story regarding The New Yorker’s front-page cartoon last week. I almost canceled my subscription to the magazine, but took a deep breath and gave them the benefit of an unfortunate editorial decision.

My question is this: Is it really a negative issue if Barack Obama has some history with the Muslim religion? The Financial Times today reported, “Records uncovered by the Associated Press show that Obama was registered as a Muslim at the Catholic school he attended in Indonesia as a child but Obama says he did not practice the religion. Both his father and stepfather were Muslims but neither was devout.” I believe this experience with Islam can only have been a positive one for Obama, especially given the current world conflicts that he aspires to step into. How can you expect to have any meaningful dialogue with a person of opposing views if you first do not have some understanding of their beliefs?

I was raised a Methodist in a strongly Catholic neighborhood in Chicago. My Catholic friends could not attend church with me because, they were told, it was a “mortal sin.” Must our leaders close their minds to other beliefs? Is it a mortal sin if Obama did indeed study Islam? At least he knows the difference between Sunni and Shi’i!

Barbara Kowalski Ghaffari, Bellevue, WA

Demon of the Year

To the San Francisco Chronicle, July 16, 2008

Regarding your editorial “A Taunting Test-fire” (July 11), I am surprised you are buying into the demon-of-the-year propaganda. Why is Iran’s test firing missiles cause for worry, but not Israel’s provocative dress rehearsal for an attack on Iran, or the United States’ constant testing of missiles and other weapons?

Does it not occur to your editorial writers that we and Israel have been doing our best to scare them into submission, and force them to give up their legal right to peaceful development of nuclear energy, for a very long time? Perhaps their missile testing is as symbolic as the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag of the Confederacy. If we leave them alone, I am quite sure they will leave us, and Israel, alone.

I wish The Chronicle would not join the mindless ranks of fearmongering, and remind your readers that Iran will never attack us, or Israel, but both countries may well attack them and that is what we should be worried about, not a little missile bluster.

Julie Rufo, Alameda, CA

$10 a Gallon

To the San Francisco Chronicle, July 7, 2008

For those who think we should start yet another war with Iran, you better be prepared to pay over $10 a gallon for gas, and that’s if you can get gas at all.

Bad decisions result in bad consequences. America is on the verge of collapse and yet another useless war would more likely break us, not them.

Marc Perkel, San Bruno, CA

The Unthinkable in Iran

To The New York Times, July 21, 2008

Benny Morris’s prediction that Israel will attack Iran is chilling. I believe that Mr. Morris is correct that America has no stomach for (or ability to wage) a third war in the Middle East, and I fervently hope that the lame-duck Bush administration does not agree to support Israel in such a venture.

Israel’s government is reeling from corruption charges. How can we be sure that Israel is not lying to the world about its situation? What if it is using the same playbook that the Bush administration used to attack Iraq?

Starting a war with Iran would be a disaster for our country and for the Middle East. And ultimately, it would not help Israel.

Israel needs to tone down its rhetoric and learn to live without bullying and threatening its neighbors. Perhaps if Israel made peace in the Gaza Strip, it would not feel so threatened.

Deborah Rhodus, Dallas, TX

Israeli Soldiers

To The Independent, July 24, 2008

Your report (“Bound Palestinian protester shot by soldier”) shows yet another instance of the violence perpetrated by the Israel Defense Force against unarmed people who resist the occupation. B’Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization, has recorded 25 cases of beatings and/or abuse of Palestinians by the IDF between 2005 and 2008. Many cases involve more than one victim.

More serious are the thousands of deaths and woundings of unarmed Palestinians, and of some Israeli and international activists. According to B’Tselem, 4,748 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces from the beginning of the second intifada (September 2000) to June 30, 2008. But of these, 2,219 (47 percent) were definitely not fighting, and there was doubt about whether a further 871 (18 percent) were involved. In the same period, 386 Palestinians were killed in “targeted killings,” but 154 (40 percent) were merely bystanders.

The high-profile cases include the killings of the British and American students Tom Hurndall and Rachel Corrie; the British, Palestinian and Italian cameramen James Miller, Fadel Shanaa and Rafaele Ciriello; and Harald Fischer, the German doctor who was treating injured Palestinians. All were clearly identifiable as non-combatants. There are far too many cases to be just the actions of a few undisciplined soldiers. At the very least, there is a culture of impunity in the IDF. At the worst, it is a culture of deliberate, intimidatory violence up to, and including, murder.

Arthur Goodman, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, London

Kucinich Slams Gaza Policy

To President Bush, July 15, 2008

Thank you for requesting that the Department of State respond to my letter of May 14, 2008 regarding the ongoing crisis in Gaza and Israel.

Your letter states that “it is Hamas’ behavior that is responsible for the current crisis, and any meaningful improvements on the ground will require Hamas to end its attacks against Israel.” This response is very troubling.

The responsibility to care for the civilian population in Gaza is Israel’s, pursuant to the Fourth Geneva Convention (FGC) which defines the protection afforded civilians in times of war and military occupation. Israel’s right to national security indeed affords it the right to take action against Hamas. However that action should not and cannot amount to collective punishment as it does today. The current crisis may be exacerbated, instigated, even perpetuated by Hamas, but the responsibility for beginning and ending the humanitarian crisis is certainly not Hamas’.

As an occupying power, only Israel has the ability to resume the flow of basic goods and humanitarian supplies into, and out of, the Gaza Strip. To make the resumption of such goods contingent on Hamas’ behavior is to endorse the collective punishment of Gaza’s 1.5 million population in contravention of Article 33 of the FGC. Moreover, by supporting Israel’s practice of collective punishment in response to Hamas’ abominable attacks, the U.S. State Department effectively abdicates its diplomatic principles and its role as a “honest broker.”

The Gaza-Israel cease-fire, enacted on June 19, 2008, has done little to mitigate the humanitarian crisis wrought by the Israeli-imposed blockade of Gaza. The United States can and should use its influence to urge Israel to continue to ease restrictions on goods, economic activity and movement into and out of the Gaza Strip.

Additionally, the United States can help to improve conditions in Gaza by supporting United Nations programming. At present, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is able to provide an additional 12,500 jobs in Gaza as part of their sponsorship of The Summer Games. To create these jobs, UNRWA needs an additional $30 million in funding. The U.S. should work with the international community to fill this funding gap.

I look forward to your prompt response regarding the above concerns. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), Member of Congress

Assault on Mohammed Omer

To Redwood City Daily News, July 19, 2008

I wish to respond to Mary Werther’s letter of July 10. Sadly, Werther’s letter betrays her obvious bias and disdain for the truth. It appears her primary motive was to deflect criticism of Israel and deny the brutal attack on Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer, with racist innuendoes. The savage assault on Omer was reported widely in the world media, including The New York Times. Perhaps Werther is unaware that Mohammed Omer was returning from a trip from London after receiving the prestigious Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. His award citation reads, “Every day, he reports from a war zone, where he is also a prisoner. His homeland, Gaza, is surrounded, starved, attacked and forgotten. He is a profoundly humane witness to one of the great injustices of our time. He is the voice of the voiceless.”

A former Dutch ambassador commented on Omer’s ordeal: “This is by no means an isolated incident, but part of a long-term strategy to demolish Palestinian social, economic and cultural life. I am aware of the possibility that Mohammed Omer might be murdered by Israeli snipers or bomb attack in the near future.”

I would urge Werther and her ilk to invest their time and energy urging Israel to call an immediate halt to its brutal, illegal occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

Jagjit Singh, Los Altos, CA

My Laptop & the Government

To The New York Times, July 17, 2008

Re: “The Government and Your Laptop”' (editorial, July 10): I would like to point out that strong encryption methods are widely available and can hide even the most dangerous information in an apparently featureless jumble of binary numbers. So when I return to the United States, I’m wondering what the government will make of my laptop, stuffed to the gunwales with apparently featureless jumbles of binary numbers.

My files are solutions of Newton’s laws of motion—perfectly reasonable data for a practicing astrophysicist. But will the government recognize solutions of F = ma on sight? Will it need a crash course in galactic dynamics to clear me for entry?

Joshua E. Barnes, Kyoto, Japan