From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2001 9:24 AM Subject: FreePalestine! Will American 'fireworks' light Afghanistan's skies By: Ali Baghdadi Will American 'fireworks' light Afghanistan's skies? By: Ali Baghdadi It is just a matter of time and preparedness, but it is coming! American fireworks will soon be lighting the skies over Kabul, as they did over Baghdad ten years earlier. Tomahawk missiles, B2 stealth and B1 lancer bombers, cluster bombs, shells coated with uranium, as well as many new inventions that have not yet been tested, will soon be flying over Afghanistan, accused of harboring Osama bin Laden, the man, who, according to U.S. officials, masterminded the horrible attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Our President George W. Bush has already reminded us, "That is my job." We are also told that this war will "end" all wars, as did World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Second Gulf War, to mention just a few!!! What the American government and American news media refuse to tell us is the fact that this "evil" man with the frightening beard and weird dress was, not too long ago, Washington's hero and fighter for "freedom and democracy" during the CIA led war against Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan. We provided him with the money, firepower, and training that ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the conflict, which has been going on for a quarter of a century turned Afghanistan into rubble. What they don't want us to know is the fact that the Taliban were brought to power through our intelligence; that "fundamental" Islam which America is mobilizing NATO to completely eradicate, is the American version of Islam that was born, not in Mecca, but here in Washington to fight "godless" communism. The Quran that Muslims believe to be revealed by God, declared fourteen hundred years ago that "the taking of a single innocent life is equal to the killing of an entire people." Instead of recognizing the misdeeds and the pain and suffering that our administrations have inflicted on poorer nations for the benefit of big business, particularly oil, our President the son, like the father, is determined to kill, maim and destroy, hoping that our advanced technology will force oppressed nations into obedience and submission. Our leaders are not prepared to tell us the historical reasons that made Arabs, Muslims and developing nations hate and despise our government, and finally turn against us in a manner the world has not witnessed before. They are not willing to face the truth and admit that our foreign, economic and military policy has failed us; that the young men who take the lives of innocent people and also their own lives have legitimate grievances which we have never attempted to deal with or listen to. The reason that pushes some individuals to the edge and result in tragedies to others is easy to understand! "It is simple physics. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If the United States continues to behave like an international bully, we will see a lot more of these attacks," Justin Raimondo was quoted by PRNewswire on September 12. Raimondo, senior fellow at the Randolph Bourne Institute which studies foreign policy, says the September 11th attacks are a wake-up call about America's actions, past and future, overseas. "We now have a quarter million American troops in 141 countries," says Raimondo. "Rather than actually protecting American interests, their actions are creating the kind of environment that leads to the kind of actions we saw in New York and Washington." Raimondo adds, "just in the last week or so, we have bombed Iraq a dozen times. We cannot expect to be immune from the same kinds of attacks we are making on other countries." Robert Fisk, the renowned journalist for the British Independent, describes it this way: "This is not the war of democracy versus terror that the world will be asked to believe in the coming days. It is also about American missiles smashing into Palestinian homes and US helicopters firing missiles into a Lebanese ambulance in 1996 and American shells crashing into a village called Qana and about a Lebanese militia - paid and uniformed by America's Israeli ally - hacking and raping and murdering their way through refugee camps." Noam Chomsky, a Jewish American world philosopher and scholar, wrote: "The terrorist attacks (on New York and Washington) were major atrocities. In scale they may not reach the level of many others, for example, Clinton's bombing of the Sudan with no credible pretext, destroying half its pharmaceutical supplies and killing unknown numbers of people (no one knows, because the US blocked an inquiry at the UN and no one cares to pursue it). Not to speak of much worse cases, which easily come to mind." No one doubts that we are the most powerful nation in the history of the world. But terrorism cannot be eliminated through war. Certainly, we can overcome through justice, wisdom and passion. We must address the root problems. We must focus on the difficult issues. Half of our military budget can eradicate hunger and disease worldwide. It is a noble challenge! It has not been tried! But it can work!
