Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August 2008, pages 67-68

Other People's Mail

Compiled by Kate Hilmy and Delinda Hanley

The Lucrative Art of War

To The New York Times, May 18, 2008

It has always been that war has been a generator of profits for individuals and companies, and based on your editorial, it brings to mind that possibly never before have such stupendous fortunes been made as are being made by the present generation of these same individuals and companies.

There are powerful forces, both hidden and out in the open, that welcome war and do well out of war. And once a war has started, there will always be dollars on hand to keep it going.

Jack E. Cohen, Hewlett, NY

World Showed Courage

To the Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2008

I’m glad to see most of the world getting together (without the Bush administration, of course) to ban cluster bombs.

Who makes these deadly weapons? The Times’ article never says what companies get contracts to make them. I was arrested 25 years ago in Minneapolis outside the  offices of Honeywell International Inc., which made parts for cluster bombs at that time. Our “Honeywell Project” eventually got the company to go back to making parts for blenders.

When the Times writes about air tanker contracts, it mentions the names of the companies. Why not do the same when writing about cluster bombs?

Henry Rosenfeld, Santa Monica

Banning Cluster Bombs

To the International Herald Tribune, May 30, 2008

Regarding “Britain joins a draft treaty to ban cluster munitions”: Certainly, as Tom Casey of the State Department claims, “Cluster munitions have demonstrated military utility...” But so have mustard gas and anthrax.

The idea that the “elimination” of cluster bombs “from U.S. stockpiles would put the lives of our soldiers and those of our coalition partners at risk,” as Casey says, is complete nonsense. The result of their elimination would be that thousands of innocents, mainly children, would retain their arms and legs.

Sterling Doughty, Adliswil, Switzerland

Putting Brakes on Nuclear Rush

To the International Herald Tribune, May 27, 2008

Your fear that Iran’s nuclear fuel program will encourage its neighbors to go down the same path should be a clarion call for the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free Middle East.

Maximum pressure, short of bombing and invasion, should be exerted first on Israel and then on Iran to achieve this goal.

Yugo Kovach, Twickenham, UK

Israel and Heritage of 1948

To The Independent, May 19, 2008

Dr. Jacob Amir is being disingenuous when he says that the Zionist movement accepted the U.N.’s plan to partition Palestine. David Ben-Gurion told his supporters to accept publicly what they truly found to be unacceptable so that Israel could build an “outstanding army” and conquer the rest of Palestine “within 20 years.” This is too well documented to deny.

There is no evidence to suggest that if the Arab states had accepted the partition plan, events would have unfolded any differently from how they did. On the contrary, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist forces began as soon as the partition plan was announced and there were already 300,000 Arab refugees from Palestine by the time the Arab states mobilized.

Mark Elf, Dagenham, UK

Mideast Conflict

To the Palo Alto Daily News, June 3, 2008

Recent news items about the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel are a reminder that 60 years ago, Israelis were where Hamas is now.

They were claimants to a share of Palestine and were bitterly opposed to the legal government of the territory. The underground militants went under various names, including Haganah, Irgun and the Stern Gang, and some were imprisoned as terrorists. The rosy glow of hindsight is now shed over that time, but the dynamited buildings, assassinations and massacres were similar to the acts of Hamas now.

Perhaps in another 60 years a secure Palestinian state will be established alongside Israel and the inhabitants will also look back with nostalgia.

Meanwhile, Israeli security is easily accomplished. If Israelis withdraw to the 1967 legal boundaries, taking the settlements with them, they can build an impenetrable wall, with watch towers and machine guns on their own land. Arab militants could not pass and would hardly want to since they would have their own country to develop. Arabs with titles to property in Israel should not expect to return but deserve to be well compensated. This is land for peace and we hear that nearly half the Israeli voters would go along with this.

This sensible recognition that both sides might have good claims would be less costly than a permanent war.

Michael Barton, Sunnyvale, CA

Problems with Boycott of Israel

To The Independent, June 13, 2008

The University and College Union has passed a motion asking its members “to consider the moral and political implications of educational links with Israeli institutions.” This was met with typical hostility by Israel’s supporters and with claims of anti-Semitism.

Donald McIntyre now reports that Israel continues to ban Palestinian students in Gaza from returning to their studies or taking up scholarships in the UK and U.S. In addition, Israel continues with its immoral siege on Gaza, which is a collective punishment of 1.5 million innocent people.

I doubt if Mr. Brown will find time to come to the students’ rescue while he is fighting for his political survival. It therefore falls to ordinary people to show their contempt for Israel as long as it denies Palestinians their rights. They need to join the growing campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) which Palestinian civil society has called for. It is simply not enough for people to express concern about Israel’s actions. It is time for BDS.

Kamel Hawwash, Birminghan, UK

Palestinian Students

To The New York Times, June 12, 2008

While the outcry over Palestinian Fulbright recipients whose grants were temporarily rescinded has prompted the Israeli government to revisit its ban on Palestinians leaving Gaza for study in other countries, the policy shift needs to go further and move more quickly.

According to Gisha, an Israeli not-for-profit organization that seeks to protect the freedom of movement of Gaza residents and other Palestinians, hundreds of Palestinian students lost their places in universities abroad last year. Hundreds more may do so this year without radical change.

Fulbright Association members, current and former Fulbright grant recipients, believe that international educational exchange is vital to peaceful and cooperative relations between peoples, as well as to participants’ personal development. Students in Gaza who have earned scholarships to pursue their education abroad deserve the opportunity to take up their studies so they can contribute to their society and to our world.

Jane L. Anderson, Executive Director, Fulbright Association, Washington, DC

Wanted: Bold Mideast Policies

To The New York Times, June 9, 2008

Saying “the Israelis kept on building settlements and the Palestinians kept on building hate” is a neat turn of phrase, but where is the symmetry?

The building of settlements is a deliberate policy aimed at preserving and expanding the boundaries of Israel. The Palestinians do not build hatred to advance their goals—it festers as a consequence of military occupation and domination.

When, for example, Israel “squeezes” the civilian population of Gaza, restricting its access to essential resources to turn it against its own government, surely hatred of Israelis is the inevitable outcome.

Maia Ettinger, Berkeley, CA

Palestinian Despair

To The Independent, June 6, 2008

There is something akin to despair when, as a Palestinian, I have to listen to President Bush telling us what a wonderful country Israel has become. This despair deepens when Obama and Clinton fall over each other to assure everyone of their unswerving commitment to Israel.

What does that leave us Palestinians with? The support of political movements such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iran’s theocrats and other friends we could do without. I remember feeling intensely uncomfortable in the Sixties to have the Soviet Union as our ally and wishing that the Americans were our friends instead.

What chance have we, moderate Palestinians, got when the strongest power on earth offers blind and unstinting support to our torturers and usurpers whilst also planning to turn fellow Arabs in Iraq into members of a U.S. vassal state?

Please America, our moderation is being severely challenged by your continuous refusal to be remotely even-handed. We Palestinians are victims of a major injustice that could be put right under new leadership with the moral courage to act fairly by both the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Dr. F.H. Mikdadi, Dorchester, UK

Jewish Voters and Obama

To The New York Times, May 27, 2008

Re: “As Obama Heads to Florida, Many of Its Jews Have Doubts”: As a 60-plus Jewish resident of Boca Raton, Fla., who is deeply committed to Israel, I refuse to be identified and pigeonholed with all the people who fit my demographic profile and whom you quoted in your article about Jewish voters in Florida.

Contrary to what your readers might gather from your article, we are not a homogeneous bloc. This presidential campaign has been exciting and has energized so many people, not only because we are fed up with the mess created by the Bush administration, but also because it has shown that intelligence and leadership ability transcend race and gender.

It is high time that the media stop contributing to all the negative stereotypes. There are so many of us who care profoundly about Israel and just as much about America. We want to see the United States restored to a position of leadership and respect worldwide.

Myriam Weinstein, Boca Raton, FL

Obama’s Global Appeal

To the International Herald Tribune, June 11, 2008

Regarding Frank Rich’s “One historic night, two Americas”: Barack Obama should indeed visit Iraq and Europe, and the sooner the better. I suspect his appeal across the globe over John McCain, regardless of their résumés in foreign affairs, will become evident, further propelling him toward the White House.

Europe wants a change from Bush-McCain policies as much as America does, and Obama’s eloquence will begin to remind the rest of the world that America is not only the land of entitled, gaffe-prone, gun-toters, but of ambitious, self-made, self-styled immigrants with connections to, and respect for, other parts of the world.

Rhonda Kelner, London, UK

Pro-Israel Lobby Influence

To The Christian Science Monitor, May 19, 2008

Regarding David Francis’s recent commentary on why candidates will not mention Israel [see “Other Voices”]: Actually, no one in the media mentions the groundswell of resentment against the Israeli power faction in the United States and the burden it has put upon us—from draining the country by fighting Israel’s wars in the Muslim world to undercutting the very moral foundation of this nation with hateful propaganda from the U.S. government as it institutes torture and constant fear.

The millions of people on the chat groups have been way ahead on this issue for years. All you have to do is listen.

Mary Kay Baker, Nunnelly, TN

McClellan’s Memoir: If Only

To The New York Times, May 30, 2008

Scott McClellan is the latest to join a long list of former Bush officials and confidants disillusioned with the president’s and his administration’s “decision to turn away from candor and honesty when those qualities were most needed”—as McClellan himself puts it.

It is good that McClellan has finally realized and admitted his complicity, but I refuse to use the adage “better late than never.” There is no “better late than never” when it comes to the damage done to our nation’s reputation, to our freedoms, and—perhaps most of all—when it comes to the more than 4,000 fallen heroes in Iraq.

Dorian de Wind, Austin, TX, The writer is a retired Air Force major.