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ISRAEL and the
U.S.:
THE REAL SHARED VALUES
by Karen English, San Francisco
We are constantly being reminded of the shared values of the United States
and Israel. Both would rather you think of democracy, freedom of expression,
pursuit of happiness, and something Judeo-Christian---when you hear those
two words. We've had that spiel rammed down our throats almost since
Israel's inception. I'd like to add some more values that the two
governments share. I deliberately use the word governments because I've
met many Americans who do not have the following values:
1. Both believe in occupying another people's land.
2. Both lust after what's not theirs.
a. America lusts after
Iraq's
oil.
b. Israel has taken advantage of its control of the West Bank and the
Gaza strip to appropriate water resources in both the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip-- -water resources that primarily (since 1967) benefit
Israeli settlements.
3. Both, when attacked, look around for a target to attack, with overkill.
It doesn't matter who or what is at the other end of their guns. The
objective is to strike at something. Both have a hideous point to prove
and they don't let innocent lives get in their way.
4. Both believe that American and Israeli blood is worth the blood of at
least a hundred innocent Iraqi,
Afghani,
or
Palestinian
civilians.
5. Both call names (terrorists, bad guys) to divert the world's attention
away from realizing they're the terrorists and the bad guys.
6. Both Sharon and
Bush
believe they belong to a special, chosen group.
a. Sharon feels he belongs to a people chosen by God.
b. Bush and the Christian Right feel on a special mission for
Christianity and the American way.
7. Both prefer that their military fight from a distance---in the sky.
Both militaries are full of bluster when attacking from way up high
(none of that hand-to-hand combat or "even playing field kind" of stuff).
8. Both are desperate to keep it a secret that Israel is at the root of
all the chaos that's going on in the world today.
(Maybe not all qualify as values, actually. You decide.)
I may have missed a few shared values. Or, maybe some more will occur to
me, but you get the idea.
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Analysis
Raid on
Syria
in Context of U.S.-Israeli Strategy
Signal to Rulers: You are there as long as we Want You:
You can be Removed
Projection of U.S.-backed Israeli Power Shows Serious Miscalculation
by Buut Shikan [Idol Breaker]
Israel jets attacked an empty refugee camp in Syria, north of Damascus.
[October 5] President Bush came out in support of the raid with a
statement that "Israel has the right of self-defense." Observers say that
self-defense cannot be claimed for a number of reasons:
i. Israel is in occupation of Palestine. Occupiers cannot invoke the
concept of 'self-defense.'
ii. Syria has not fired a shot at Israel in several decades.
iii. Islamic Jihad movement has categorically stated that it does not have
camps in Syria.
The Israeli raid on Syria makes more sense if seen in the context of the
steady escalation of U.S. moves against Syria,
Iran
and Saudi
Arabia.
The raid fits neatly into Israeli behavior as seen in the efforts to
bully Yasir Arafat. The Israelis desperately want secularist Palestinians
to crackdown on the "terrorists" (a code word for Islamic fighters). The
Israeli-U.S. policy, enunciated by President Bush, is that Islamic groups
must be "dismantled" by the Palestinian Authority.
Unfortunately for the U.S., Arafat still does not have the overwhelming
force needed to crush the Islamic resistance. His latest appointee has
expressed his inability to move against the Islamic fighters who are
steadily gaining public support.
In SYRIA, as in other Muslim countries, there is broad based public
support for the resistance in both Palestine and Iraq. The SYRIAN RULER
has not the slightest desire to fight Israel or to show any support for
Iraqi resistance, yet he cannot ignore public opinion in its entirety.
Indications are that Syrian Islamists are active in Iraq helping the
resistance. Bashar Assad has to keep a stance of "heroic opposition" to
both Israel and the U.S.
Thus the raid was a message to Assad: YOU ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH TO STOP
ISLAMIC forces in Syria. Get to work, otherwise we'll increase the
pressure.
The pro-Israeli political pundits are selling the "terrorism" [Islamic]
threat story to the U.S. administration on the plea that "terrorism" in
Palestine cannot be indigenous; it has to be state supported. Saddam was
supposedly behind Palestinian "terrorism." Iran is a suspect (through
Hizbullah), as is Syria. In the meantime the case against Saudi Arabia is
being built up.
It's not clear to what extent the U.S. 'buys' this theory, but it does
provide ammunition to the U.S. to bully and pressurize the governments to
act against Islamic groups within their ambit.
In the case of SYRIA, it's very clear that the regime there will not fight
Israel. Its army aims at keeping Bashar in power and has behaved in a
cowardly fashion in its stance towards the enemy across the border. Even
when Israel shoots at the Syrians, Bashar's troops do not shoot back.
Also, in the last couple of decades, there has been no attack in Israel
backed by any Syrian group.
ISRAEL and the U.S. are unable to see that ARMED ISLAMIC RESISTANCE is now
a global phenomenon. Islamic movements are not fringe groups of
"extremists" but the best part of every Muslim nation. Neither Sharon nor
Bush are realistic enough to see this fact. The MASSES of Muslim peoples
are often unable or unwilling to support the Islamic movements in each
country owing to fear of reprisals by governments which are often secular.
If Israel and the U.S. attack Syria or try to humiliate Syria, the result
will be greater mobilization of the people in favor of Islam and Palestine.
If actual fighting takes place, segments of the Syrian armed forces might
be radicalized in support of Islam
Thus the Israeli raid is a sign that the Jews have misread the temper of
the Islamic world. The U.S. might be able to use Israel against Syria,
just as Israel used the U.S. against Iraq. The weak "Muslim" secular system
might buckle but the mobilization of the Islamic world is being
accelerated by these counterproductive moves.
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HANADI JARADAT, FEMALE MARTYR, KILLED 19 ISRAELIS
How to stop Collateral Damage?
by our
Media
Monitor
Hanadi, 27 years old, was a devout Muslim, an educated, clear thinking
person who worked as an apprentice lawyer in
Jenin,
the Palestinian town which has suffered devastation under Israeli air and
tank attacks. The Jews had killed her brother, Fadi, and her cousin, Saleh.
On October 4, 2003 Hanadi sacrificed herself in an attack carried out in
the occupied city of Haifa. In her picture released by AFP she looks
serene, intelligent and lively.
Her mother, like the true mother of a
martyr,
said: "I am happy with her because she has killed those who have killed my
son. They kill us every day."
Her father, Tayssi Jaradat, told
al-Jazeera
with great pride: "She is a very strong person."
COMMENTARY: Some innocent people were also killed in Haifa. It appears
that during martyrdom operations, warning the innocent to leave is
difficult if not impossible. Observers say that the Palestinians should
distribute warnings to Israelis not to let innocents and non-combatants
into areas where adults congregate. Israelis, being occupiers are fair
targets under international law. They should be encouraged not to allow
their troops, in or out of uniform to mix with children and non-Jews.
Also, the Palestinians should learn the art of public relations. In case
innocents get killed in a strike, a statement of regret should be issued.
In case the martyr-attacker survives the attack, he or she should be tried
for hurting the innocents and sentenced to at least some prison time.
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2003-10-11 Sat 21:14ct