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Arafat Dies: Finally a Chance for Peace?

Yesterday's tv was dominated by the world's proclamation of Arafat as a beloved head of state. In my view, he was a murderer, and practically invented modern terrorism.

In my view, he was a murderer, and practically invented modern terrorism. They talk about how his wife lives on $22 million a year... money that could be improving the Palestinian economy and effect each and every citizen. The Palestinian people have embarked on a path that leaves them excluded from the Isreali economy, that teaches their children that it's their duty to strap rat-poison loaded explosives to their bodies, and detonate them in cafes and pizzerias crowded with Israeli teens. When the twin towers fell, I watched in horror as this people danced in the streets in Ramallah on the news. For a country like France to embrace the person of Arafat and any government that has done what his has to both his people and a neigboring soverign state, is absolute madness. Leave it to the french huh!

In Afghanistan, the US-led coalition removed the most backwards regime of our day, the Taliban. A democratic election occured and now woman have rights, people can publically listen to music and they no longer blow up ancient statues - world treasures. Instead of fear, ignorance, intolerance... woman may now go to school, hold jobs, and walk outside without a viel on thier faces.

In Iraq, 50 million people have been set free from a brutal regime. Where is your cry for Liberte? Where is your passionate demand for Equalite? Do you think Iraquis are worse off? What would you do if our government decided they didn't like your flavor of ethnicity and gassed your hamlet or sent in helocopter squads to stifle your expression?

The UN could stand for what is right... and whenever one nation adopted a path of hated and intollerance, we could, united, say no! We could work together to pursue peace, but we dont. The UN wanted ignore Serbia and Crotia. They wanted to ignore Ruwanda.

As the cold war raged and the US stood firm in the face of Krushev's insanity.... as Americans died to defend South Vietnam and South Korea, as we stand in the brink, where has the world's sense of right and wrong gone to? Do the white crosses of Normandy mean nothing? Should we all be speaking Deutch? France seems to be resolute in its attack of anything American. Is the downfall of Iraq an evil exa,ple of American imperialism? Do you think we can appease and placate people like Arafat? Are we doomed to repeat Chamberlin's blessing of Germany's annexation of Austria? Do you never stand up for what is right, though difficult? Evil prospers when good men do nothing.

And how do you respond to french troops in the Ivory Coast? Did they ask for UN approval to encicle their ruler's compound? And when suprised by the IC's "air force" and resuling massive casualties and loss of life, did they seek consensus in retalliation? You don't see this news on CNN, though. We see the death of Arafat on TV, on Veterans Day.

We watch the ridiculus media... the inane television, and think we are in a vietnam, when in fact, Iraq is one of the most sweeping military campaigns in history. After the Gulf war, International oberservers counted a staggering ammount of weapons and twelve years of UN sanctions to get rid of them, a condition of the Gulf war's competion signed by the Iraqi regime, they dissappear and the world says they never existed. Proposterous. While a corrupt UN, led by a French, German and Russian movement profited from illegal interdiction of the food for oil program, they cry when we go in, threatening not he people of Iraq or their welfare, but their post-US involved economic interests.

War is insane, stupid, obscene, fucked up. But for how long do we sit and watch evil men prosper? Do we just lay down and let evil hold sway?

As Dutch churches are burned, as Christian are targeted in the Middle East, in China... how can we react to all this by talking of peace? "They shall pray for peace, and have none." To pray for peace is what we must do. To cry out against injustice and beg the world for sanity is what we must do.

I teach my children that diversity is beautiful; To respect each person, his right to live as he wants to. I teach them tolerance and acceptance of things foreign to him. The fruit of this is hope and love and life. In Palestine.... they teach their kids to despise the Jew, to hate the Christian. The fruit of this is what we have today.

I think, to address America and say, we need to back down, and pursue peace is fine... but Fred, all we want is peace. You are preaching to the choir. We need to be speaking to the other side. We need to be talking to the other side. Alas, I fear an entire generation of bloodshed is before us. I fear we must prepare for war to avoid it.. or survive it.

I see the insanity and shudder with fear. I just dont think we will survive if we give in to it. We must instead support and not divide our nation. In the Netherlands, a country that through out its values... and says, let us seek pleasure only... look what's going on. Extremeists, said, this country is weak, let us take it for ourselves... and they have. Alas, I see the same thing in your homeland. I love the France of the past, and studied it's language and art... over four years worth or schooling in high school and in the University. I know so much of your past and marvel and the age of reason it created. During our revolutionary war with England, France came to our rescue. In the 40's we returned the favor and men died to keep our shores free. Freedom comes with a price... and our generation is now paying that price becuase previous men shied away from the responsibility.

When Reagan said USSR is an evil empire, the world called him a madman with his finger on the button. Are you better off, that the walll has fallen? Is the world? If we do not stand in the gap, my friend, who will? At this moment in time, we have never been as prepared to fight this fight. And if this generation does not, then our sons will have to.

I truly believe that now because of his death we will have a true chance to finally get peace in that so hot and brittle area of the World. I thing you need to be asking questions of those who are doing what they are doing... in Palestine, in France, in the halls of the UN, as much as you ask questions of the US. There is much beyond the public facade that we don't easily see.

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