Palestine is in chaos again and wider conflict looms. While unfair to say President George W. Bush created the situation in the West Bank, he did add accelerant to the conflict through the use of inflammatory rhetoric. Now comes the blowback.
Terrorism is the new Communism and the excesses of the McCarthy era are reappearing in the war against terrorism. The president's now famous "axis of evil" speech has become the basis for atrocities committed in the guise of defending the United States.
Just the same way the Sept. 11 attackers hijacked Islam, the military industrial complex has hijacked our patriotism. Bill Clinton said the most expensive peace is cheaper than the least expensive war. There is great truth in this. America has called upon her sons and daughters to commit to a crusade and the defense sector is salivating.
For some, war is a way of life and peace is not acceptable. America is not an empire nor should it be, but the question of America's role in the world has been put forth again.
Osama bin Laden believes he may destroy the West by drawing us into a clash of civilizations, so he may promote revolution against Western influence in the Islamic world. There is evidence that bin Laden is in Pakistan and that al Qaida is regrouping there.
On Dec. 13, Islamic militants attacked the Indian Parliament and brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. The Kashmiri militants charged in the attack were affiliated with al Qaida, and a plausible scenario develops when the dynamics of the region are examined. Who benefits from war between India and Pakistan? Pakistani militants associated with bin Laden do.
If Pakistan can be destabilized, bin Laden can establish an Islamic state in Pakistan - and this state will have nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Colin Powell managed to neutralize the situation, but he has been thwarted by the Bush administration time and again.
Bush is thinking about November. Powell is thinking about keeping this country safe. War is good for presidential poll numbers, and though they have slipped, there is still 80 percent support for the president. Republicans err in the belief that these numbers indicate support for Bush and his policies. This is invalid. The American people stand solidly behind the president as the corporeal manifestation of our country, but this does not translate into support for Bush.
The president has encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and has helped plunge Palestine into disorder. In the United Nations Security Council, the United States joined other nations in condemning Israel's actions, presumably under the direction of Powell, yet Bush has squarely laid blame upon the Palestinians. If we accept the targeting of civilians for political ends as the definition of terrorism, then the Palestinians are committing terrorist attacks.
Israeli reprisals, however, must also be terrorism. The Israelis have arbitrarily taken all men of fighting age into their custody in occupied areas, saying they are Palestinians, therefore terrorists. This is a bigoted fallacy, and Israel of all nations should know better. Israel isn't giving orders, though, Sharon has. Outside Bethlehem, Israeli tanks are waiting.
Despite atrocities on both sides there is deeper truth. The enemy is not Palestinian nor Israeli. In the wider context, the United States is not fighting people. The enemy is war. This is the monster that takes children from the mothers and makes fatherless sons.
The United States must take comprehensive action against that which causes war. Poverty breeds discontent, as does the loss of dignity. Only George Marshall, Henry Truman's secretary of state, saved Europe in the retrospective, and now it is Powell who says compassion is the answer. Bush would do well to listen.
Write to Courtney at sturgeoncourtney@hotmail.com
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
