Posted May 1, 2002

Last Stage

Excellent article on the false god of democracy. Actually, the Balkans are nearer the last stage in Plato's cycle -- anarchy -- after which the path is open to a consolidating force and the rule of the best. When Rome fell, things moved east, to Constantinople.

~ Aleksandar P., Beograd

Asiatic Despotism

Regarding Justin Raimondo's reply to David Stratman:

The main problem of the Arab world is that it has been blessed with a tremendous oil wealth that is coveted by the only Western military superpower.

By the way, despite the fact that you "hate most leftists," you seem to agree with Karl Marx's view about Asiatic-style despotism.

~ S. Zitzler

Uninformed and Liking It

I have just recently learned about Antiwar.com, which I find to be the best source of news and opinion about the Middle East. Although I am a native of Chicago, most of my career (1951-86) was spent teaching math at the American University of Beirut. Knowing what I have learned from personal experience, I find it very disheartening to see that most Americans are uninformed and liking it. Of course, the media are not very helpful in correcting this situation. For example, Bush tells us that anyone who supports terrorists is guilty of terrorism, but nobody asks him why he supports Ariel Sharon.

The fact that the current prime minister of Israel is a serial killer (at least since 1953) is of less concern to the American public than the latest sports news. Antiwar.com provides a wealth of information which one hopes will eventually make a difference. One outstanding example is the writing of Ran HaCohen, who is intelligent, honest, articulate, and very courageous.

~ Peter Y.

Not Entitled to Rights

Read ... [Justin Raimondo's] fine article on journalistic intimidation. But I must say this: you write many things that are right and some things that are wrong, but on the issue of the First Amendment from our obviously-flawed Constitution it seems that almost everyone misses the boat.

Free speech does not mean license to say anything one wants. Free speech, the ability to criticize one's government (or Israel), for example, should be protected; license should be discouraged. In the "bad" old days, before the enlightened liberalism of the Reformation and the Revolution of the eighteenth century, license was self-censored by ladies and gentlemen who were of the true Faith.

You would do better not to applaud the infantile ravings that appear in a typical student newspaper (which should be summarily punished by school elders) or get upset when child pornographers are denied their rights. Garbage like that is not entitled to rights: they are entitled to being hung. Would that we had a morally-untainted government that could carry out the sentence.

~ Dan G.

Israel/South Africa

It is time to stimulate a national dialog on the reasons why Israel should be allowed to maintain a nation for the benefit of people of a single religion. No other civilized nation on Earth does that. All civilized nations allow freedom of religion for their citizens. In the US, even very small groups of people who form, e.g. country clubs, are prevented from maintaining exclusivity for members of a single race or religious group. It is inconceivable in the year 2002 that a nation of 5 million Israelis can deny full citizenship to those of other religions who have as much right to full citizenship privileges where they were born as Israelis immigrating from foreign lands. This exclusivity is most certainly a characteristic which makes them the most bigoted people on Earth.

South Africa was not allowed to base citizenship on race in view of the violence that this engendered by Whites against Blacks and Coloreds, and Israel should not be allowed to base citizenship on religion in view of the violence and brutality that the world has just witnessed. US institutions should divest themselves of any companies, which do business with Israel as they did with South Africa. All federal aid and welfare to Israel should be stopped, and all debts, which Israel owes the US, should be collected. To do otherwise makes a sham of US Human Rights policies.

~ E.S.

Trend in Diversification

Kudos to the fine letter from Hendrik R. of April 26, 2002.

I can assure you, Henry, that not many of Antiwar.com's readership has the foresight to appreciate what you have written; convincing these whiners of the need for self-preservation is like trying to pi** up a rope.

Again I thank Antiwar.com's editorial staff for the trend in diversification.

~ DB

Terrorists

The U.S. isn't really against terrorists; it's just against terrorists who aren't its friends and allies! After all, if it were against terrorists, it would be against Israel, against the various Israeli governments that have thrown the Palestinians off their land and seized it, bulldozed their houses, torn up their olive trees and orchards, herded the people into virtual concentration camps, shot their children for throwing stones, etc., all the while blaming the poor Palestinians for what they were doing to them!

But the US hasn't been against Israeli terrorists. In fact, the US supports the government of Israel with billions of dollars of direct foreign aid every year, and billions more dollars of indirect and often invisible military and economic aid.

The US also imposes murderous sanctions upon Iraq, killing thousands of people every month and condemning most of the rest of the population to a miserable, disease-ridden, poverty-stricken existence just because they don't like Saddam Hussein -- although they profit from his existence, since he makes it possible for them to sell billions of dollars of weapons to the Saudis and the Kuwaitis, and station US troops in the Mideast to "protect" them.

So is it any wonder that the Arabs and Muslims of the world see the US itself as one of the biggest terrorists of all? -- And that many other honest-minded individuals and governments around the world agree with them?

~ Ted Rudow III, California