On Wed, 14 Apr 1999, Ray E. Harrell wrote:
clip
> Balkans at the moment. Today the Balkans, tomorrow Texas or Nova
> Scotia?
Good questions and the ones parliamentarians are paid to talk about. I'm
not sure if I agree with the use of Canadian Forces or not in Yugoslavia.
How could I decide except on some very basic emotional level unless we are
told by Parliament what the PRINCIPLES are in this and related issues? Any
guesses as to why they avoid such a discussion?
FWP.
> Ray Evans Harrell
>
> Michael Gurstein wrote:
>
> > Date: Fri, 09 Apr 1999 01:22:21 -0700
> > From: Daniel del Solar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > To: Gene Anderson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > Subject: [n5m3-debates] Let's Bomb Turkey, A Modest Proposal
> >
> > there is much to be done. daniel del solar
> >
> > Let's Bomb Turkey
> >
> > ARTHUR HOPPE
> >
> > Monday, April 5, 1999
> >
> > OUR LEADERS say we must keep on bombing Kosovo to save
> > the Kosovars from being killed by the Serbs instead. People of
> > good will can't help but applaud our humanitarian efforts, but I
> > think we should stop bombing Kosovo and start bombing
> > Turkey.
> >
> > The Serbs may have been kicking the Kosovars around lately, but
> > Turkey has been oppressing the Kurds for nigh on 80 years.
> > True, the Turks may not have slaughtered as many innocent
> > citizens in recent weeks as the Serbs have, but over the years the
> > Turks have built up a pretty darned impressive record of executing
> > dissidents, burning villages and driving peasants into exile. Some
> > will say that we can't stand idly by while 2 million Kosovars are
> > being hounded by the evil Serbs. Nonsense, we are very good at
> > standing idly by. Look how idly we stood by when the Hutus
> > were hacking to death 800,000 Rwandans. Of course the
> > Rwandans were not only black, but had no oil fields to speak of.
> >
> > Instead of bombing Kosovo in the humanitarian spirit, I say we
> > should make diplomatic protests to Belgrade. Diplomatic protests
> > worked just as well in punishing oppressors in China, South
> > Africa and Latin America as did our bombs in Vietnam, Libya and
> > Iraq. From all accounts, all our bombs have accomplished so far
> > in Kosovo is to drive the Serbians into committing more and more
> > atrocities.
> >
> > But if we must bomb someone to save our national honor, I say
> > we should bomb Turkey. First of all, great big Turkey is easier to
> > hit than tiny little Kosovo. Second, there are 25 million Kurds to
> > save with our bombs -- more than ten times the number of
> > persecuted Kosovars.
> >
> > To be sure, there are a few obstacles to bombing Turkey. For one
> > thing, she's our staunch NATO ally. That means the Kurds who
> > are fighting for freedom are not freedom fighters. Our State
> > Department has officially labeled them as terrorists and rightly so.
> > As you know, a freedom fighter is fighting for independence from
> > someone we don't like; a terrorist is fighting for independence
> > from someone we do.
> >
> > So the Kurds are official terrorists, and we certainly can't engage
> > in a humanitarian bombing campaign in favor of terrorists.
> >
> > What about China? China is no friend of ours. Therefore, those
> > fighting for freedom in China are freedom fighters, not terrorists.
> > But China is awfully big, and it has nuclear missiles, too. There's
> > no sense getting carried away by our humanitarian feelings.
> >
> > Then we have East Timor. The inhabitants declared the
> > Democratic Republic of East Timor in 1975, and the Indonesians
> > have been kicking them around ever since. As I recall, though, the
> > Indonesians are our pals these days, so the East Timorians may
> > well be terrorists. Anyway, ``Democratic Republic'' sounds
> > vaguely communistic, and we certainly don't want to waste our
> > vast arsenal of humanitarianism on a bunch of commies.
> >
> > Sri Lanka's a likely candidate. The Sri Lankans have been
> > butchering the rebel Tamil Tigers for years. Unfortunately, I'm
> > not sure who's on our side. But what about the Congo? Or
> > Burkina Faso? Or maybe . . .
> >
> > Anyway, there are oppressed people all over the world who
> > deserve our humanitarian bombs. So what have the Kosovars
> > done to merit our magnanimous concern?
> >
> > Arthur Hoppe's column appears Mondays, Wednesdays and
> > Fridays. It is also available at sfgate.com. E-mail:
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
> > The American Kurdish Information Network
> > 2623 Connecticut Avenue NW # 1
> > Washington, DC 20008-1522
> >
> > Tel: 202.483.6444
> > Fax: 202.483.6476
> >
> > The American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN) provides a public
> > service
> > to foster Kurdish-American understanding and friendship
>
>
>
>
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