Prisoner Abuse 3-29-2004

29, March 2004                      Prisoner Abuse

In yet another sad episode of official denial into the sadistic behavior of prison guards at Abu Garaib and other prisons, a high-level army investigation cleared four top officers who were in charge of prison policies. It defies belief that top army officials and Pentagon policy makers were unaware of the torture and brutality of these guards. If this is indeed true, these officials are surely guilty of dereliction of duty and outright incompetence and must be held accountable.

In a companion story, Army Gen. George W. Casey said he had no reason to believe that U.S. officials were warned that Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian reporter who was kidnaped and subsequently released, and her bodyguard and driver were on the airport road when their car came under attack from US forces. According to Italian reports, the US military had been alerted and an Italian jet transport was waiting and ready at Bagdad airport.

In a desperate effort to escape the watchful eyes of human rights groups, the Pentagon is now outsourcing torture (rendition) to autocratic and repressive regimes mimicking Saddam Hussein's. How can our government officials, religious leaders and indeed the American people choose to remain silent and thereby acquiesce in the mistreatment of prisoners, most of whom are innocent according to the ICRC? How can these same officials who claim to revere life and oppose abortion be so indifferent to the suffering of people of other faiths and nationalities?

Bush's Israel policy is outrageous 3-29-2004

29, March 2004 Bush's Israel policy is outrageous
The illegal settlements were built in gross violation of U.N. sanctions, and Israel has shown its contempt for international law by refusing to implement 28 U.N. Security Council resolutions and several General Assembly resolutions calling for Israel to withdraw from Arab lands. The brutal assassinations of two Hamas leaders along with scores of civilians were another clear violation of International law. This blatant partiality and continued financial support to Israel will serve as a death sentence to hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians and will expose all Americans to danger.

Pouring fuel onto a roaring inferno is the grand finale of the "road map to peace." I urge all readers who support peace and justice to contact their elected officials and demand that our tax dollars not be used to support state-sponsored terrorism.

Israel assassinates Hamas leader 3-27-2004

27, March 2004                    Israel assassinates Hamas leader

The assassination of the Hamas leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, is a clear violation of international law, roundly condemned by most of the world, including the United Nations. Perhaps some of your readers may not be aware that the Hamas leader was held in a maximum security Israeli prison. Why then was he released? There is growing body of evidence that Tel Aviv gave financial aid to Hamas for many years. “Israel aided Hamas directly - as a counterbalance to the PLO”- Tony Cordesman, Middle East analyst for the Center for Strategic Studies.  Brigadier General Yithaq, the former military governor of Gaza, had publicly stated that he had help fund “Islamic movements such as Hamas as a counterweight to the PLO”. The highly respected Jewish scholar, Dr. Susan Green, confirmed Israel’s complicity in a recent interview with Dennis Bernstein of KPFA. Why would Israel fund a terror organization such as Hamas?

The answer is self-evident. Israel has never been serious in negotiating peace with the moderate faction of the Palestinian Authority. Thus, the lives of Israeli men, women and children have been sacrificed at the altar of this immoral and reprehensible policy. The illegal occupation of Palestine, land theft in the form of illegal settlements, the apartheid wall which has further expropriated land and trapped Palestinians in tight enclaves, checkpoints to protect illegal settlements - have collectively fueled Palestinian rage and a strong desire for revenge.

Unless we can persuade our government to stop funding Israeli state sponsored terrorism, more of our precious Israeli and Palestinian brothers, sisters and children will perish.

Israel 3-7-2004

7, March 2004 Response to local letter writers RE: Israel
Sheree Roth (PA Daily Thursday March 4), Rachel Reznichenko and David Meir-Levi (Daily March 7) all seem to be troubled that the cruel, sadistic policies of the Israeli government are finally receiving much needed media attention. If indeed the wall is needed to protect Israel from suicide bombers, then why not construct the wall on the Israeli side of the border? A Power Point presentation given at Stanford yesterday by Dr. Barghouti, exposes the myth that the wall is being constructed for security purposes. It shows the wall meandering deep inside Palestine, expropriating huge swaths of land and isolating whole villages. According to the U.N., the partially constructed fence already puts 16% of the West Bank and 13,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side!. A startling new fact emerged from Barghouti's presentation. Israeli is now planning to build an eastern wall to further hem in the Palestinians. Compounding the suffering, is the Israeli checkpoints through which Palestinians must pass.

These checkpoints have been strategically located to protect illegal Israeli settlements. Strip searches, denial of health services and myriad of other indignities have been heaped on the civilian population at these checkpoints. I sincerely hope the International Court will censure Israel and focus more world attention on the sad plight of the Palestinians.

Israel 3-7-2004

7, March 2004                        Response to local letter writer RE: Israel

Sheree Roth (PA Daily Thursday March 4), Rachel Reznichenko and David Meir-Levi (Daily March 7) all seem to be troubled that the cruel, sadistic policies of the Israeli government are finally receiving much needed media attention. If indeed the wall is needed to protect Israel from suicide bombers, then why not construct the wall on the Israeli side of the border? A Power Point presentation given at Stanford yesterday by Dr. Barghouti, exposes the myth that the wall is being constructed for security purposes. It shows the wall meandering deep inside Palestine, expropriating huge swaths of land and isolating whole villages.

According to the U.N., the partially constructed fence already puts 16% of the West Bank and 13,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side! A startling new fact emerged from Barghouti’s presentation. Israeli is now planning to build an eastern wall to further hem in the Palestinians. Compounding the suffering, is the Israeli checkpoints through which Palestinians must pass. These checkpoints have been strategically located to protect illegal Israeli settlements. Strip searches, denial of health services and myriad of other indignities have been heaped on the civilian population at these checkpoints.  I sincerely hope the International Court will censure Israel and focus more world attention on the sad plight of the Palestinians.

Senator Feinstein re: Aristide of Haiti 3-7-2004

                                                      7,March 2004                               Senator Feinstein re: Aristide of Haiti        

I am profoundly concerned by the proliferation of arms, which has contributed to devastating atrocities around the world. Often these arms flow to countries and armed groups who use them for torture, repression, and crimes against humanity. It is estimated that arms kill approximately 1,300 people daily across the globe - total of half a million per year or almost one life per minute. Sadly, our government is contributing to this human carnage. Its arms exports far exceeds that of other countries. For example, large shipments of M16's and M60's were sent to thugs and criminals in the Dominican Republic who used them, at the behest of the CIA, to overthrow Aristide. It is unconscionable that our tax dollars are being used to destabilize democratically elected governments. Coupled with a trade embargo and $500 million in desperately needed funds withheld by our administration, the fate of Haiti was sealed.

The Democratically elected Republic of the Congo (DRC) is yet another example of US arms sales that have caused misery and devastation on human rights. Over 3 million have died in the DRC since 1998. Abuses include mass killings, the widespread use of torture, the use of landmines, and killings. From 1998 to 2001, the five permanent members of the United States Security Council, the US, UK, France, Russia and China are responsible for a staggering 82% of conventional arms sales. This is an outrage. To exact profits from impoverished nations is a crime against humanity. We are guilty of complicity in the crimes committed by these illicit arms sales. Other countries, most notably Belgium, Israel and Spain have also shipped arms to the DRC.

The US Senate has an obligation to halt the illicit trade. I urge you to table a motion to demand that the Bush Administration takes immediate steps to halt the export of weapons which is contributing to the horror and human suffering in many parts of the world.

Finally, I ask that you ask for an immediate enquiry into circumstances leading to the ouster of Aristide and hold the Bush Administration, accountable for subverting democracy in Haiti and causing death and destruction in a nation already reeling from 100 years of misguided US foreign policy.

President Bush & 911 3-4-2004

                                       4 March, 2004                                     President Bush & 911

I am outraged that the White House junta has launched its Bush 're-election' campaign with a media blitz depicting the raw imagery of Ground Zero. This is blatant exploitation of our national tragedy to advance his political agenda -another example of a broken promise he made to the American people on 1/23/03, that "I will not use the tragedy of 9/11 as a political issue." Family members of the victims of 9/11 are especially upset because of Bush's refusal to testify before the 9/11 commission. The is the beginning of a campaign to perpetuate the myth of a 'popular war time president', who has fortified the resolve of our enemies by his preemptive war on Iraq based on mythical WMD, and 9/11, al Queda connections. Sadly, Bush has declared war on vanishing middle class families, the environment, our civil liberties and even on our children by under -funding the 'no child left behind' by $200 million.

It’s time for a regime change in Washington. Let us send this president back to Texas or perhaps to Alabama to complete his missing one year service in the National Guard.