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Jan 29, 2004 We should appreciate the fellows who recently visited North Korea and brought back the latest offer to “freeze” their nuclear program for American concessions. Thanks for the effort guys, but you apparently have not been paying attention to recent history. Whoever the “administration official” was that said, “We know exactly what the North Koreans are doing with these guys. It’s the same old game;” knows North Korea is not to be trusted in anything that cannot be verified. This so- called “freeze” is the same freeze the Clinton administration brokered and failed to follow up on. That is why we have a Korean “crisis” in the first place. Stick to your guns guys. Give nothing to North Korea and keep China, Russia, South Korea and Japan as pressure partners to force the “verifiable and permanent end” to the North Korean threat. We can discuss aid AFTER the last bomb has been dismantled. Syria has been making overtures to neighboring Turkey and Israel even while “evidence mounts that the government in Damascus is “stepping up support for Hezbollah.” It seems the earthquake in Iran has opened an opportunity to re-supply Hezbollah. Syrian relief planes carry humanitarian aid to Iran and carry back Iranian arms to Hezbollah terrorists. What a racket! Syria still has not closed the “offices”, (Yes! They have offices!), of Hezbollah in Damascus. Assad has toughened the border between Syria and Iraq, which has resulted in a lessening of terrorist attacks against coalition (Oh! Excuse me, I meant to say “Unilateral”) forces in Northern Iraq. Assad has done nothing however to relieve Hezbollah’s threat to Israel through Lebanon. Syria! You’re next buddy! In the “honesty for a change” department we see the real reason we will never see peace in the Middle East. “Washington’s support for Israel is at the root of differences between the United States and Islamic nations, Qatar’s emir and Muslim scholars said yesterday at the start of a conference on U.S.-Islamic relations.” “The Islamic world wonders why the international community does not put greater pressure on Israel to force a withdrawal from occupied Arab land and why all pressures fall on the Arab side alone.” Gee, I can answer that one myself, although I’m not really a diplomat. On September 11th, 2001, members of Islamic nations attacked the United States and killed 3000 innocent Americans on American soil. Prior to September 11th, 2001, members of Islamic nations killed Marines in Lebanon, Sailors in Aden, embassy employees in Kenya and Tanzania, envoys in Jordan and Sweden and are currently killing Americans and Israelis in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. I cannot recall one instance where Israelis attacked and killed American citizens over that same span of years. Israel and America have a shared death toll from Islamic sources since members of Islamic nations killed members of the Israeli Olympic team in Munich, Germany in 1972. The only “pressure” Muslim scholars should be feeling is the pressure to get the facts of history straight. Along with this Islamic idiocy comes a statement from the Palestinians that they are reasserting “the right to unilaterally declare an independent state in the absence of a peace deal with Israel.” Well, until the Palestinians decide to stop strapping bombs on themselves and start cracking down on the terrorist operations coming out of Arafat’s compound in Rumallah and sit at a negotiation table and actually talk actual peace; nothing will be accomplished. I hope the Palestinians do declare independence. The minute they do, America can stop giving them 75 million dollars a year and we can instead negotiate an aid package that might actually get reimbursed to American taxpayers. Since the Palestinians want to do everything for themselves, they can go back to asking help from their wealthier Arab brothers. I’m sure Saudi Arabia would kick in a few extra bucks on top of the ones they already send to the families of successful homicide killers. Then, of course, there’s good old Iran; who recently rejected a proposal to begin diplomatic talks. Oh! Iran will accept American aid to relieve the stress of having to care for their own people of Bam. Iran actually accused America of “grandstanding” with our aid. Their foreign minister said, “What is important is mutual respect and the principle of equality, in a healthy atmosphere without violence. For this to happen, the United States must change its policy toward Iran.” (ARGH and DOUBLE ARGH!!!) What he means is, Iran still does not have to apologize for its act of war against our embassy in Tehran; they can continue to call our country “The Great Satan”; they can smuggle arms out on humanitarian return flights to Hezbollah; they can protect terrorists within their own borders; they can continue to pursue a nuclear program, but America “must” change its policies toward Iran. Talk about your unmitigated gall! Iraq is volatile. The Kurds want an independent state within a state. Turkey, Syria and Iran will really take exception to that. The Shiite Muslims want elections right away because, holding a majority of the population, they believe they can establish another Islamic regime on a par with Iran’s. Yeah, that’s just what we need; another Iran. It’s bad enough the current interim Iraqi governing council just stripped every Iraqi woman of the very small number of “freedoms” they were actually enjoying under Saddam’s Baathist dictatorship. They managed to drive women’s rights in Iraq back to the Stone Age. Way to go guys! Everyone is pressuring the Bush administration to hurry up and turn Iraq over to somebody. (How about Dean or Kerry?) Well, “hurry up” will be a disaster. This situation is a Middle East version of Yugoslavia just waiting for the “hurry up” solution. We will end up with troops stationed between belligerent Muslim groups for as long as we’ve been between the two Koreas. Remember, we were only to be in Kosovo for two years (now, going on ten). Finally, Afghanistan. We cannot even call this a bright spot yet. We are training Afghanis to battle against the elements of the Taliban still running around their country. We build them a road and the warlords set up tollbooths. It’s an interesting situation still being watched. The Afghanis have hashed out a Constitution though. There is always hope. ------------ About the Author: Independent, Conservative, Christian. Married 29 years with 5 children raised and one grandson being raised. 30 year Army Veteran and published poet with www.poetry.com since Y2K. Email Michael John McCrae: michael.mccrae@us.army.mil Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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