It's All Morally Relative - End Support for Israel

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

This is the continuation of a 3000 yr old war. It is antisemetic. It is hatred of US and US support of Jews. We must support the state of Israel. Antisemeticism is and seems to always have been a blight on the world. It is founded by the antisemetics, no matter where they are and have been, on religious fanaticism. It is sick. We have assimilated the Jews into our country and, for the first time in history, with no antisemetic outbreaks. We cannot ever turn our backs on Israel and unleash a terrible scourge.

What makes you think ignorant pesants know a thing about globalism? Answer me this, how many nations are they making inroads into? Nigeria, Indonesia, Bosnia, Sudan, South America, the mid-east, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and dozens of other countries with their bastardized version of Islam. You say follow the money, they have, right to Ben Ladin, it doesn't matter to me if Ben Ladin is some useful fool or tool for some hidden group with global aspirations, we must knock that tool out of their hands, and break it into a million pieces.

LIBERALtarians are the most cowardly, self centered little cretins you'll ever encounter. Their god is a combination of money and self and what ever makes em feel good with what little money they have. Truly a pitiful group. I suppose the dope has killed off the majority of their little brain cells.

Your religious beliefs (in support of Israel) are not worth the deaths of thousands of American civilians who do not share them!.

Although the Jewish lobby is powerful, anti-Semitic sentiments are deeply entrenched in society.

I don't believe that this is generally true. The rank & file of Americans have a "live and let live" attitude. The media may be a different story, however.

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. <\i>

I think that this is absurd. Israel has always had a strong core of support from the Christian community - even under liberal governments.

Well, DallasDeb, I am looking in the mirror, and its not a pretty site, but I just can't find the racial characteristics of an Arab there. I do see the typical American mongrel, a mixture of various European ethnic groups. Sorry, can't accept the Arab tag and I am sorry I have only been a member since 9-13-2001. If that is the only basis for your arguments...

Why is it, if you criticise Israel, you are labeled an anti-semite? Why is anti-semitism the first cry out of the mouths of the Israeli corner. Methinks I see hysteria there and a realization that if the truth about the actions of the Israeli government were covered by the media they might lose some of their precious American dollars. Yes, there has been anti-semitic feeling in every country the Jews have been in. Many innocent Jews have been killed, but the question has to be asked: Why have the Jews been disliked in whatever country they lived in? It is a legitimate question and it is not anti-semitic; however, that word like the cry of racisim is much used and abused.

Why must you use such a hateful term ? I am an America Firster and resent your characterization of me as anti-semitic. There is no logical explanation for the United States Israel policy but that said, I generally support it. The US and President Truman were wrong to create the State of Israel from whole cloth in 1947-1948 but what was done is done. Like an older couple that has a child well into their forties, as much as fifteen years younger than their siblings, they nevertheless love, nurture and care for the late arrival. We support, and I support, and will continue to support Israel, because I want to. And for no more a coherent reason than that. To try and twist into a consistent philosophical reason for doing so is folly. It doesn't exist. And the lesson to be learned from the case should not be missed. No more mindless, interminable interventions. Defend Kuwait ? For what ? Babysit Iraq for the next 50 years ? For what ? It never ends.

Coming to a war torn country near you:

National Id cards with biometric data.
Video cameras and facial imaging software in most public places.
Roving wire taps.
Email monitoring.
Encryption key registration on all security systems.
Random check points on the highways.
Wider snoopervision of bank accounts.
Wider snoopervison of militia groups, churches, and private organizations.
Increased police forces with paramilitary tendencies.
Increased "collateral damage" of innocent civilians by our own police.
Increased monitoring of newspaper reports and censorship of papers.

On and on so it goes. Create a crisis then solve it with more money and more centralized power.

All in the name of a war that is the direct failure of American politicians to deal with foreign relationships. These politicians have failed us miserably.

I am an America Firster and resent your characterization of me as anti-semitic

With all due respect, there are some who's antipathy to "jews" is an underlying and perhaps reinforcing thread behind their neo-isolationism.

I am sympathetic to having America narrowly define its interests and intervening only when "necessary". However, there are some who will obsess on the 3 billion or whatever it is that we "grant " Israel (to buy our War Material, primarily), as if they would collapse without our intervention. These people have suggested that if we dump Israel, the Arabs and Mideast Muslims will not resent us, and the catastrophe would not have happened .

Thats ridiculous, on its face. Bin Laden's primary resentment are the Americans based in Saudi. Secondarily its the fact that Arabia exports oil in huge quantities to America for cash. Thirdly, its the "westernized" apparel and secular enjoyments that the "elite " indulge in.

They would still bomb our cities, even if Israel was eviscerated. It would be nice if some of these "America Firsters acknowledged that. Unless of course they are really suggesting that we evacuate from the MidEast altogether; give in to their demands wholly. I havent heard them say that. At least then they would be consistent.

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