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Salam to all,
This is my reply to thomas Friedman.
My comments to his articel are in italics. Enjoy.
Salam
Strategy of Suicide Bombings
New York Times commentary by Thomas L. Friedman
The outcome of the war now under way between the Israelis and Palestinians is vital to the security of every American, and indeed, I believe, to all of civilization. Why? Quite simply because Palestinians are testing out a whole new form of warfare, using suicide bombers — strapped with dynamite and dressed as Israelis — to achieve their political aims. And it is working.
Israelis are terrified. And Palestinians, although this strategy has wrecked their society, feel a rising sense of empowerment. They feel they finally have a weapon that creates a balance of power with Israel, and maybe, in their fantasies, can defeat Israel. As Ismail Haniya, a Hamas leader, said in The Washington Post, Palestinians have Israelis on the run now because they have found their weak spot. Jews, he said, "love life more than any other people, and they prefer not to die." So Palestinian suicide bombers are ideal for dealing with them. That is really sick.
The world must understand that the Palestinians have not chosen suicide bombing out of "desperation" stemming from the Israeli occupation. That is a huge lie. Why? To begin with, a lot of other people in the world are desperate, yet they have not gone around strapping dynamite to themselves.
"I love they way you put it. You chose your words carefully. You are making equal someone desperate because their girlfriend or boyfriend dumped them, with someone desperate because they wake up and go to sleep with USA made F16 jetfighters, and Merkava 4 tanks shelling their homeland, cracking their dreams, killing their beloved ones, massacering children, rounding up men, up rooting 100 year old olive trees, destroying homes, forcing pregnant women to deliver on asphalt.... and the list goes on. Only the NAZIS have matched such a list!!!!!
Ironically however, the ones the NAZIS were excercising their talents against i.e. the Jews are the same ones exercising it against the palestinians!!!!!"
"More important, President Clinton offered the Palestinians a peace plan that could have ended their "desperate" occupation, and Yasir Arafat walked away."
"This sounds as if president Clinton offered the Palestinians something out of his pocket, like maybe giving them the state of New Hampshire to create an independent state in it.
What president Clinton offered is 97% of the 40% of what was initially agreed upon. Not 97% of the west bank and Gaza!!!"
Still more important, the Palestinians have long had a tactical alternative to suicide: nonviolent resistance, à la Gandhi. A nonviolent Palestinian movement appealing to the conscience of the Israeli silent majority would have delivered a Palestinian state 30 years ago, but they have rejected that strategy, too.
The reason the Palestinians have not adopted these alternatives is because they actually want to win their independence in blood and fire. All they can agree on as a community is what they want to destroy, not what they want to build. Have you ever heard Mr. Arafat talk about what sort of education system or economy he would prefer, what sort of constitution he wants? No, because Mr. Arafat is not interested in the content of a Palestinian state, only the contours.
" No that is not true Mr Friedman. It was the USA and Israel that were not interested in the infrastructure of a palestinian state not Arafat. All the USA and israel were interested in was a police force to control the palestinians. That is why they helped fund a police force before helping fund infrastructure projects, as if the palestinians are wild animals in need of a cage. The first thing that Arafat and the Palestinian authority got from the USA was anti demonstration tools and weapons to control any demonstration those palestinians could mount "
Let's be very clear: Palestinians have adopted suicide bombing as a strategic choice, not out of desperation. This threatens all civilization because if suicide bombing is allowed to work in Israel, then, like hijacking and airplane bombing, it will be copied and will eventually lead to a bomber strapped with a nuclear device threatening entire nations.
" Lets not be dramatic Mr Friedman, and lets not use scare tactics. We all know that having a nuclear device connected and detonated needs countries with big finances to carry out, not some guy out there who will do it on his own using a "Nuclear weapons for dummies" book."
That is why the whole world must see this Palestinian suicide strategy defeated.
But how? This kind of terrorism can be curbed only by self-restraint and repudiation by the community itself. No foreign army can stop small groups ready to kill themselves. How do we produce that deterrence among Palestinians? First, Israel needs to deliver a military blow that clearly shows terror will not pay.
" Mr friedman here we go again. Why are you misleading your buddies in Israel? They have been trying to do this for the past 18 months. What is happening to them is because people like you have brought them from all over the world, from safe homes in America, Australia, Russia, Ethiopia and other countries and promised them a safe home in Palestine. However, what you forgot to tell them is that the safe home in Palestine is an occupied home by palestinians who had been living there for Melliniums. Those palestinians also turned out to be really patriotic maniacs. They are ready to die for their homes like any other descent people."
Second, America needs to make clear that suicide bombing is not Israel's problem alone.
" You are absolutly right here. America needs to get all those poor israelis that it promised safety and prosperity in Palestinae and pay for them to return back to their natural homes. That is a great way to save them the craziness of all those suicide bombers."
To that end, the U.S. should declare that while it respects the legitimacy of Palestinian nationalism, it will have no dealings with the Palestinian leadership as long as it tolerates suicide bombings. Further, we should make clear that Arab leaders whose media call suicide bombers "martyrs" aren't welcome in the U.S.
"I agree wholeheartedly Mr Friedman, if I knew I might die by a suicide attack I would leave rather than die. No one should die because of a suicide attack. You are a very talented journalist who could move people maybe to help the poor israelis be returned back to their original homes.
I would also like to tell you if the leaders of the countries whose media calls the suicide attackers martyrs are not welcome in the USA, I think you will be left without many of them. I don't know if the US government would want to say goodbye to the oil rich wealthy gulf heads of states.!. You were recently in Saudi Arabia and you probably know what their media says. Also the good ole infamous Aljazeera channel is located in Qatar another gulf state. They, by the way call the suicide bombers martyrs. For more info on that you can look up dish network at www.dishnetwork.com You can get aljazeera from them for 9.99$ a month "
Third, Israel must tell the Palestinian people that it is ready to resume talks where they left off with Mr. Clinton, before this intifada. Those talks were 90 percent of the way toward ending the occupation and creating a Palestinian state. Fourth, U.S. or NATO troops must guarantee any Israeli-Palestinian border.
Buzz!!!! Wrong!! You got this one wrong Mr Friedman.
Israel should tell the palestinian people that it is going to end its 19th century style occupation.
And yes, U.S. and NATO troops should help kick the occupation out pf palestine like it helped kick out the Iraqi occupation out of Kuwait 10 years ago, and like it helped defeat the serbian aggressors a few years ago. However, I will not say that the U.S. and NATO should help liberate Palestine from the Israelis like they helped Liberate Europe from the NAZIS because this might be too much for you to tolerate as part of the biased U.S. parrot media!
"The Spanish Civil War was the place where the major powers all tested out their new weapons before World War II," said the Israeli political theorist Yaron Ezrahi. "Well, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today is the Spanish Civil War for the 21st century. A big test is taking place of whether suicide terrorism can succeed as a strategy for liberation. It must be defeated, but that requires more than a military strategy."
The Palestinians are so blinded by their narcissistic rage that they have lost sight of the basic truth civilization is built on: the sacredness of every human life, starting with your own. If America, the only reality check left, doesn't use every ounce of energy to halt this madness and call it by its real name, then it will spread. The Devil is dancing in the Middle East, and he's dancing our way.
As for this last piece, I am not going to comment on it, because only time will prove it right or wrong!!!! |