|
|||||||||
Posted November 19, 2001
The Larger Picture
[Regarding the letters of November 16:]
I hate getting into this, but as a Bulgarian and a Balkan I cannot help but defend Nebojsa Malic for all that he is doing to present an alternative (that is, informed) view on that which is going on in our region. His erudition and knowledge of Balkan history are to be respected, his ability to see the larger picture is rare and valuable, and his insight is truly enlightening.
I believe, the point of Nebojsa's articles is not to educate people on Balkan or European politics. There are books for that and the Balkan history you will find there is so complicated that I would not advise people who are not well versed in this to get into petty squabbles over why, for example, the author chose to leave his country. I can give those people one idea, just as a start: Why are Afghans leaving their country? I believe the question, as posed to Nebojsa, is greatly insensitive and not very well-meaning, to say the least.
The "frightening" thinking of Nebojsa is the thinking which is missing in much of the western media – unfortunately. It is a thinking that connects. We have no choice but "connect" here in the Balkans, because our history is all too complex with always more players on stage than we need. So we learn how to draw connections and explain things to ourselves.
Many people here are critical of western life; not because we do not appreciate western culture. It is the disintegration of the educational system, the encouraging of mediocrity and the training of an isolated, "non-connective" mind that we are criticizing in the West. It is the destruction of western culture that we disagree with, not the culture itself. It is the reduction of the human being to an automated production function that we as humans deep in our souls want to avoid. It is the dehumanization of the other through the stereotyping of the media, it is the loss of the quality of life that we regret.
This is not an East vs. West issue. It is a matter of understanding, of striving towards understanding. And that's why I am thankful to Nebojsa, and all the other people on Antiwar.com for allowing this website to benefit from his, Nebojsa's, point of view.... It is a point of view that is not publicized in most of the western media, but it is a view that matters. It is a view that mattered when airplanes killed in Serbia two years ago with the silent consent of the American public – a consent that might not have been given if more of those views were actually heard. So let's not pick on each other – let's try to understand, let's try to learn.
Nebojsa Malic replies:
Thank you. Such thoughts make Balkan Express worth writing.
Coverage
...Keep up the good work. Antiwar.com's coverage of this war is, I think, its best ever.
The Three Stooges of Diplomacy
Over the past 75 or so years, we were able to eradicate most infectious diseases such as smallpox and polio. Now, in this generation, the so-called elite and intelligentsia have brought these wonderful plagues back to us. Many thanks to Drs. Kissinger, Eagleburger and Rockefeller, the Three Stooges of diplomacy, for all of their foreign policy successes! Great job guys! We obviously need to stop listening to these guys and their political lackeys (Tony Blair, William Kristol, etc.) but that is unlikely. The New York University of Knuckleheads is alive and well! (N.Y.U.K., N.Y.U.K.)
~ A. Shyster, Professor Emeritus, N.Y.U.K., Political Science Department
Different Views
We will continue to defend your right to have different views.
Hoax?
[Regarding the "Backtalk" editor's reply to Majid F.'s letter of November 14, "Proof":]
Suppose the tape is a hoax? Since the tape is in Arabic, how do we know the translation presented is accurate? How do we know Usama is not still a CIA asset, and still carrying out what he is asked to do? The answer to these questions (and there are others, I just kept this brief) is we don't. Hardly gives me much confidence in the US government line, especially considering their tendency to lie in the past....
Maybe
This site is awesome. You guys always have the links to the important news stories before I do and you get a lot of things I miss. I may just start directing people to your website instead. Keep up the great work of getting the message out. Slowly, inexorably maybe we can get somewhere. Thanks a million!
~ Chris S., LettersNeverSent.com
Wishful
Thinking
Much of Jim Wilson’s letter of November 14, 2001 reflects American wishful thinking about Japan. When Tokugawa established the isolationist policy in 1600, ... the Russians were concerned with the Urals. By 1850 Russia had crossed the Siberian plain, then the Pacific to Oregon. The Monroe Doctrine was established with American arrogance to forestall further Russian expansion. Only the Royal Navy, the greatest maritime power of the day, could enforce that edict. American ingratitude has persisted to this day. Japan was much more sharply focused on possible Russian expansion onto Hokkaido in the 1850s and '60s.
Extreme Japanese nationalists obtained the sanction of the emperor to revoke existing treaties in 1863. Hotheads at Choshu then fired on foreign shipping. In reply the British sent nine warships, assisted by the ever-helpful United States with one makeshift merchant steamer, to bombard the coast. Overwhelmed and impressed by the western weapons, the feudal clans of Satsuma and Choshu overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867 and became the new rulers of Japan using the fiction of the restoration of the Emperor. These newly empowered samurai reversed their anti-foreign policy and invited the barbarians in as teachers so they could gain time and knowledge of new methods of war.
Long before the arrival of Commodore Perry in Tokyo Bay the Japanese had direct contact with the West, most notably the Dutch for commercial contacts and with the Spanish and Portuguese for whom religious proselytizing had more significance. The Portuguese introduced the gun in the early 1500s, and Japanese society warmly embraced the firearm. The triumph at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 that led to the consolidation of Tokugawa rule in Japan was accomplished largely by the success of citizen militia whose prowess with the gun largely negated the samurai with his sword. On that day over 230,000 men were in the field, and though there were cannons, they were ineffective. The gun dominated.1
Then, in one of the most successful public safety programs in history the gun was banned, and the samurai and his code were placed once again on top of the social hierarchy.2
The view presented by Mr. Wilson proves, if nothing else, the technique of determining what Americans want to hear. If in doubt, say it again and again. Eventually Americans will come to believe it. Japan looked for an alternative to both Russia and England for foreign intercourse. Our relative weakness appealed to them.
~ Dick Earley
1. George Sansom, A History of Japan: 1334-1615, pp411-3 (Stanford, 1987)
2. Noel Perrin, Giving Up the Gun: Japan's Reversion to the Sword (Shambhala, Boulder, 1980)