Mohamed Khodr’s Column
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.
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.
