Bridging The Gap Of Cultural Conflicts (e-Nuri Lampoon)

[Nur]

The Western Values ( Americanism) and Islam, A Comparison:

 

 

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A Tale Of Two Cultures

 

 

Americanism and Islam, a comparison.

 

 

( Refugee Edition)

 

 

These days one can not escape but see comparsions of Islam and the new great world Religion called Americanism. As a former priest of Americanism, and currently a simple muslim at peace with himself and the world, I thought some bridging of gaps of misunderstanding may help.

 

The cornerstone and the foundation of the Americanism Theology is a concept called:

 

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

 

This concept simply states that as long as what you do does not negatively affect others, you are entitled to pursue it and enjoy it. It allows gays to get married, but due to the negative impact of polygamy to society, polygamy is prohibited. The Americanism church is sometimes kind enough to declare your additional wife as a girlfriend. The Americanism Religion does not explain life after death, and what is in store for Americans after they die, it leaves this part to a myriad of religions including Islam to explain.

 

Americanism religion stresses The value of this life and how one should fully enjoy it while it lasts. This concept is transmitted through sermons aired by TV , movies, Billboards and the lists go on. So many followers of the Americansim religion try to be happy and not to worry specially when they lose their jobs, houses repossesed, wife runs away with boyfriend and leaves behind a dog to look after if she is kind to him. Later, this follower of this great world religion, out of joy takes advantage of his rights, the right to die, and jumbs from the Brooklyn Bridge to pursue happiness.

 

Some other followers of the Americanism religion, have it all, money, power, looks, ..., but late at night when he is alone, ponders the purpose of life, why I am here, what is my function, why so many people hate me, why are they envious of my success, this follower of this great world religion, is trying to pursue happiness, so in the morning his body is found floating on his expensive pool. Police say he took his life, and reporters explain that he was always depressed due to all the money he had that failed to fill the void that he could not explain.

 

 

Islam also encourages followers to pursue happiness, But it teaches the way to be happy is to first understand the purpose for which people live. Islam explains in layman's terms the beginning and the end and it teaches that initially mankind was happy, they lived in the garden of Eden. There was no worry nor pain. Mankind fell from grace due to his disobedience to his maker and obedience to his arch enemy, Satan.

 

Islam teaches that to be happy again, one has to strive to attain his lost paradise where true happiness can be claimed back again.

 

So when you do actions that lead you to your destination, a Muslim becomes happy, like benevolence, charity, prayers etc. Muslims enjot these acts and find relief doing it.

 

 

Right To Life

 

Second Principle that both religions Americanism and Islam share is the sanctity of life.

 

Americanism religion began as a religion that saw human life through a Prism. Different colors were assigned different rights and different values. Some colors did not even enjoy the care and love shown to dogs and cats. Later, through the acive participation of christianity, this moral imbalance was narrowed, and the Americanism church reevaluated the sanctity of human life and came up with a new (Fatwaa) Edict stating that those with money go up in the church's hierarchy, and those with no money are at the bottom and should serve their masters. So, if you have any money, the church overlooks your problems and the high priest of the church will forgive you in exchange of a donation to one of the clergy at the congregation congress.

 

Islam sees the value of human life as sanctified by his maker, all colors are the decendants of the same couple, in effect, David Duke and Malcolm X are brothers, so are Sharon and Hitler, all four can be a happy family under Islam, can you imagine all these guys hugging each other out of joy saying Assalamu Alaikum, Peace upon you.

 

 

The Right To Bear Arms And Throw Stones

 

Americanism Religion states that every human has the right to defend their lives and properties, as they are sanctified. Even when the state tries to take these rights away, a follower of the American religion, specially the extremist faction the NRA , is taught not to obey his church of Red-White-and-Blue. So bearing arms for ones deffense is a cornerstone in Americanism Religion.

 

Islam teaches followers the same idea, It teaches one must deffend his life, properties and religion this concept is called Jihad. Jihad is not meant to transgress, as Islam teaches not to transgress but even to forgive for the sake of kindness to attract others to Islam. Islam does not teach aggression, it teaches compassion. But when one is endangered, it teaches to defend his religon, life and properties, in that order.

 

 

Freedom Of Speech

 

 

Americanism Religion was founded that all humans (excluding Slaves) can say aanything they want ( If They Can Pay For Space In Paper, Or Buy a Spot ON TV Which Is Owned by The Rich, Who Became Rich in the first Place By Breaking Some Rules For Which Freedom Of Speech Is Required ). The Americanism Religion guarantees freedom of speech, but not Freedom From Joblessness caused by Excercising The Freedom Of Speech.

 

Islam on The other hand considers speech as a regulated right, in which the purpose for speech is to make things better, not worse, Allah says : Are they same, two men, one who is mute a burden on his master who never says anything nor takes initiatives and another who talks to add value of enforcing good and stopping eveil)

 

 

Right To Privacy

 

 

Americanism religion teaches that no one should violate peoples privacy. To secure the privacy of its faithful, Americansm religion has created the worlds largest machine and collection of talent and gadgets to peek into the lives of the faithful to be able to locate violations before one contemplates doing them. Now the Americanism church can even tell you what is in your mind. A follower of this church is always aware of his Big Priest behind his shoulder.

 

 

Islam teaches the same thing. Privacy should not be violated.

 

Three verses in the Holy Quraan assure this fundemental right whose meaning are.

 

1. O ye who believe, do not enter houses that are not yours without the permission of the owners and greeting the inhabitants.

 

2. Approach houses (when you want to enter them) through the doors (right venues, not from alleys)

 

3.Do not spy on one another.

 

Islam does not judge you by intentions, but by actions only an example was when a man threatened ti kill Omar, the second Caliph, Omar asked not to prosecute, and the man Abu Luulu'ah went ahead with his threat and stabbed the Caliph while in prayer. The caliph asked not to punish the man beyoud what he has committed. Ronald Reagan did the same, but then, the assailant kid came from a rich family.

 

 

Right To Life

 

 

The Americanism Religion has established a deacon for the search for extraterrestial life. This diocese who works under the theologists at NASA, have swept 5% of the sky and found no other life, intelligent or not, so the deacon decided, to accellerate the distruction of the planet as a response, by inciting the conflict of civilizations and religions to bring an end to history.

 

The institute that is intrusted to look for lifeforms in depths of the oceans and the edge of Universe care less if children in Africa can survive a famine this summer, because these bloated bellied naked and crying children in Uganda, are not the same species to warrant an alarm for church members. So these can be wasted, and no one would argue. But the church is worried about fanatics who advocate for the animal rights, and the Redwoods in Nothern California.

 

Islam as a contrast sees life to be sanftified, all lives equal, Allah tells us that killing of a single soul is equivalent of killing all of humanity, anyone who saves a Life is as if he saved all of humanity.

 

 

Justice For All

 

Islam holds justice as the main reason for which Allah has sent prophets and sent down books, Allah says in Quraan:

 

 

" We have sent our Messengers and sent with them the scrfiptures so man may uphold JUSTICE" with fellow man by beind fair, and with His maker by not worshipping others with Him.

 

 

The Americanism church have appointed judicial system that protects the rights of the faithful. Here is how it works:

 

The faithful elect a clergy member for the church who they pay him elected and then he sells them a piece of paradise. The clergy can perform burial tituals even for dogs as long as the dogs are paying.

 

The archdiocese teaches that justice is the distribution of wealth of the planet by giving 5% of world population the right to consume 80% of world resources and if anyone fails to understand the logic, they are told to believe in miracles.

 

The church teaches that there is only one life to live and it can be best enjoyed in Sunset boulevard, fifth Avenue, Mawi and Palm Beach. As for punishment, there is Ghazza, Guantanamo, Afghamistan, Somalia, and Iraq.

 

The church does not recognize a nine month ald fetus as human, so best time to kill a person according to the female members of this great church is when they are s fetus, acually you can collect some benefits by killing fetuses if you donate them to the branch of the church that undertakes research and cloning.

 

Historical, the church has ordained some human sacrifices In WWII, the Killing of 70000 Japanese was justified to protect the fishing vessels in Hawaii, since the Japanese can reach and drop bombs on San Fransisco's Fisherman's Warf and New York's little Italy Pizzarias. Millions of Vietnamese in the Vietnams War, Millions of Europeans in WWII, Millions in the mideast have so far been sacrificed by the church, the latest being the Iraqi Kids who were watching Fox news News when Tomahauks were sent to libereate them.

 

The church has admitted that it can not stop this madness alone since it has a commitment to buy the weapons of mass destruction to employ the faithful, and keep the factories running and the Banks getting their investments ten times or more.

 

These wars are like forest fires,the church reasons, they sweep the world every ten years taking away inferior life forms to make room for good life in America. This cycle always coincides with cycle of recession when the church normally ordains new priests who preach wars and destruction in poor parts of the world.

 

So the church spent the lst century fighting Communism, and Communism disappeared. Now there is the menace of a new threat to the church and it is called Terrorism.

 

 

Definitions:

 

 

Terrorism

 

 

Americanism Church can not define terrorism, so I will try o explain what it means in my own way.

 

When a person has fear of hights, that person has a desease that ends with Phobia.

 

Some people have a desease in which they fear their mother in Law it is called Motherinlawphobia. So some members of the church buy a gun and shoot her, Terrorism can justify her killing.

 

Toddlerphobia, is the fear of toddlers breaking your expensive artifact from China. You can throw the toddler from the balcony, or drown five of your children in the bath tub, ( As seen on TV) as a follower of the church of compassion. Psychologists see this all the time.

 

Now, people in the Mideast have their own phobia, so they react violently with rocks they throw at tanks occupying their lands by people incenerated and burned by the Civilized people of Europe.

 

And the people in the land of Amerigo Vespucci have their own phobia , they fear that their tanks sold to Israel can get damaged by stones thrown by kids, and molotovs,

 

The people in the Mideast are not threatened by the simple arsenal of 11000 Nuclear warheads, of the Americanism religion, but feel threatened by Coca Cola, Pepsi and McDonalds and women in revealing attire walking their streets and invading their countries and changing their diets and ideas on life and how to have fun, Also they are worried by their oil beeing stolen, They have phobia of too much freedoms given by the Americanism church like Bishop Hugh Heffner's Cult, the People of Soddom and Gommorrah, and the marginalization of their religion by the mighty Americanism religion.

 

The Church leaders in the Americanism religion fear the Coca Cola Phobia itself. Because the church believes that there should be only one religion in the world, If you are not with Americanism religion, you are against it. The faithful must be babtized by Coca Cola holy water. Bishop Hugh Heffener shows how anyone can find paradise in Americanism religion without dying, he has the most beautiful women around him and he changes them weekly, a clear sign which shows how the church values women by taking their closthes off and selling them for profits.

 

The church is afraid about extremist organizations who conspire to put clothes back on women beautiful bodies, specially the veil. The church thinks that if women are veiled, they will talk smart behind the veil, and no man can babe her anymore, this terrorizes the members of the church who can not tame their hormones.

 

 

Democracy for Dummies

 

 

As a slow reader, I usually look for titles like (...For Dummies) which makes me comfortable, I reason, if dummies can learn OOPS ( Object oriented Programming) so can I.

 

As an extension of that statement I searched for Democracy for Dummies and I could not find the title, so I decided to author it myself, here is a head start:

 

Democracy is a composite Greek word, Demo, means Dumb people and Cratis means rule or power.

 

It is equivalent to Republic which is the same thing in Latin, meaning Re = king and Public is People , which means the peoples Kingdom.

 

The idea of Democracy was to to give the power to the people and take it away from feudals, Popes and Emperors of mideaval Europe.

 

To make a long story even longer, Democracy has many engineering flaws, it does not work, but somepeople believe it does and that is how it really works. ( The reason it does not work is because it was not invented by scientists, because scientists use rats to see if it works )

 

 

1. Democracy was not meant to be an ellitist or controlled by the wealthy.

 

Fact: Today, demographics tell us that ignorant people sell their votes for the highest bidder, usually political action lobbies representing organizations who support a politician with election money in order to make the politician sign billions of money as a return, a great investment.

 

2. Democracy was meant to be secular

 

Fact : USA is being run by the Neocons, a Fundementalist Protestant and Jewish Zealots. Some Democracies in Europe are religious , for example in Germany, Italy and others there are religious parties that are named Christian Democrats. With an exception in MBT (Military Bullied Turkey), no Islamic Democratic Party is allowed in Turky, the word Islam is banned to appear in any political forum, so the Islamists cover themselves with Virtue , Justice etc.

 

In India the BJP, tyhe Ultra riligious Hindu Party is enjoying the overwhelming Hindu Vote, the largest democracy on earth is religiously motivated, with a religious agenda.

 

In Israel, Ultra Religious parties are fueling the motivation of the exisitence of the Jewsih state founded in 1949 on Plaistininan usurped lands, Without these religious parties, no one can justify the exisitence of Israel, a racial and religious entity which uses Democracy as a shield against criticism, in its drive to collect donations for its armed forces and settlers who encrouch on Palistinian Lands ever day.

 

In Algeria, the Islamists were winning the election when the European backed Military intervened against the eventual victory for the Islamists, their hopes crushed, a civil war erupted.

 

3. Democracy is meant to represent the majority of citizens of the republic.

 

The majority of Americans stay away from voting every year, because the only choices are a Donkey and an Elephant, this year the elephant is in power in all houses and the elephant is charging like a bull in Papillona Bull Chasing festival in Iraq, the elephant is mad, everyone is keeping their heads down.

 

If the majority truly rules, the following tally should appear in TV

 

Democrats = 15 percent of votes

Republicans = 16 percent of votes

Unsatisfied citizens silent Party = 69 percent of the votes

 

So this year, NO BODY FOR PRESIDENT.

 

Mr. Nobody will make a great president in my opinion.

 

Imagine a four year period in which you go about your life and you hear no politicians lies.

 

 

Let Us Upgrade Democracy, Let us Rise To Islam

 

 

Nur

 

2003 e-Nuri Religious Political Studies Institute

The Light side of the heavy stuff

[Cara.]

I don't know where to start.

 

Nur, my brother, one does not elevate oneself by demeaning others.

 

The Western Values ( Americanism) and Islam

So now Western values = Americanism?

 

... Nur posts can not be sued for more than 500 Somali schillings...which will settle all damages that will include, injuries suffered when laughing out loud, or rolling over on your back on the floor.

Can you be sued for false advertisement? I was expecting to at least smile, even unwillingly.

 

Americanism religion stresses The value of this life and how one should fully enjoy it while it lasts. This concept is transmitted through sermons aired by TV , movies, Billboards and the lists go on. So many followers of the Americansim religion try to be happy and not to worry specially when they lose their jobs, houses repossesed, wife runs away with boyfriend and leaves behind a dog to look after if she is kind to him. Later, this follower of this great world religion, out of joy takes advantage of his rights, the right to die, and jumbs from the Brooklyn Bridge to pursue happiness.

This is a favourite myth perpetrated by religionists. Contrary to your whole-cloth fabrication here, most Americans are happy, most don't commit suicide and your favorite trope (that of the wayward wife) is sadly not all that common. According to the CDC, suicide is not even in the top 10 leading causes of death. Instead, the leading causes of death are those killers in old age--heart disease, cancer, etc. In other words "the follower of Americanism" is somehow resisting the pull of the Brooklyn Bridge long enough for old age to claim him. Speaking of old age, the life expectancy in the US is 77 years, you'd think if life was so miserable simple apathy would kill our poor "Americanist" before he or she reached 40 even if s/he does not actively end it all in a showy display.

 

But the pull of your argument requires no facts to back it up. It's a comforting tale told to oneself so many times that it becomes truth by repetition.

 

And a repeat is what we get in the next paragraph:

 

Some other followers of the Americanism religion, have it all, money, power, looks, ..., but late at night when he is alone, ponders the purpose of life, why I am here, what is my function, why so many people hate me, why are they envious of my success, this follower of this great world religion, is trying to pursue happiness, so in the morning his body is found floating on his expensive pool. Police say he took his life, and reporters explain that he was always depressed due to all the money he had that failed to fill the void that he could not explain.

This would be funny if it wasn't so perplexing. See, our poor depressed Americanist has escaped death by Brooklyn Bridge, so now it's the swimming pool. If watery suicide holds a special fascination for you, Nur, you should avoid islands.

 

Another popular strawman argument for a highly religious, collectivist society is that somehow, everyone in a secular democracy cares only about money and possessions. The truth is that most know that family, health and personal fulfillment are the key to happiness. Wealth, up to a point, does increase happiness, but only so far as it improves one of the three above factors. But Americanists are too stoopid to grasp this, which is why they are all floating in one body of water or another.

 

Nonetheless, I understand what you're saying, I think. The secular life, focusing as it does on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is dissatisfying on a spiritual level. But the truth is that secular democracies have the happiest populations on the planet, for the simple reason that the government stays out of their spiritual lives. That is why immigration to secular societies far outweighs immigration to theocracies. People vote with their feet. I think that so long as secular democracies are far more attractive than theocracies like Iran and Saudi Arabia, we will continue to observe attempts to create improbable comparisons that do no more than showcase personal prejudices.

[Nur]

Callypso bro.

 

You write:

 

Nur, my brother, one does not elevate oneself by demeaning others.

 

Answer;

 

 

Thats right, be fair and tell that to the Danes, French, Germans Palau too?

 

You write:

 

Can you be sued for false advertisement? I was expecting to at least smile, even unwillingly.

 

Answer;

 

Not if you are spiritually Challenged.

 

You argue:

 

This is a favourite myth perpetrated by religionists. Contrary to your whole-cloth fabrication here, most Americans are happy, most don't commit suicide and your favorite trope (that of the wayward wife) is sadly not all that common. According to the CDC, suicide is not even in the top 10 leading causes of death. Instead, the leading causes of death are those killers in old age--heart disease, cancer, etc. In other words "the follower of Americanism" is somehow resisting the pull of the Brooklyn Bridge long enough for old age to claim him. Speaking of old age, the life expectancy in the US is 77 years, you'd think if life was so miserable simple apathy would kill our poor "Americanist" before he or she reached 40 even if s/he does not actively end it all in a showy display.

 

But the pull of your argument requires no facts to back it up. It's a comforting tale told to oneself so many times that it becomes truth by repetition.

 

 

Well, bro. If you actually believe what you have just said, then it may be the other way around, you have accepted the validity of what has been repoeated instead of questioning it, may I suggest an alignment of vision between us to explore where the misunderstanding resides.

 

 

But that was interesting, you could not find any oter flaws with the Americanism religion? just with e-Nuri outlook? be credible, agree on some, disagree on some, at least, you will be believed.

 

 

Nur

[Khayr]

Originally posted by Nur:

Callypso bro.

 

You write:

 

Nur, my brother, one does not elevate oneself by demeaning others.

 

Answer;

 

 

Thats right, be fair and tell that to the Danes, French, Germans Palau too?

 

You write:

 

Can you be sued for false advertisement? I was expecting to at least smile, even unwillingly.

 

Answer;

 

Not if you are spiritually Challenged.

 

You argue:

 

This is a favourite myth perpetrated by religionists. Contrary to your whole-cloth fabrication here, most Americans are happy, most don't commit suicide and your favorite trope (that of the wayward wife) is sadly not all that common. According to the CDC, suicide is not even in the top 10 leading causes of death. Instead, the leading causes of death are those killers in

old age

--heart disease, cancer, etc. In other words "the follower of Americanism" is somehow resisting the pull of the Brooklyn Bridge long enough for old age to claim him. Speaking of old age, the life expectancy in the US is 77 years, you'd think if life was so miserable simple apathy would kill our poor "Americanist" before he or she reached 40 even if s/he does not actively end it all in a showy display.

 

But the pull of your argument requires no facts to back it up. It's a comforting tale told to oneself so many times that it becomes truth by repetition.

 

 

Well, bro. If you actually believe what you have just said, then it may be the other way around, you have accepted the validity of what has been repoeated instead of questioning it, may I suggest an alignment of vision between us to explore where the misunderstanding resides.

 

 

But that was interesting, you could not find any oter flaws with the Americanism religion? just with e-Nuri outlook? be credible, agree on some, disagree on some, at least, you will be believed.

 

 

Nur

Callypso,

 

I believe Nur was Hollarin' at you!

[Cara.]

Nur my friend, if your answer to my suggestion for honorable conduct is,

 

Thats right, be fair and tell that to the Danes, French, Germans Palau too?

then we have little to talk about. If this is a simple tit for tat measure, such that you're attacking American society for what the Danes did, then I have nothing to say. You must have taken a page out of the Iranians' book, the one in which it makes perfect sense to caricature the Jewish Holocaust because a Danish tabloid caricatured a great man.

 

My self, I like to think my moral code does not allow me to excuse my behavior on the grounds that "he started it first!"

 

As for whether I think there are flaws in "Americanism", we haven't even established what you think "Americanism" means. If the word means "Western Values", then I would say there are definite flaws, but they are not mortal flaws and in any case, the alternative (some sort of theocratic fascism) is much, much worse. The difficulty is not that I would concede that this system is not perfect, the difficulty is that you're incapable of conceding that your system could ever be flawed. What kind of discussion can we possibly have when you compare the nonexistent ideal of Islamism (in which a Hitler and a Sharon embrace somewhat improbably) to the gritty reality of secular democracy?

[Cara.]

^Khayr, you did that whole "This town ain't big enough for the both of us" thing, but now you want me to contribute? Or are you hoping for a smackdown from the sheikh?

[Nur]

Calypso bro.

 

I wrote the last reply on the run, I swear, its not a tit for tat, not like when Americans attacked Sikhs thinking they were Talibans, let me reply as you respectfully deserve walaal. And like my dear friend Kheir said, I was not hollering at you.

 

 

Look bro. The piece is ment to be a lampoon, ( A word Cartoon) meaning that no one should take it literally, everyone knows that the picture the lampoon is drawing is at times exageration and at times very thought provoking, for the sole intention to stir our perception of whats going on, so takje it with a grain of salt, ( or a pinch of salt if you are in UK),

 

 

Americans people have qualities that are far better than any other nation on earth, simply their history shows how they have reached their current stature and ingenuity, inshAllah one of my threads will be dedicate to the positive side of America ( dont mind being attacked as an American lackey by some readers)

 

But in my lampoon, I made Americanism stand for utter materialism everywhere. America has changed the world culture, food, art, and now religion is being besieged which kinda made me worried about this new religion that is threatening the most authetic religion on earth.

 

Now, I am a bit taken by your admiration with secularism, are you a muslim? ( sorry your name does not say it ) if yes, do you see any conflict between secularism and Islam in a single country?

 

 

Nur

[Nur]

Ordinary Americans Agree With eNuri Lampoon

 

 

Gods among Ordinary Men

 

By Charles Sullivan

 

07/17/06 "Information Clearing House" -- -- When a man abuses the power that was entrusted to him by the people there is clearly a void between what the people want and what they receive. Such abuse stems not only from immense hubris, but from contempt for the people and for civil law. The president, we will recall, is a man who referred to the Constitution to one of his Whitehouse aides as “…just a god-damned piece of paper.†Bush and his cacophony of neo-conservative fascists clearly hold the most sacred institutions of this nation in contempt, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

 

The Bush regime’s contempt for human rights and their disdain for the earth are systemic. They have resulted in a litany of abuses that would rival those of Hitler and Mussolini combined. Most of the key players cut their teeth in the Reagan regime where they perfected the dark arts. These abuses occur equally at home and abroad. Characterized by hypocrisy without bounds, they are reflected in a foreign policy that is putting the world in peril as never before. Those policies have resulted in imprisoning people indefinitely without criminal charges and without access to legal council, widespread torture, extraordinary rendition, unprovoked attacks upon sovereign nations, occupation, and unprecedented secrecy and domestic spying on law abiding citizens on a broad scale.

 

The Bush regime operates in unprecedented secrecy under the pretense of fighting a war on terror. They are, in fact, waging a war of terror and they and their corporate pay masters are the terrorists, not Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Their success depends upon keeping the people and thus democracy out of the equation.

 

Democracy, as opposed to the Plutocracy we have in America, operates in the open under the supervision of the citizenry. Democratic government is transparent, not secretive. In a democracy the people know what the government is doing and are active participants in the decision making process. Clearly that is not the kind government we have.

 

Mr. Bush’s extraordinary contempt for the law is in part the result of his Plutocratic upbringing. It is reflected in his unprecedented use of presidential signing statements which, in effect, allow him to circumvent the law and do as he pleases. Don’t like a law that keeps a corporation from spewing toxic waste into a river? Just issue a signing statement and ignore it. Bush has used presidential signing statements more than 750 times since his inauguration—more than all of the other presidents combined during the 230 year history of our nation. He has yet to veto any legislation that the corporate lobbyists have put before him.

 

Civil law is essentially a social contract that is supposed to guarantee justice to all of the people, regardless of their social position or economic status. What does it say about a president who flagrantly thumbs his nose at the law and routinely violates that social contract?

 

If the government does not respect the law why should any citizen? Why should the government operate outside of the law while the citizens remain subject to it?

 

If one group of people is forced to adhere to a specific code of conduct and another group is not, what will be the result? We have only to look around us for the answer.

 

The ruling elite believe they should enact the laws which the rest of us have to obey, which gives them dominion over us. It is imperative that the citizens see to it that the government, especially the president, obeys the law; or impeach him. Perhaps that is the very definition of patriotism. If the law does not apply to everyone equally and at all times, it should not be applied to anyone at any time. If that is the case, then let us have anarchy.

 

Bush and his cadre of neo-conservatives may think that they are above the law and that they can act with impunity and without consequences. They may think of themselves as Gods who operate above the strata of ordinary mortals, as the result of their socioeconomic privilege. That is because other people have always born the cost of their wrong doing.

 

When a president behaves as if the law does not apply to him in essence he is expressing his contempt for the people and the rules that govern civil behavior. That is why we have the enormous gulf between rich and poor, tax cuts for the wealthy, Iraq and the whole Middle East debacle.

 

George Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and the entire supporting Plutocratic cast, truly believe that they are better than the rest of us. Like the spoiled brats they are, each of them became who they are because no one ever held them accountable for their actions. We are not holding them accountable now and innocent people are paying the cost.

 

Not only should these Cretins be impeached, they should be permanently warehoused in an asylum for the criminally insane. Their visions of grandeur are getting a lot of innocent people in trouble, or killed. Other people should not be forced to incur the cost of crimes committed by their so called leaders. Make the criminals pay for their own misdeeds. Force them to take ownership of the reality they are forging.

 

Government that is not accountable to the people is a monstrosity. Some refer to it by its more common names: dictatorship and totalitarianism. That is what we will soon have if we are not careful.

[Nur]

Mr. Olmert

 

 

As the practical leader of the Planet Earth, I ask your cooperation in maintaining the peace in Somalia.

 

Mr. Prime Minister, as you have been following the news lately, the Islamic Courts of Somalia have liberated the country from the grip of the CIA supported anrchist warlords, the Islamic Courts have finally liberated the nation and the criminals are on the run, Mogadishu is the most peaceful city in the world and to maintain this peace we need assistance of a real world leader.

 

The IGAD with the approval of the AU have declared war on poor Somalia, just when we thought that we can have peace, they are calling back their troops from Darfur ( they cant afford to pay their troops with salary paid by NATO, because most of it was deposited in Swiss Accounts of the African Leaders. Now the same corrupt African Leaders are coming to the aid of one of theirs, to get more money by maintaining poor people's misery cycle in Somalia ) in order to bring these troops to poor Somalia, which is guaranteed to flare up a civil war of unexpeted proportions, this time between Somalis and their neighbors, after this flare-up, all of East Africa may be inflamed just like Somalia, and if the uncontrolled fire continues, Africa will disintegrate, these fleeing Africans will take boats from the upper Nile and from Ethiopia's blue Nile to Egypt, Egypt will inflame, and the flame will reach Isreal in no time. Remember Martin Luther King's saying : " Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere "

 

Since the TFG ( Transitional Federal Government of Somalia), is driven by Ethiopia, Ethiopia is driven by two members of the IGAD ( Kenya and Ethiopia), the IGAD is driven by the African Union, The AU is driven by the World Bank and NATO ( With Single Agenda), The World Bank is driven by the United Nations, the United Nations is driven by the USA, The USA is driven by the Neocons, The Neocons are driven by Israel, and Israel is driven by you. I ask you for once to stand up for justice, make the Islamists your friends for a change, not corrupt politicians, if you make the islamists in Somalia your friends and order Condoleeza to call Coffe Anan, to Call, Wolfowitz, to call Alpha Oumar Konaré, to Call, MWAI KIBAKI and Meles Zinawi, to STOP the Troop Deployment in Somalia, if you do that, I will assure you that Islamists will also have a change of heart, imagine, Israel making such a positive gesture, I also understand that what I am asking is quite expensive, as the military industry of Israel and USA will suffer losses for not shipping huge amounts of weapons to Africa , whcih in turn will strain your finances, but hey, Israel needs an image change in the Muslim world, why not start with Somalia?

 

The benefit of Israel standing with the Islamic Courts and stopping the imminent war being triggererd by Ethiopia and Kenya, is as follows:

 

1. Islamists worldwide will look at Israel favorably, the rhetoric will become reconciliatory.

 

2. Muslims worldwide will purchase Isreali made goods which will make up for the losses from the Military hardware Israel sells to Africans who have more guns than food.

 

3. Isreal can become the Banking Center of the Middle East, a core competency for Israel can find an application right behind its backyard.

 

 

Of Course, I am assuming that you will reach an equitable agreement with Hamas also, its impossible to have peace when your neighbors don't have it, short of trying to wipe them out like Hitler tried to do to your people unjustly, and you are a living proof that no one can oblitrate a race to extinction, if German War Efficiency failed that feat, I doubt anyone else can do it

 

 

Regards

 

 

Cag Bakeyle Jr.

Former Somali Anarchist

Now reconditioned peace maker

 

 

2006 eNuri Political Satires

The Art Of Saying It, Without Actually ,,,,,Saying It

[Nur]

...........And now, the Americanism church has new Pope!

 

Nancy Pelosi

 

 

Doves are in, Howks are out

 

 

Nur

[Nur]

Letter to My Children’s Children’s Children On the End of Republican Government

 

By Marvin Chachere

 

04/18/07 "Berkeley Daily Planet" -- - In thinking about what I ought to tell you regarding these dark days various clichés come to mind: I see no light at the end of the tunnel. The American dream is a nightmare. The American experiment failed. Pride precedeth the fall.

 

To witness the death of our representative form of government is to feel some of the stages of grief identified by Dr. Kubler-Ross in her landmark study: disbelief, anger, despair… acceptance.

 

I found it unbelievable that our republic would spill out into the entire globe and, repeating the life-cycle of empires like Rome and Great Britain, our unmatched strength, confidence and conceit would lead to a sense of invincibility from which we stumbled, matured, grew old and collapsed.

Halfway through my eighth decade a surge of books came out that I encourage you to access on your PCs for they contain the reasons for my incredulity. Collectively they describe a nation in deep trouble; the ship of state constructed around the time of the first steam engine could not hold course in capricious modern winds driven by personal enrichment, societal neglect and king-of-the-hill foreign policies. For example, in a category on ominous forebodings of our global entanglements you can download Chalmers Johnson’s trilogy, Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, and Nemesis and in a different class you can scan Noam Chomsky’s densely crafted Hegemony or Survival in which sharp facts strip naked the current administration’s born-again royal clothing, or click onto Jeremy Scahill’s revelations that a large mercenary army assisted in the catastrophic occupation of Iraq, unregulated and unconstrained.

 

In general, the nation failed so often and so shamelessly to live up to the promises of its birth that it adjusted those lofty promises bit by bit to fit the nefarious goals it pursued on the back of an almighty “military-industrial complex.” Abandon republican ideals and you abandon republican government.

 

And if you go further into our past you will notice that our new way of governing—three separate and independent branches held together by checks and balances—though interesting and admirable was not effective or practical. The government prescribed by the Constitution failed its first critical test; it could not solve the problem of slavery peacefully, and thus we slipped into a civil war that nearly destroyed us. The residue of that bloodiest of all our wars still exists, and the Katrina disaster’s racial one-sidedness and the government’s ineptitude intensified my anger.

You might also notice that the impracticality of our new form of governing explains why most new nations formed after World War II did not copy us but formed governments of a parliamentary nature.

 

That the United States called itself America, contrary to geographical fact, foretells its overarching self-regard. We replaced the Monroe Doctrine with a program to convert the world to our ideals and eventually to dominate and rule it. Republicanism and imperialism are incompatible.

There were subtle warning signs. At the same time that terrorists replaced communists in the fear-mongering, “barbarians at the gates” instrument for tightening regulations and controls, the government’s infatuation with security caused unprecedented and pervasive secrecy, and secrecy is toxic because governance that is not open is not republican.

 

There were more explicit signs. Less than half of eligible voters bothered to do so, their customary indifference being validated when, despite having received half a million fewer votes than his opponent, the 43rd president attained office by virtue of one vote by a Supreme Court judge. Despair arrived the day Bush II was elected to a second term—“How could 59 million voters be so ******?” headlined the UK Daily Mirror—and depression set in when international rules against torture were deemed “quaint” and outdated.

 

Other harbingers of danger included the expanding economic chasm—the poor grew poorer, the well-off grew richer and the rich got super rich. (CE0s of top companies were compensated 475 times more than their employees, on average.) Faith, more than deeds, became the hallmark of morality. Reason was subdued by religion, and science was subverted by it. Everything of value had monetary value. Lobbyists with deep pockets outnumbered legislators two to one. Every problem prompted a legislative solution and every solution was ultimately sanctioned, or not, by the courts. Any person with superior marketing apparatus and enough money could be elected to any office at any level (and thereby improve his/her lot, financially).

 

Every day my depression was deepened by the repeated and unqualified use of the term “war”—“war on terror,” “War Powers Act,” “war crimes,” “war zone,” etc. Sure, we have a well equipped military force occupying Afghanistan and Iraq. Our troops are killing and being killed. But how could there be a war when the enemy had no uniform, no flag, no unified command and whose most devastating weapons were improvised human and home-made non-human explosive devises?

 

Finally, life and liberty, once believed to be unalienable rights endowed by our Creator, were destroyed by two laws enacted by the 109th Congress: the renewal of the perversely named Patriot Act and the barbaric Military Commissions Act; the former silenced domestic dissenters and the latter dealt with foreign dissenters as “enemy combatants” denying them both legal and human rights.

 

The early weeks of the 110th Congress, for a variety of political reasons, sounded the death knell of the republic. Let the following stand for the multifaceted disintegration I have just summarized; it is the source of my depression and the reason for this letter.

 

In early spring 2007, both houses of Congress passed resolutions, just barely, that urged but did not require the president to prepare to withdraw our troops from the catastrophe he’d created in Iraq. Democratic party leaders boasted that they were taking back powers ceded to Mr. Bush when his party held a majority of seats.

 

The media feigned alarm—a constitutional crisis! legislative branch versus executive branch!—and delighted in speculations regarding the high political price of confrontation—who will win, what are the loses? Meanwhile, Bush, on the defensive, bullied his opponents, called them irresponsible and accused them of interfering; they dishonored our soldiers, he declared, and emboldened our enemies.

 

Often appearances hide the truth and just as often a small victory hides a large defeat.

 

Properly understood, both the nay and yea votes on resolutions setting a time-table for withdrawal from Iraq implicitly concede that the nation’s honor (if there was any) was worth deaths and dismemberments in the tens of thousands, casualties bound to accumulate while Congress and the White House squabbled. Nothing in my time signaled the demise of the republic as surely as this, as if more blood would restore our honor.

Reviewing what I have written, I confess that I have not achieved acceptance, the final stage of grief, and, truth be told, I don’t ever expect to.

[Fabregas]

Two Faces of a Mysterious Leader

 

Perhaps the most intriguing, and definitely the most mysterious, character in the Purim Megilah is King Achashverosh, the Persian leader who ruled over the world.

 

Every story has its heroes and villains. Mordechai and Esther are the obvious heroes in the story; they came out triumphant at the end, celebrating Jewish victory. Haman and his cronies are the villains who were humiliated and hanged. But what about Achashverosh: was he a hero or a villain?

 

Initially he went along with Haman’s plot and issued the decree to annihilate the Jews in his 127-country kingdom. But then, after he wed Esther, she prevailed over him to reverse the decree and direct his wrath at Haman and his compatriots. Instead of Purim being a day of tragedy it became, at Achashverosh’s behest, a day of Jewish celebration as they prevailed over their enemies.

 

Was Achashverosh simply ambiguous and impressionable, or was there something else going on?

 

A closer look at Achashverosh’s life exposes unpredictable and erratic behavior – a man who appears at times to be a parody of sorts, demonstrating antics that range from one extreme to the other: First he loves Vashti, then he hates her and has her killed. He then begins an outrageously hilarious search for a new bride; women of all sorts line up, preening and perfuming themselves in quest of the King’s hand in marriage, finally he chooses Esther as his queen. He then is convinced by Haman to exterminate all the Jews. He suffers from insomnia, decides to reward Mordechai, and then, in response to Esther’s appeals, reverses his decree and has Haman hung and Mordechai rewarded and promoted to prominent leadership.

 

What’s with this Achashverosh? Was he a good or bad man? Was he a hero, a villain or just an ***** who can’t make up his mind?

 

Two opinions in the Talmud define the enigmatic personality of Achashverosh. Rav and Shmuel: One says he was wise, one says he was a fool (Megillah 12a).

 

Some feel that he was more hateful to the Jews than even Haman (Esther Rabba 7:20). “He was cruel from beginning to end” (Megillah 11a). Others feel that he was manipulated by Haman.

 

Perhaps Rabban Gamliel said it best when he described Achashverosh as “hafachfach” (lit. flip-flop) – a “fickle minded king” (Megillah 15b).

 

To understand Achashverosh’s conflicted psyche we need to probe into the deeper story of Purim and retrace its roots.

 

The story of Purim actually began 957 years earlier at Sinai. The Talmud explains (Shabbos 88a) that on Purim the Jewish people “established and accepted” (Esther 9:27) – they reaffirmed and upheld their acceptance of the divine law which they had received close to a millennium earlier at Sinai, but this time (Purim) they did so at their own volition, with no hint of “coercion” from Above.

 

Why was it so important for the Jews to reaffirm their commitment on Purim?

 

The Sinai experience was no small matter. It essentially represented the fusion of dichotomous worlds – the world of matter and the world of spirit, fulfilling the purpose of existence: To sanctify the universe and create a “Divine home” out of the “lowest states of existence.” Until Sinai a schism existed between “above” and “below;” Sinai infused us with the power to integrate the two. Transforming the material universe into spiritual energy is a partnership – a symbiotic relationship between the Divine and the human. Such a partnership requires not just Divine revelation, but complete human cooperation and acceptance.

 

Thus the need for Purim: Sinai was Divine revelation. On Purim the people, with their own initiative, embraced the Divine mandate, thereby consummating the Sinai experience nine-and-half centuries earlier.

 

However, the story of Purim doesn’t end there. Even if the Jewish people accept the Divine mandate, what happens with the rest of the world? There is no way to transform the physical universe into a “Divine home” if all the nations on earth are not part of the process.

 

Purim therefore influenced all the nations (Esther 9:2-3): And all the ministers of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king's functionaries honored the Jews, beginning with their leader, King Achashverosh. (1)

 

Yet, despite the happy ending, deep tensions still remained – as “we still remain servants of Achashverosh.” Purim provided a respite, but much work still remained to bridge the dichotomy between the Divine plan and the selfish world. Indeed, the harshest times were still to come.

 

Achashverosh, the leader of his time, reflected this duality in his own personality: One side of him gravitated toward Haman and genocide; the other toward benevolence, supporting Mordechai and Esther.

 

What Purim achieved, however, was not a temporary reprieve; it had a perpetual effect on all of history – empowering the nations of the world to tame their “Haman-like” tendencies and reveal their “divine” personalities.

 

This is the essence of the Purim celebration: “The Jews established and accepted upon themselves and upon their descendants” to annually celebrate Purim and to “commemorate and celebrate these days in every generation, by every family, in every province and every city. And these days of Purim will never pass from among the Jews nor shall their memory depart from their descendants” (Esther 10:27-28).

 

* * *

 

Purim contains many lessons for us today, not the least of which are related to current events in Iraq – the locale where the original Purim story took place.

 

[Modern day Iraq originates in ancient Babylon, which was conquered in 372 BCE by Cyrus, the ruler of the Persian Empire, with the slaying of Babylonian King Belshazzar, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed the First Temple. Cyrus was succeeded by King Achashverosh, who is equated with Nebuchadnezzar (Megillah 11a), and he also married Vashti, daughter of Belshazzar and granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar].

 

The two-faced, split-personality of Achashverosh has his counterparts incarnate in our times, and can offer us fascinating insights into today’s global battles centered in Iraq and Iran – ancient Persia and Babylon.

 

So let’s move the clock forward, from the original Purim in 356 BCE (2363 years ago) to our current 2007, with the challenges we face today.

 

Some of you have criticized me for my alleged support of President Bush and his decision to wage war in Iraq.

 

Truth be told, as I have made abundantly clear time and again, my support was not for President Bush or, for that matter, any other individual. Nor was it support for war. My support, if any, was for two things:

 

1) The values that the United States was founded and stands upon. Namely: All people are created equal, “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights… Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” and “to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”.

 

2) The need for Islam to mature and become tamed, like its elder cousin, Christianity did over the past few centuries.

 

By no means does this suggest that America and the Western world are the heroes and the Muslims and Arabs are the villains. Both of them have their virtues and vices, and both have the free will to choose their destinies.

 

Achashverosh of old, the leader of ancient Persia, illuminates for us the two personalities and the two options that our present day leaders face.

 

Like the two faces of Achashverosh, both the Western/Roman/Christian world and the Arab/Muslim world have their dual personalities.

 

A bit of genealogy first: You may recall reading in this column that the current crisis global confrontations – coined by some as a “clash of civilizations” – can be traced back to the battles in the home of Abraham (see Esau, Ishmael and Sinai, How Far Are we From Sinai? Babylon Unplugged).

 

Abraham, the “father of nations,” had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac – ancestors, respectively, of the Arab/Muslim nations and the Jewish nation. Isaac in turn had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau would become the ancestor of the Western/Roman/Christian world.

 

The battles between these children of Abraham – an early citizen of southern Babylon/Persia (modern day Iraq) – foretold the clashes that would be waged between their progeny, essentially a battle reflecting the tensions between a material universe attempting to finds its spiritual direction.

 

Abraham learned and then taught his children his hard earned wisdom, that true peace, true inner harmony, true purpose, could only be achieved when we struggle and make our peace with G-d. When we learn how to overcome our natural egocentricity and become beacons of altruism and love; when we transcend our proclivity to self-interest and assume our responsibility to refine and spiritualize our universe.

 

At Sinai the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob formally received and committed their lives to fulfill the Divine mandate to build a civilized world, while the children of Ishmael and Esau rejected it.

 

But as the centuries rolled on, first the children of Esau (Rome), with the birth of Christianity two millennia ago, began to embrace Abraham’s original principles, followed by the children of Ishmael with the birth of Islam in the 7th century.

 

But as children of Esau, Rome – and its European and American descendents – have two faces (see The Two Faces of Esau): One, aspiring to Abraham’s values. The second, following Esau’s predatory-like warrior instincts.

 

Haman, a grandchild of Esau (via Amalek) manifested Esau’s hatred to Jacob, grandfather of Mordechai (via Benjamin). Achashverosh had both faces of Esau: One that leaned more to Abraham’s legacy and the other to Haman’s aggression. The victory of Purim demonstrated and consummated the Sinai experience with Achashverosh’s better side prevailing.

 

But Esau’s “schizophrenia” – the conflict between his dual personalities – remained strong, and actually is one of the most powerful factors that define the story of history: Which one of Esau’s two faces will prevail?

 

Will Esau’s sword dominate, expressed in the brutal dominance of the church and the monarchies, terrorizing their populations and infringing on people’s personal rights, with special persecution of the Jews, epitomized in the Crusades that began in the 11th century?

 

Or will Esau’s gentler Abarahamic genes prevail – through respect of personal dignity and individual rights, and commitment to the Divine mandate to civilize and refine our world, to live according to the higher moral code taught by Abraham, formalized at Sinai and consummated Purim?

 

It’s difficult to overstate or even fathom how this battle of Esau’s dual psyche has impacted history – causing untold agony, spilling the blood of millions, especially Jews, and tearing the world asunder in the past two millennia.

 

Finally, after many painful centuries, Abraham’s vision became manifest with the birth of democracy and America – a nation built on the Divine principles of morality given at Sinai, as well as other nations that have embraced and continue to embrace these bedrocks of civilization.

 

But Esau (the Western world) is only part of the story. Esau was not alone in his dual nature. Not to be outdone, his uncle and father-in-law, Ishmael, was no slouch when it came to duality. As a son of Abraham, Ishmael had many great qualities, which were passed on to his grandchildren. Just as Christianity brought a new spirit of G-dliness to the pagan children of Esau, Islam did the same for the pagan children of Ishmael.

 

Then there is another side to Ishmael – sadly coming to the fore in our own times: His aggression, intolerance and fanaticism aggravated by a suicidal philosophy, “justifying” the killing of innocent people in the name of “jihad.”

 

Like Christianity before it, Islamic countries have become a breeding ground for forces terrorizing the world. And like Christianity, these forces need to be tamed and reeducated in the teachings of Ishmael’s father Abraham.

 

America’s role in the Middle East and Iraq is justified only if it serves as an “Esau” in search of Abraham, living up to Abraham’s principles and reminding his Middle Eastern uncles (as well as his European brothers) about Abraham’s message of virtue and morality.

 

But America and the West must never forget they (Esau) have another selfish, warrior-like side, and must therefore always be careful not to succumb to Esau’s imperialistic leanings and other self interests, financial or other.

 

Thus, even if Esau had a justified reason to enter Iraq in order to eliminate a tyrant, serve as a deterrent and attempt to stabilize the volatile region – it’s vital to maintain strong discipline and know when to get the out of the quagmire of Ishmael’s maturing process and its own internal immunity checks and balances.

 

Let your Western presence be felt, but not to the point where you get too enmeshed and impede the growth of the Muslim world which must come from within.

 

Perhaps G-d blessed them, and us, by splitting their ranks into Sunni and Shi’ite – a schism that goes back to Islam’s infancy – as a “reality check” to keep each other in check and maintain a balance.

 

As Iran (Shi’ite) and Saudi Arabia (Sunni) face off, the Western Esau must keep a healthy distance, even as it uses its influence to shape a stable future.

 

Now allow the Muslims figure out how to make peace with Abraham’s standards and with each other. Let them be. Let the brothers work it out.

 

We should be placing pressure on them to reform, using various methods, including through freeing ourselves from being held hostage by oil blackmail. As their best customers we are in the unique position to challenge them to reform their education systems from within: Teach your children the beauty of faith, but also how faith should cause us all to love, not kill, yourself and each other. If you feel spiritually elevated inspire the so-called “infidels.”

 

The key for America is to find the proper balance of pressure and distance to allow Ishmael to work out its issues, while influencing them from afar, and not allowing its Esau personality to get distracted and seduced by oil revenue and other self-interests. By weakening our overdependence on Ishmael’s oil, we will only strengthen our options to influence that region.

 

As such, Esau will have done his duty to remind and awaken Ishmael to the truths of Abraham. Remember the great wedding between Esau and Ishmael. At the time, Esau was the one inciting his impending father-in-law, Ishmael, to join him in killing Isaac and Jacob, and being left Abraham’s sole heirs. Now Esau has the opportunity to correct the past and encourage Ishmael to better its ways.

 

And as it has been throughout history, Iraq stands at center stage of this debacle. Iraq – ancient Babylon, the place of the Garden of Eden, the place where Abraham was born and began his journey – reflects the journey of Abraham’s descendants as well, from paganism to G-d.

 

Just as Abraham, father of all nations, embarked on a journey 3749 years ago, along the Euphrates, on his way to Israel, his children today need to journey though the same geographic location, Iraq, and climb the path to make their peace with G-d, with Sinai and with Israel.

 

The message of Purim is that we have been given a Divine blueprint for life – a universal mandate for all human beings how to live our lives in the noblest way possible. Abraham, father of all nations, taught his children how to live up to their Divine calling and how to co-exist in total peace with their brothers and neighbors. This mandate was formalized at Sinai and consummated on Purim.

 

It took centuries for the nations of the world to first embrace the blueprint and then integrate it into their institutions. For over a millennium and a half the nations went through their “growing pains” and killed millions of Jews and others in the process.

 

Now, 3319 years from Sinai and 2363 from Purim, we are behooved to declare that the calling of our time is to finish the process – to empower each other with the responsibility that all peoples of the world, the children of Esau, Ishmael and all the other children of Abraham over the world, will embrace, once and for all, the Divine teachings of Abraham.

 

Happy Purim!

http://meaningfullife.com/oped/2007/03.02.07$PurimCOLON_Iraq_Revisited.php

 

Note: George Bush senior pulled out of Iraq on the Purim festival and the current invasion was launched on the eve of Purim holiday, when Tony and George "prayed together". Saddam Hussein, was hanged to dry on Eidul-adha for crimes against humanity( aiming missiles at Tel Aviv). Interesting stuff, no?

[Nur]

The Latest Misadventure

 

Somalia: New Hotbed of Anti-Americanism

 

By NICOLA NASSER

 

The U.S. foreign policy blundering has created a new violent hotbed of anti-Americanism in the turbulent Horn of Africa by orchestrating the Ethiopian invasion of another Muslim capital of the Arab League, in a clear American message that no Arab or Muslim metropolitan has impunity unless it falls into step with the U.S. vital regional interests.

 

The U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Dec. 28 is closely interlinked in motivation, methods, goals and results to the U.S. bogged down regional blunders in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Sudan as well as in Iran and Afghanistan, but mainly in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

 

Mogadishu is the third Arab metropolitan after Jerusalem and Baghdad to fall to the U.S. imperial drive, either directly or indirectly through Israeli, Ethiopian or other proxies, and the fourth if the temporary Israeli occupation of Beirut in 1982 is remembered; the U.S. endeavor to redraw the map of the Middle East is reminiscent of the British-French Sykes-Pico colonial dismembering of the region and is similarly certain to give rise to grassroots Pan-Arab rejection and awaking with the Pan-Islamic unifying force as a major component.

 

The U.S. blunder in Somalia could not be more humiliating to Somalis: Washington has delegated to its Ethiopian ally, Mogadishu's historical national enemy, the mission of restoring the rule of law and order to the same country Addis Ababa has incessantly sought to dismember and disintegrate and singled Ethiopia out as the only neighboring country to contribute the backbone of the U.S.-suggested and U.N.-adopted multinational foreign force for Somalia after the Ethiopian invasion, thus setting the stage for a wide-spread insurgency and creating a new violent hotbed of anti-Americanism.

 

The U.S. manipulation is there for all to see; a new U.S.-led anti-Arab and anti-Muslim regional alliance is already in the working and not only in the making; the U.S.-allied Ethiopian invaders have already taken over Somalia after the withdrawal of the forces of the United Islamic Courts (UIC), who rejected an offer of amnesty in return for surrendering their arms and refused unconditional dialogue with the invaders; the withdrawal of the UIC forces from urban centers reminds one of the disappearance of the Iraqi army and the Taliban government in Afghanistan and warns of a similar aftermath in Somalia in a similar shift of military strategy into guerilla tactics.

 

The UIC leaders who went underground are promising guerilla and urban warfare; "terrorist" tactics are their expected major weapon and American targets are linked to the Ethiopian invasion. It doesn't need much speculation to conclude that the Bush Administration's policy in the Horn of Africa is threatening American lives as well as the regional stability.

 

According to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, "Because the United States has accused Somalia of harboring al-Qaeda suspects, the Ethiopian-Eritrean proxy conflict increases the opportunities for terrorist infiltration of the Horn and East Africa and for ignition of a larger regional conflict," in which the United States would be deeply embroiled.

 

Eritrea accused the United States on Monday of being behind the war in Somalia. "This war is between the Americans and the Somali people," Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu told Reuters.

 

The U.S administration found no harm in keeping the divided country an easy prey for the warlords and tribal bloody disputes since 1991, probably finding in that status quo another guarantee-by-default for U.S. regional interests. It could have lived forever with the political chaos and humanitarian tragedy in one of the world's poorest countries were it not for the emergence of the indigenous grassroots UIC, who provided some social security and order under a semblance of a central government that made some progress towards unifying the country.

 

Pre-empting intensive Arab, Muslim and European mediation efforts between the UIC and the transitional government, Washington moved quickly to clinch the UN Security Council resolution 1725 on Dec. 6, recognizing the Baidoa government organized in Kenya by U.S. regional allies and dominated by the warlords as the legitimate authority in Somalia after sending Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, to Addis Ababa in November for talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on bailing out the besieged transitional government by coordinating an Ethiopian military intervention.

 

Resolution 1725 also urged that all member states, "in particular those in the region," to refrain from interference in Somalia, but hardly the ink of the resolution dried than Washington was violating it by providing training, intelligence and consultation to at least 8,000 Ethiopian troops who rushed into Baidoa and its vicinity before the major Ethiopian invasion, a fact that was repeatedly denied by both Washington and Addis Ababa but confirmed by independent sources.

 

To contain the repercussions, Washington is in vain trying to distance itself from the Ethiopian invasion; U.S. officials have repeatedly denied using Ethiopia as a proxy in Somalia. Moreover it is trying to play down the invasion itself: "The State Department issued internal guidance to staff members, instructing officials to play down the invasion in public statements," read a copy of the guidelines obtained by The New York Times.

 

Mission Accomplished?

 

"Mission Accomplished," Addis Ababa's Daily Monitor announced when the Ethiopian forces blitzed into Mogadishu, heralding a new U.S. regional alliance at the southern approaches to the oil-rich Arab heartland in the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq; in 2003, the same phrase adorned a banner behind President Gearge W. Bush as he declared an end to major combat operations in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. All facts on the ground indicate that the U.S. mission in Somalia won't be less a failure than that in Iraq, or less misleading.

 

The U.S. foreign policy has sown the seeds of a new national and regional violent hotbed of anti-Americanism in the Arab world, the heart of what western strategists call the Middle East, by succeeding in Somalia in what it failed to achieve in Lebanon a few months ago: Washington was able to prevent the United Nations (UN) from imposing a ceasefire until the Ethiopian invasion seized Mogadishu; the Lebanese resistance and national unity prevented the Israeli invaders from availing themselves of the same U.S. green light to achieve their goals in Beirut.

 

In both cases, Washington involved the UN as a fig leaf to cover the Israeli and Ethiopian invasions, repeating the Iraq scenario, and in both cases initiated military intervention to abort mediation efforts and national dialogue to solve internal conflicts peacefully.

 

In Somalia as in Iraq, Washington is also trying to delegate the mission of installing a pro-U.S. regime whose leaders were carried in on the invading tanks to a multinational force in which the neighboring countries are not represented, only to be called upon later not to interfere in Somalia's internal affairs, as it is the case with Iran, Syria in particular vis-à-vis the U.S.-occupied Iraq.

 

The Bush administration has expressed understanding for the security concerns that prompted Ethiopia to intervene in Somalia. So once again U.S. pretexts of Washington's declared world war on terror were used to justify the Ethiopian invasion as a preventive war in self-defense, only to create exactly the counterproductive environment that would certainly exacerbate violence and expand a national dispute into a wider regional conflict.

 

Real Security Concerns of Ethiopia

 

Regionally, the U.S. pretexts used by Addis Ababa to justify its invasion could thinly veil the land locked Ethiopia's historical and strategic aspiration for an outlet on the Red Sea by using the Somali land as the only available approach to its goal after the independence of Eritrea deprived it of the sea port of Assab.

 

Agreed upon peaceful arrangements with Somalia and Eritrea is the only other option that would grant Ethiopia access to sea - whether to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and Bab el Mandeb or the Arabian Sea, and through these sea lanes to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. This option is pre-empted by the empirical dreams of Greater Ethiopia that tempted the successive regimes of Emperor Hailie Selassie, the military Marxist rule of Mengistu Haile Mariam and the incumbent U.S.-backed oppressive regime of Meles Zinawi, which were deluded by the military means of the only country with a semblance of a nation state and a military might in a regional neighborhood disintegrated into the poorest communities of the world by tribal strife left over by the British, French and Italian western colonialist powers; hence the Ethiopian wars with Eritrea and Somalia.

 

The Eritrean fear of an Ethiopian invasion of Assab via Somalia is realistic and legitimate, given the facts that Ethiopia's borders are, like Israel's, still not demarcated, its yearning for an access to sea as a strategic goal is still valid and its military option to achieve this goal is still not dropped because of the virtual state of war that still governs its relations with both Somalia and Eritrea. Hence the reports about the Eritrean intervention in Somalia, denied by Asmara, and the regional and international warnings against the possible development of the Ethiopian invasion into a wider regional conflict that could also involve Djibouti and Kenya.

 

Internally in Ethiopia, the successive regimes since Hailie Selassie were dealing with the demographic structure of the country as a top state secret and incessantly floating the misleading image of Ethiopia as the Christian nation it has been for hundreds of years, but hardly veiling the independent confirmation that at least half of the population are now Muslims, a fact that is not represented in the structure of the ruling elite but also a fact that explains the oppressive policies of the incumbent U.S.-backed regime.

 

Here lies the realistic fears of the Ethiopian ruling elites from the emergence of a unified Somalia and the impetus it would give to the ****** National Liberation Front, which represents the 1.5 million Muslim tribesmen of Somali origin who inhabit the 200,000-square-kilometer desert region occupied by Addis Ababa and led to the 1977-88 war between the two countries and remains a festering hotbed of bilateral friction.

 

A united independent Somalia and a liberated or revolting ****** would inevitably deprive Ethiopia of its desert corridor to the coast and have at least adverse effects on/or imbalance altogether the internal status quo in Addis Ababa. True the potential of infiltration by al-Qaeda is highly probable with such a development but it is only too inflated a pretext for Addis Ababa to justify its unconvincing trumpeting of the "Islamic threat" emanating from the ascendancy of the UIC in Somalia.

 

Ethiopia's justification of its invasion by Washington's pretexts of the U.S. war on terror is misleading and encouraging Addis Ababa to justify its invasion by the "Islamic threat," leading some UIC leaders to declare "Jihad" against the "Christian invasion" of their country and in doing so contributing to turning an Ethiopian internal and regional miscalculations into seemingly "Muslim-Christian" war, which have more provocateurs in Addis Ababa than in Mogadishu.

 

The sectarian war among Muslims fomented by the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq within the context of "divide and rule" policy could now be coupled with a "religious war" in the Horn of Africa to protect the U.S. military presence that is "defending" the Arab oil wealth in the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq against a threat to its mobility from the south, a war that could drive a new wedge between Arabs and their neighbors, in a replay of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and in tandem with a 60-year old Israeli strategy of sowing divide between them and their Ethiopian, Iranian and Turkish geopolitical strategic depth.

 

However this U.S.-Israeli strategy is certain to backfire. Somalis could not but be united against foreign invasion in a country where Islamism is the essence of nationalism and where Pan-Arabism could not but be a source of support as the country is too weak and poor to be adversely affected by Arab League divides; they are in their overwhelming majority Muslims with no divisive sectarian loyalties and no neighboring sectarian polarization center as it is the case with Iran in Iraq; the "Christian face" of the invasion would be a more uniting factor and would serve as a war cry against the new American imperialistic plans because it is reminiscent of earlier "Christian" European colonial adventures.