this woman is right,
i dont think i could even make myself disagree as a joke...
On Thu, 2006-08-10 at 21:36 +0900, Keith Addison wrote:
http://eatthestate.org/10-24/OpenLetterto.htm
Arab Woman
by Mira Al Hussein
2 August 2006
President Bush,
It has become extremely difficult to give you the benefit of the
doubt on Lebanon, for you have left no doubt in our minds. We are now
certain--like many of us have always been--that your foreign policy
is completely biased towards Israel, and you have made no effort to
hide this fact.
It is your choice, Mr. Bush, to support Israel, just like it is
our--the entire Arab and Muslim world's--choice to support Lebanon.
You insist that Israel has the right to defend itself. Defending
oneself, I believe, is a universal right, not exclusive to Israel.
The first Qana massacre did not quench the Israeli thirst for
blood, it is said, graphically describing yet another Israeli crime
against the innocents of Lebanon. In Qana, 57 weaponless, defenseless
civilians died in an Israeli air strike. Thirty-seven of them were
children. Maybe these numbers don't matter to you, Mr. Bush; they are
mere numbers of the nameless Lebanese dead. But they matter to more
than 200 million Arabs in the Middle East.
I quote our late president, Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who in
1973 had said, Arab oil is not dearer than Arab blood. But it seems
that Iraqi oil is dearer than American blood. I am somewhat relieved
to arrive at this conclusion. At least there's no racism against a
certain group of people. Everybody is a potential sacrifice to secure
US interests, even if it means sacrificing a whole nation.
No, Mr. Bush, we will not accept, nor will we allow the sacrifice of
more Lebanese civilians. A ceasefire should have been enforced two
weeks ago. Was there a need for 37 children to die before you decided
it was time for a ceasefire? How many more, Mr. Bush, should die
before you decide to stop sending those bloody weapons to Israel?
Perhaps we can afford a sacrifice that will rein in your generosity
towards Israel permanently?
We, the people of the Middle East, have a dream for a new Middle
East. Not the New Middle East that you've been brainstorming in
your Oval Office. It is the new Middle East that Middle Easterners
have been dreaming of: a Middle East with no violence, and no US-made
weapons to fuel that violence. It is a dream only we, Middle
Easterners, are allowed to dream and realize.
In Arabic we have a saying that goes, They murder the murdered and
walk in his funeral. Allow me to interpret this for you, Mr. Bush:
Your precision-guided missiles shipment has arrived in Tel Aviv.
These missiles will precisely fall onto Lebanese villages; kill
hundreds; and displace thousands more. (Evidently, we've just
witnessed the first precise target in Qana.)
Yet you have compassionately been able to send aid to Beirut, at
the same time, with supplies for the thousands of people directly and
fatally affected by your vocal, (im)moral and military support for
Israel. Please include US flags in your aid shipment to Beirut; they
must have burned all the US flags in stock.
Mr. Bush, Lebanon can and will be rebuilt, but lost lives cannot be
restored. Your credibility and your government's credibility have
long been lost--irretrievably lost like those lost innocent lives.
However, people will not forget this. They will not turn the other
cheek; they will retaliate--just like you chose to retaliate after
9/11. Retaliation is a value you have successfully promoted by
putting it into practice, always.
I was born too late to see how the British Empire collapsed, but
right on time to see how the American Empire is falling apart. Mr.
Bush, you will surely be remembered in history for hastening that
process.
With no more respect to offer,
Mira Al Hussein
Mira Al Hussein is a writer based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates who
has written for Dubai's English-language Khaleej Times. She can be
reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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