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Iraq's Suffering Children and Impoverished Existence from Sanctions Absent from America's Conscience
by Mohamed
Khodr
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The Honorable President George W. Bush
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The Honorable Secretary of State Colin Powell
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The Honorable Members of Congress
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Mr. Peter Jennings
I'd like to begin this letter with the strongest condemnation of
President Saddam Hussein. This ruthless, murderous dictator has
allowed the destruction of his nation in endless unnecessary
conflicts, has squandered the wealth and lives of Iraqi's, has
invaded two nations, murdered civilians, has furthered the
division and animosity within the already fractious back biting
Arab world, has allowed the establishment of military bases in
Arab land whose presence in effect allow domination of the
political and economic future of the region as well as ensure
Israel's expanded hegemony and murderous occupation of
Palestinians, and most importantly has seriously damaged the
truth of Islam for a long time. Yet, this dictator like Bin
Laden, like the House of Saud, and every Muslim and non-Muslim
dictator, has been and many continue to be "puppets du jour" of
this 'civilized" nation as long as they're killing our enemies
and filling our S.U.V's and appetites with cheap oil. Saddam
Hussein and Iraq after 1991 was always there good for a jump in
the polls and popularity of any American President as well as a
nation for the taking due to it's "imminent" threat to the
U.S.A., just like Cuba, Panama, Grenada, the Falkland Islands or
any "excuse du jour" emanating from the Jerusalem Post or
Jerusalem. However, future dictators have learned a valuable
lesson these days from America's handling of North Korea and it's silence
on Israel's daily murder of Palestinian civilians.
FOR SELF PROTECTION: GET A NUKE or BECOME JEWISH
Now to Iraq's Suffering and Death away from America's Humanity
Gene: TELEVISION.
For good ratings our anchormen travel to the latest American
'hot spot du jour" to better "inform" the American public why
their children will die and why are their taxes being spent on
killing rather than on protecting life at home and abroad.
Peter Jennings in Iraq this week is the latest media showcase of
such a travesty, given that the networks have practically placed
sanctions on international news unless Israel's or American
lives or interests are in danger.
So what of our network coverage from Iraq? So far Mr.
Jennings, by the far the most experienced anchorman on the world
stage and the one who's actually lived in the Middle East for a
few years, has deliberately avoided showing the long suffering,
hunger, and death of Iraqi's on World News Tonight limiting the
minutes to showcasing his warm cover jacked and brief interviews
with men of weapons. For him to travel at much expense to Iraq
then not show the humanity and consequence of war and sanctions
is shameful, outrageous but perfectly understandable. The
military-industrial-media complex wants war, thus given his ten
million dollar salary, he would be a fool to be a man of
principle and integrity when our own government sells its soul
for a few dollars more.
Mr. Jennings has interviewed Hans Blix, Al Baradiey, Al Saadi,
plus a brief human cover up story of an Iraqi music man. Thus
the concentration has been mainly on war and death or music.
Iraq has been at war of it's "encouraged" making for 23 years---Iraq:Iran
war; Bush Sr.'s "aggression will not stand" Gulf War, 12 years
of the most devastating sanctions in recent history resulting
conservatively in 1.7 million Iraqi deaths, 4,500 children dying
each month, a total destruction of all of Iraq's infrastructure
such as water, electricity, sewer plants, bridges, roads,
hospitals, and so on, and now it's Jr.'s turn to finish "Dad's
business", suck the oil out of Iraq's life and ensure Israel's
total dominance in the region militarily and more importantly
economically. Today it's either you're with us or against on
"war on terrorism"; tomorrow it's "you'll either buy from us at
our price or else"; or "you'll give us what we want or else"; or
"get out of power or else"; or lastly "you'll become a Baptist
or else".
In any case "human interest" stories as they're called are not
of interest to ABC and Mr. Jennings. Why show any Iraqi
suffering lest an American have a change of heart since
obviously our minds and hearts are not our own but are the "TOYS
R US' of our mass media "Telecommunications Act" of indoctrinate
then poll for regurgitated parroted information. Hence 82% of
Americans support killing the "demonized" Muslim embodied in
Saddam's ugly face after tens of Satanic Saddam stories.
Our civilization and its journey now is planned and led by
makers of commercial "sound bytes" who encourage us to buy
a toothpaste, vote for the good looking candidate, or nuke a
nation.
Why the fear of showing death, injury, suffering, destruction in
Iraq? The same reason 62 homes being destroyed by Sharon
yesterday in the West Bank are not shown, the same reason the UN
investigation team for Jenin was stomped, the same reason Sharon
will get $14 Billion in outright grants while both Democrats and
Republicans talk of the importance of budget cuts in times of
crisis, the same reason Bush wants the U.N. to do its job,
become relevant, impose its will, have some backbone in the face
of Iraqi "aggression" and yet Bush and every American
politicians melts into cowardly putty when Israel and Sharon
scoff at 90 UN Resolutions, scoff at the "Quartet", scoff at the
"biased" European Union, even scoff at Bush's timid attempt at
intimidating Sharon: what is the reason you ask for such media
complicity in the Bush Crusade against the wishes of most of his
citizens and the world?
I know it'll be hard for most Americans to even begin to
contemplate the answer after 55 years of repetitious,
monotonous, single issue campaign of ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL
FIRST. It's Israel, stupid. It's always been Israel, and it
will always be Israel until America finds the backbone to impose
a fair and just peace for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--fair
being that Palestinians will get less than one fifth of their
original land divided into two impoverished water deprived
regions, that's the fairness we're avoiding out of fear.
This powerful nation and alleged "strong" President can
single-handedly and boldly impose its will on the world, except
for one small foreign nation of 5 million Jews: ISRAEL.
Hence Sharon, the 'Man of Peace' can murder civilians at will in
self-defense and proclaim without any shame or fear: 'WE
CONTROL AMERICA".
President Bush has learned Israel's political lessons
well---with SPIN, you can LIE, ANNEX, AND MURDER "S.L.A.M."--from
his "belligerent draft dodgers" as Ralph Nader calls them:
CHENEY, RUMSFELD, WOLFOWITZ, PERLE, ABRAMS, and now please add
the Yiddish speaking POWELL who turned out to be a Foggy Mind at
Foggy Bottom knowing where his bread is buttered.
America will never again know peace, prosperity, or security
abroad after an unjustified war by the history's most powerful
nuclear nation against a decimated third world Iraq, the nation
of Hammurabi and the Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him.
Americans have begun to die, businesses are being impacted, and
boycotts of American goods are spreading from Canada, Europe,
the Muslim world, to Australia.
President Bush's Memoir will be titled: "HOW TO PLEASE
ISRAEL AND LOSE THE WORLD."
Mr. Bush, you asked a question post 9-11: "Why do they hate
us?" I'm almost certain that this question as all "smart
cliches" that emanate from our politicians was given to you as
was the case with the "Axis of Evil".
Here's an answer from a patriotic American, Mr. President,
albeit a "Muslim", your conservative movement's "pariah du jour'
after Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, etc.
WHY DO THEY HATE US?
ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL
WHY DO WE HATE THEM?
ISRAEL, ISRAEL'S SUPPORTIVE MEDIA, ISRAEL'S CHRISTIAN
EVANGELISTS/ZIONISTS
AND
WE CAN'T STAND THE FACT THAT SOME DIRTY DUST COVERED,
MUSLIM WITH A TURBAN ON HIS HEAD CONTROLS 60% OF "OUR" OIL
Hence my nation, our nation, a nation in love with its "ideal,
romantic" self of being good hearted, generous, full of freedoms
of speech, religion, assembly, democracy, and rule of law has
transformed itself post World War II from an isolated, inner
looking nation after its own interest into a nation subservient
to the will of Israel, it's military-industrial-media greed, the
fanatic religious right who either hate the world and want them
converted or dead or so love the Jews they want them dead to
bring back Christ, and the inexplicable shredding of our Bill of
Rights, Civil Rights, Judicial system by a devout Pentecostal
Fundamentalist who thinks the God of Islam demands His followers
blow themselves up. Perhaps, Mr. Bush, since you support
diversity so much you could appoint an American Muslim in your
administration instead of all the Pro-Israelites and felons who
dominate our foreign policy and national security apparatus.
We're a nation needing "days of the year" to remind us of our
humanity. You Mr. President, as you did this week, recalled
Martin Luther King's Birthday and visited a photo op church just
days after saying you oppose Affirmative Action for former
children of slaves. The issue of Affirmative Action and the
University of Michigan focuses too late on our students, it
focuses at the college level where minority students who've
endured 12 years of subpar education in substandard schools, old
books, and untrained teachers can't enter colleges without an
"affirming hand". This nation must focus on the early child
as a priority putting our funds and resources from the beginning
for all of America's children whereby when they do reach college
they are on a level playing field and there will be no need for
the distracting issue of Affirmative Action. Do you think the
$14 Billion dollars (total of $90 Billion this year) you're
handing out to Israel could be used for school infrastructure
for inner city schools?
Mr. President, with the help of Mr. Powell and the "Veteran
Sensitive" Mr. Rumsfeld who's pushing for Billions for Israel's
Veterans yet slams our "draftees" and cuts benefits to our own
Veterans, and the help of our Networks, Newspapers such as the
Post and NYTimes who actually set our "intellectual agenda du
jour", you will and can destroy Iraq, get cheap oil, please
Israel, and win a reelection landslide:
BUT, Mr. President, mark my word. America will be isolated,
Americans and American businesses will die, and civil conflicts
will erupt in many places around the world and thanks to you,
Israel, and its media supporters, the United Nations will as you
say close shop and become "irrelevant".
You're legacy, Mr. President of 'COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM"
will be:
"PRO-LIFE AT HOME, PRO-DEATH ABROAD."
It's not too late to be Pro Life and Pro Peace for all people
while ensuring that not only America's security but the sanctity
of all life is secured not just the American fetus.
God bless you, Mr. President, should you find the courage to
break out of the "think tank/Media' mentality of Washington D.C.
and decide with true courage and honor that America's aims can
and will be achieved peacefully. The entire world now Mr.
President is not only sensitized to Iraq but to Israel's undue
influence on our nation. Israel is either "with our interests
or against us", but it must not demand the lives of our
soldiers, our billions, and our vetoes and slaps the face of the
Statue of Liberty and the White House at the same time.
Now do you understand why Mr. Jennings, Brokaw, Rather will not
show us the human face of Iraq's suffering and devastation.
They fear our own humanity demanding peace when they all want
WAR.
A Proud American Muslim
Mohamed Khodr MD
Mr. Mohamed Khodr is an American Muslim physician and a
native from the Middle East. He has worked in Academic Medicine
and Public health with national and international health
experience. He is a freelance writer who often writes columns on
the Palestinian cause, Islam and on America's Foreign Policy in
the Middle East.
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