Posted on 09/19/2001 7:57:36 AM PDT by az4vlad
It's All Morally Relative - End Support for Israel
An Analysis of the After Effects of the Terrorist Attack
by R. Alexander
September 19, 2001
Many of us were surprised to hear responses coming from both U.S.citizens and our so-called allies suggesting the U.S. somehow deserved the terrorist attack. With righteous moral indignation, these enlightened critics, suddenly experts on terrorism, lecture us, claiming "this would not have happened if the U.S. hadn't been intervening in the Middle East." This criticism is said with a straight face by Americans who see no problem driving an oversized SUV that gets 12 miles per gallon, while condemning the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 1990 which assured them the continued use of their environmentally irresponsible gas guzzlers.
What angers Middle Eastern terrorists most about U.S. involvement in the Middle East is U.S. support of Israel. A 2001 State Department report on global terrorism stated that the goal of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist organization is to expel Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries and overthrow non-Islamic regimes. Without U.S. support, which includes money, weapons, and aircraft, most political and military analysts agree that Israel would cease to exist, or at best, disintegrate into tiny pockets. The U.S. gives aid to many of our allies to support democracy and protect our security interests throughout the world. Israel is just one of many democratic countries the U.S. believes is necessary to arm in order to protect our own security interests. There is strong evidence that Israel's cooperation in the "strategic consensus" against the former Soviet Union helped bring the Soviet Union down.
After the terrorist attack, it seems even more imperative to continue to protect our security interests by giving aid to Israel. Unfortunately, there are those who would conclude otherwise. The thousands of Americans killed in the attack has given critics of U.S. aid to Israel the chance they need to use people's emotions for their own political purposes. The terrorist attack is viewed by them as evidence the U.S. is supporting Israel to its detriment. There are already many signs that support for U.S. aid to Israel is dwindling. One is the prevalence of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism has long existed within the U.S. and subtly exists within its media. Although the Jewish lobby is powerful, anti-Semitic sentiments are deeply entrenched in society. The recent U.N. conference on racism, expected to be taken over by anti-Semitic discussion, resulted in the U.S. only sending a low-level delegation which walked out midway in protest. The conference adopted arguably anti-Semitic language criticizing Israel but not the Palestinians for hostile relations in Israel, ongoing evidence that the leadership in the rest of the world condones anti-Semitism and is pressuring the U.S. into withdrawing its support for Israel.
Standing up for Israel is much more difficult done all alone. The U.S. no longer enjoys a position of moral leadership in the world, as evidenced by its removal from the U.N. Human Rights Commission earlier this year. Instead, known human rights violators Libya, Syria, and the Sudan have been given seats on the Commission within the past two years. This strengthens the argument of moral relativists that the U.S.' position supporting Israel and stamping out terrorism is not necessarily any more morally defensible than the terrorists' position towards the U.S. and Israel.
Are the moral relativists right? Is the U.S.' democratic government, with its selfish security interest in Israel, no more morally correct than a terrorist? One obvious way to analyze the moral righteousness of a nation's government is to look at how it treats its own ethnic citizens. The U.S. is home to more nationalities than any other nation, yet its citizens live in peace alongside each other, unlike in many ethnically diverse nations. Arabs live next door to Jews. Arabs vote and campaign for Jewish candidates, and vice versa. A former Arab roommate of mine nonchalantly explained when we first met that she was Palestinian Christian, not Jewish, "but we're all pretty much the same thing." Ironically, since the U.S. is home to so many different nationalities, including many refugees who moved here to avoid ethnic strife in their own, undemocratic homelands, the terrorists not only killed "Americans" but killed Americans of Arab descent.
Eliminating support for Israel will be tempting to Congress. It will save taxpayers money (critics of U.S. aid to Israel generally fail to point out that the U.S. also sends large amounts of aid to Arab countries, particularly Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority). It will allow Congress to appear, in a morally relative way, as being "fair" to both Jews and Arabs. After all, superficially, it appears as if Israel and the Palestinians are both equally to blame for initiating bombing and terrorism in Israel. The U.S. media does a good job of presenting it this way. But which religion's holy book encourages killing by teaching that young men who are killed in the name of Allah are rewarded in paradise with 72 virgins to be their sex slaves, and are then allowed to invite 72 of their friends to join them in paradise and receive their own 72 virgins? Not to mention 28 pre-pubescent boys for their pleasures also. With values like these, it is understandable why the parents of terrorist suicide bombers celebrate their sons' deaths.
Last week's terrorist attacks have forever changed the geopolitical balance of power, but not in the way naïve U.S. conservatives hope for. Sadly, the world is not going to rally around the U.S. as the U.S. stamps out terrorism. Over the last decade, ever since the global threat of communism was eliminated with the fall of communism in the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe, the U.S.' reputation as a unilateral superpower has all but disappeared. This is no doubt thanks to former President Clinton, whose foreign policy in the 1990's consisted of smiling and shaking hands with all types of world leaders at numerous accords, conferences, meetings, etc., desperately attempting to create a legacy, while accomplishing nothing but meaningless words on paper.
Under Clinton's leadership, America's response to terrorism has been weak. Afraid of another Vietnam, America under Clinton has been too afraid to commit its troops, afraid of the sight on TV of American troops being killed. When Bin Laden's al Qaeda bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, the U.S. retaliated with a paltry, unsuccessful attack on Iraq. When the al Qaeda killed American troops in Somalia in October of 1993, Clinton hurriedly pulled our troops out, sending a signal to the world that the U.S. would rather flee from terrorism than risk any American lives. In 1996, Bin Laden's organization bombed a U.S. housing complex in Saudi Arabia, with little ramification. Later that year, according to the State Department, Bin Laden issued a fatwa, or religious order that said, "it was the duty of all Muslims to kill U.S. citizens civilian or military and their allies everywhere." When Bin Laden bombed U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, the U.S. responded with a paltry missile assault on Bin Laden's training camp in Afghanistan and on a suspected chemical weapons plant in Sudan. Bin Laden's followers have been tied in the past to plots to assassinate former President Clinton and blow up American 747 airliners over the Pacific Ocean. His organization is considered responsible for the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen last year. Yet there has been no serious effort by the U.S. to eradicate him or his followers, and U.S. retaliation has been no more than a slap on the hand.
The world watched as Clinton and the Democrats greatly reduced our military defense, smugly confident of our peacekeeping abilities. Just weeks ago, the liberal Reverend Al Sharpton, who is currently running for President, stated on Fox News for all the world to hear, "In a time that we no longer have a Cold War, there is no real threat to American security." The message the U.S. has sent the world in the last decade is that we are weak. The U.S. government is afraid of committing troops in another ghastly Vietnam quagmire, aware that hunting down Bin Laden and his numerous followers may end up as guerilla warfare in Afghanistan. Although most Americans are presently in favor of sending our troops to Afghanistan, as time goes by and Americans realize they will be sending their own sons and daughters, their fervor for retaliation will diminish. They will question why it is important to retaliate, and whether the U.S. should even be present in the Middle East. Inevitably, they will question U.S. aid to Israel.
Recently, conservatives and Christians in the U.S. have emerged as the strongest supporters of Israel, probably because of the recent leadership in Israel of hawkish, conservative former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This association of Christianity with Israel is an irritation to the current fad of enlightened, moral relativists in the U.S., who dislike Christianity because it has moral absolutes. The Bible commands, “Thou shalt not kill.” Since Christianity, as well as Judaism, teach that killing is wrong, their adherents are accused of being "intolerant" of other religions such as Islam, which is interpreted (probably incorrectly) by radical Muslims that killing in the name of Allah is a virtue. In our newly enlightened era of moral relativism, which pervades the halls of Congress as well as public opinion and the media, every viewpoint is equally valid as any another. This attitude is reflected in the response of the U.S. critics, who cannot discern that the terrorist attack was clearly wrong nor that it is imperative to punish and stop the terrorists, because they have elevated “tolerance” over teaching that killing is wrong. The U.S. critics conclude that the cost of the terrorists taking more lives is not as important as appearing tolerant and not stepping on anyone’s toes, and so they will bog the U.S. down in petty discussions over what might possibly, remotely happen. Any forceful retaliation is labeled by them as initiating violence – conveniently forgetting that the terrorists started it. Meanwhile, the terrorists will continue to kill and maim, wholly unconcerned with "tolerance" for non-Muslims.
Consequently, it is just a matter of time before U.S. leaders take the easy way out and desert Israel, hoping by demonstrating their “tolerance” they will escape the wrath of the equally morally correct terrorists.
The author can be reached at ralexand@krl.org
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Let me just point out at the start of this thread that the Arab world, though diverse, is HUGE. The total area of Arab countries is similar to CONUS. The country of Israel is LESS than HALF as large as the Navajo Reservation.
This TINY bit of land is what the Arabs are presenting as the "just cause" of global unrest. This TINY parcel of land, smaller than an indian reservation, set within an undeveloped land area equal or greater to CONUS.
The absurdity is overwhelming. If Americans had a greater understanding of geography we as a country would laugh off the Arab complaints.
The Arabs who can't live with Israel are the bad guys. As bad as the Nazis -- and worse, because these scum have brought their war directly to our shores. Mark W.
Absolutely
I haven't read the entire article yet, but I have to object to this portion right away. From my view, this attack says to me that we need Israel all the more and we need to double our support for that country, taking away some dollars from stupid places that we shouldn't be spending it (I'm sure there are dozens of them).
2nd reason - Not only do we need a strong Israel in the middle east but now we most definitely do not need to bend and let terrorists feel they were successful.... that would only lead to more terrorists.
Dare we really look at how our government officials have treated the citizens of the US? Dare we break it down to ethnicity too?
Look at how we live together. We have the largest prison-industrial complex in the world. Under the professional politicians we have lost most of our basic rights, and now will give them all up for "security." 11 September is a day that changed America, and solidified the power base the professional politicians.
Many of us were surprised to hear responses coming from both U.S.citizens and our so-called allies suggesting the U.S. somehow deserved the terrorist attack.
The "blame the victim" crowd is universal. I've heard it from those on the left, Democrats, Republicans, Pat Buchanan, libertarians. It seems the anti-Americans in our midst have done a good job in programming our people. Fortunately, most people don't buy into such nonsense.
From what I have been reading, it seems a lot of our present day troubles are an unforseen result of our efforts against the soviet union during the cold war coming home to roost.
Personal antipathy towards the Arabs is one thing but to make it a governmental policy is another. The same can be said for a too passionate attachment to a country. Before this attack Israel was having to answer for their policies towards the Palestinian people including the Palestinian Christians. Now this attack has taking much of the heat off them.
Yes, the fundamentalist Christians have been fooled by the Zionist government in Israel and the Israelis have been very good at playing that hand. However, the Catholic Church has maintained that the Israelis must deal justly with the Palestinians and little research will show that they haven't.
A horrible thing called the Holocaust happened, and we supported finding a permanent home for the survivors and their descendants. As with most nations on the earth (see Africa), the political lines were drawn according to an outsider's prefereces, and this does usually beget problems. However, I don't think berating the US for following histrical precedent is necessary.
Yes, we could have given them a nice plot of safe land in Arizona, but it was decided that they ought to be close to their holiest sites. Now they're surrounded by over a dozen theocratic and military dictatorships who are all dedicated to their destruction. I'd say we have a moral obligation to prevent that from happening.
As for who has the 'real' rights to the area... I'd say the the Israelis have done a decent job of keeping that land with the significant amount of appreciable military victories, which is also how the rest of the world does it. The Palestinians have been kicked out by superior military might. It happens. They have my sympathy for that, as do the American Indians, but I'm not going to advocate that we turn back the hands of time on either score.
We'd surely have peace in our time.
This attack has shown the world, front and center, what Israel has to put up with on a smaller scale every day.
How does one deal with a group of people who, as the Palestinians have, written into their charter their desire to eliminate you, totally?
You fool no one with your attacks on Israel. The true nature of the Palies was revealed in 1999, when Barak gave Arafat 95% of everything he wanted, and he spit in Barak's face.
Bin Laden has made us all Israelis now. Nobody gives a damn about the Palestinians any more, and Arafat knows that.
It's worth pointing out that the Israelis have been better stewards of the holy sites, too. When the Arabs were in control in Jerusalem, neither Christians, Jews nor many Muslims (Apostates) were allowed near them.
The Israelis, on the other hand, pretty much allow everybody access (for the most part. Exceptions for especailly dangerous situations). This, in spite of the fact that they expose themselves to danger by doing so.
Thank you for a reasoned reply of which I can find nothing to disagree with.
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