Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id CAA21514 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 13 Sep 2001 02:05:21 +0100 Message-ID: <002701c13bef$998c0f00$3e24f4d8@teddace> From: "Dace" <edace@earthlink.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <Pine.GSO.4.21.0109121657360.19361-100000@rac3.wam.umd.edu> Subject: Re: Why? Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 18:01:15 -0700 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> I join Vince, Philip, Lawrence, Angie and Kenneth in sending
> condolences and sympathies.
>
>
> I also agree with Lawrence that we should be thinking why this
> occurred. Such a strong statement, what are the causes of it? Why do so
> many peoples, individuals hate the US so? What has the US done to them?
>
> I would like to hear some of your opinions.
>
> Luisa
Let's start with Afghanistan. In the summer of 1979, the US began arming
the Islamic fundamentalist Mujahedin. According to Zbigniew Brzezinski,
then National Security Advisor under President Carter, the idea was to wreak
enough havoc so as to "induce a Soviet military intervention." This
invasion did indeed occur six months later, resulting in colossal
devastation and suffering. The Taliban, who were trained and armed by the
CIA, know perfectly well that they were used as a tool in the Cold War, and
they're perfectly happy to protect Osama bin Laden, a Saudi who was also
trained and funded by the CIA, while he carries out terrorist acts against
the United States.
Now let's turn to Iraq. For six weeks in early 1991, the US bombed Iraq,
killing thousands of innocent people. The focus was on civilian
infrastructure, such as power plants, hospitals, water treatment plants,
etc. None of this bombing had the slightest strategic value. It had no
effect whatsoever on the actual war, which lasted only a few days. Its only
function was to destroy Iraq as a regional power. In the ten years since,
the US has prevented the country from rebuilding. The result has been
upwards of a million more deaths. As Thomas Nagy revealed in a recent
article for The Progressive, US planners knew from the beginning that
preventing Iraq from rebuilding or even maintaining its water purification
plants would cause disease and death on a large scale, and that the people
most likely to be stricken and killed would be children. This is a war
crime.
And let's not forget Israel. The Israelis could not possibly maintain their
murderous repression of Palestinians without huge quantities of American
aid. Recently Israel has assassinated Palestinian leaders and used
American-made aircraft to slaughter civilians. This is on top of decades of
home demolitions, inadequate water supplies, and informal apartheid.
September 11 was the anniversary of George Bush's 1990 address to Congress
heralding the war against Iraq. It's also the anniversary of the Camp David
Accords, which removed Egypt as a countervailing force for Palestinian
rights.
The US has brought terror and destruction to Middle Eastern peoples on a
scale vastly beyond whatever token retribution was exacted on Tuesday.
Ted
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