Posted May 14, 2002

Demonization in Popular Culture

Reading Nebojsa Malic’s recent column “Images Worth a Thousand Lies” was quite eye-opening, and summarizes well the images that I have been viewing with sorrow over the last few years as an American-Serb living in the United States.

I’d like to add to what he has outlined by mentioning a children’s book I recently picked up for my 5-year old daughter at the local public library. The book was called Gleam and Glow, and had an attractive cover with two goldfish on it. Seeing the cover, my daughter picked it up and decided that this would be her pick of the week. Reading it to her later at home, I was horrified to see that it was actually about Bosnian children living through a war which was obviously portrayed as having been provoked by Bosnian-Serbs who were also – between-the-lines – accused of committing atrocities and breaking up families. The hero’s name – a small boy whose father was in the “underground” fighting against the Aggressor Serbs – was also named Victor.

I find it most distressing that stories such as these should not only find their way into the local lore here in the United States, but that they should be positioned to innocent children in the 4-8 age group! The demonizing of the Serbs continues in a big way, and now through the indoctrination of our children, no less!

~ Marijana Ignjatovic, Chicago

Nebojsa Malic replies:

Sometimes I am grateful that the demonizers lack skill to match their commitment. Some of the more outrageous twists to reality are rendered harmless by their sheer folly. Such as calling a 'Bosnian' (whatever that is) 'Victor' while someone fighting Serbs would sooner be Mustafa, Shpetim or even Osama (well, he was there...). More disturbing is that there has been no official response of any kind from either the Serb governments or the Serb organizations in the West, to protest the ongoing demonization in popular culture.

Allergic to Progressives

[Regarding "The Story of the Century," May 10:]

Once again, I am astounded at the naivety of Mr. Raimondo and his continual denial of what motivates our President and his cabinet. His slander of the very courageous Ms. McKinney is offensive and the fact that all he can do is resort to name-calling is pathetic. It appears that he will condone George2's behavior until the bitter end....

He is so allergic to progressives and obsessed with the Israeli situation (understandably so) that he is unable to see what motivates this administration and probably still believes that George2 actually won the election, fair and square.

It is beyond my comprehension how anyone so aware in some areas could not fathom the Cynthia McKinney story. (Really now, who else has benefited from 9/11, other than George Walker Bush and friends?) He certainly believes in conspiracy stories from the Israelis but, alas, hasn't a clue about the dark underbelly of American business and the profits of war.

~ Despina Douglas, California

'Art Student' Front

I greatly enjoy reading ... [Justin Raimondo's] articles, which I find informative and immensely readable.

With regards to your last article (and numerous others) about the Israeli spy ring and art students, I have an Israeli friend who was selling paintings in the USA. He was neither (as far as I am concerned, and he is a good friend) working for Mossad or anyone else to enter American facilities. Rather, he was posing as an art student to make money selling paintings that were purchased from a central art dealer. The art dealer bought the paintings for $5 in China, and the Israeli ‘art students’ would pay $50 and sell them off (often for hundreds of dollars). You had to be an Israeli, or speak Hebrew, to be able to get involved with the art dealer – my friend’s sister in law who is American phoned to try and was curtly told to go away.

Therefore, maybe many Israelis were selling paintings and a certain few were using the ‘art student’ as a front for researching -- who knows? -- something that the American government should reveal to her citizens.

Keep up the great coverage!

~ Paul C., England

Stability

I was afraid you [Justin Raimondo] would go ballistic when you saw that Salon piece on the Israeli art "students," since so much of the information is stuff you have already written voluminously upon. For my own part, I'm just glad to have the story appear anywhere in the mainstream press.

Sorry, but I just don't buy the idea that Salon is engaged in some diabolical and devious plot to discredit the story and divert attention away from the idea that the Israeli's had foreknowledge of the terrorist plot, and failed to tell us about it. I do, however, agree with your idea about the Israeli's having knowledge of the terrorist's plots beforehand, and not giving us adequate info. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that if they allow the attacks to happen, then the United States will do their dirty work for them in attacking Arab terrorists.

You know, I had to laugh when reading the Salon piece, over the spook's code name "Stability." Is that as in "don't rock the boat?"

Keep up the great work, Justin.

~ Ken A.

Basics of Islam

I'm saddened to see that Antiwar chose to put up the
article by Falsafay Ghaalib (pseudonym), 'The Quest for
Modernity in Islam.'

I found the article full of the usual clichés, distortions, misunderstandings and stereotyping of Islam that I see in many articles in the media. I don't usually respond to them, but because I and my family are avid readers of Antiwar.com, I felt I must!

Mr. Ghaalib, it seems to us, doesn't understand even the basics of Islam. There are just too many whopping errors for me to correct, but I would confirm that the Qur'aan and the Sunnah provide all the principles for every aspect of living. Even though these principles, such as truth, justice, kindness, equality of the sexes and races, were revealed 14 centuries ago, they don't need to be brought up to the level of 'modernity' because they transcend time.

They are particular to our innate human nature, regardless of which era one lives in. They are as important now as they were in the early centuries.

Islam strongly encourages us -- any Muslim, or non-Muslim -- to definitely question every aspect of Islam, until they understand it, rather than adopt blind-following. You can't really have true faith if you don't know the 'why' and 'how' of what you are supposed to believe! Islam doesn't require one to abandon any of their intellect in studying it, on the contrary, it should be used fully in understanding Islam.

The things he mentions -- organ transplants, genome research, stockmarkets etc. -- well, these things have already been addressed and many rulings given, some of them, a long time ago.

I think it is only Mr. Ghaalib who needs to 'modernise' his knowledge and understanding of Islam, rather than the other way around!

(Do keep up all the good work, especially the excellent stuff by Messrs. Justin Raimondo and Ran HaCohen!)

~ Maryam S., London

Questions

Re: "The Story of the Century"

Justin Raimondo would have us believe that (1) the Israeli Mossad tracked Al-Qaeda operatives in the US and knew about the Sept. 11 attacks in advance; (2) in order to cover its tracks, the Mossad sent (starting more than 18 months preceding the attacks) young Israeli numbskulls all over the US to bumble around federal agencies and military bases in order to distract the US counterintelligence apparatus; and that (3) some of the numbskulls were actually living in the vicinity of Mohammed Atta et al. and therefore must have been real Mossad agents posing as cover-up numbskulls posing as aggressively annoying art students.

Now that super-sleuths like Raimondo are unraveling the Mossad's operation, the Mossad is planting false stories that purport to implicate Israel in the actual planning of the Sept. 11 attacks. The reason? So that the ludicrously false stories can be debunked, thereby discrediting the real story, which is that the Mossad knew about Sept. 11 beforehand and didn't warn the US.

Perhaps consideration of the following questions will set Raimondo straight (an improbable result I know):

1. Isn't it doubtful that the Mossad dedicates any resources to tracking Al-Qaeda? The Mossad has its hands full with about half a dozen Palestinian terrorist groups, as well as Israel's immediate Arab neighbors. Al-Qaeda has never attacked Israeli targets and has always been our problem, not theirs. What would the Mossad have to gain by tracking Al-Qaeda agents with no connection to the Palestinians?
2. If the Mossad really wanted to inundate US counterintelligence agencies with "noise," why use Israeli citizens? The idea is to distract the US agencies' interest, not attract it. The Mossad could have hired Chinese, Turkish, American or (best of all) Arab "art students" instead. The use of Israeli citizens as sacrificial dupes would definitely be out of character for the Mossad.
3. Is the only reason for believing the Mossad tracked Atta that for a short period of time, a clutch of Israeli art students lived only a block away from Atta in Hollywood, Florida (not California by the way). Does it make sense that Mossad agents should do double duty as decoy art students and as covert spies? Did the spies really need to live only a block away? Why not closer so that they could actually conduct 24-hour surveillance, or further away, so they could more easily avoid detection?
4. Is the Mossad really some sort of super-intelligence agency capable of greater feats of espionage than the FBI and CIA (and on US soil to boot)? There is no evidence that the Israelis are any better than we are at counterintelligence, and it seems hard to believe that they could outdo us here in the US.
5. Do you think the Israelis would let a terrorist attack proceed that could conceivably have killed tens of thousands, among whom thousands would be Jews?

Finally, I find it extremely dishonest of Raimondo to cite numerous published articles to corroborate and advance his Israeli spy story, when every single one of those articles is based exclusively on the 60-page DEA report already widely available on the internet. That is not corroboration; it is duplication.

~ Eric Meyer

Hidden Logic

Analysts and pundits around the world have asked why in the world should the US attack Iraq now? No one has raised one reasonable justification or benefit, yet the US administration continues to defy both logic and world opinion, and continues to press on with their plan. Let me suggest that there is a hidden logic, presented and approved at the highest levels of US government by Richard Perle, Wolfowitz, et. all:

The only way to combat terrorism and fanaticism as they see it, is to demonstrate such a terrible consequence that it will create unconditional surrender in the hearts of men, a sense of defeat, and a loss of faith in their systems of belief. This method proved successful in the past with what they believe was a similar situation -- the Kamikaze pilots of World War II, and the fanatic Japanese. The solution: two nuclear holocausts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ensuring the loss of faith en masse of the Japanese people.

Let me suggest that Iraq is just a convenient example for the rest of the Muslims. If Iraq can be provoked to send a scud to Israel (or anywhere for that matter), then they will have the excuse they need to demonstrate their Hydrogen bombs. Absolute devastation, a warning to all forever, resulting in compliant and friendly natives. A guarantee of Israel's security for at least a hundred years. Simple and absolutely evil.

~ Ahmad K.