>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Rick Rozoff) >Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2000 14:34:26 -0500 (CDT) >STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM > >arabia.com > > The bombing of Sudan, Afghanistan: Another fleeting tragedy Even >the US media partly agreed that some sort of "mistake" was committed >when Clinton ordered the bombing of two countries >By Ramzy Baroud > >Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory after bombing >In the end, Clinton cleverly escaped impeachment, and Sudan and >Afghanistan paid a heavy price for that great escape. >August 31, 2000, 11:41 PM >SEATTLE (AROL) - Similar to other anniversaries that commemorate the >tragedies of our time, the second anniversary of the US bombing of Sudan >and Afghanistan sneaked upon us, quietly, provoking little passion and >failing to push us to pause and ponder. But for the sake of truth and >justice, August 20 of each year is a date worth remembering, for a crime >was committed that day, an unjustifiable crime which is going >unpunished. >Then, even the US media, which often blindly sides with US government >policymaking, partly agreed that some sort of "mistake" was committed >when President Bill Clinton ordered the bombing of two sovereign >countries. >"Operation Monica" as some Arab commentators sarcastically called it, >was doubtlessly carried out to defer the American public eye from the >President's scandals. Americans' attention however quickly shifted back >to Monica Lewinsky's awaited testimony before the Grand Jury. In the >end, Clinton cleverly escaped impeachment, and Sudan and Afghanistan >paid a heavy price for that great escape. >Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum was leveled, after receiving >a fair share of the 75 US missiles generously fired late at night. The >Sudanese loss, although it included the death of an innocent man and the >injury of nine others, was much heavier that it first appeared. >Al Shifa factory alone produced approximately 50 percent of the >country's needed antibiotics and pills for Malaria and other fatal >epidemics. By destroying such a life sustaining establishment, many >uncounted for Sudanese may have been denied their only chance to live. >Afghanistan, another devastatingly poor country, also paid a heavy price >for Clinton's wild schemes: about 30 people were killed when the town of >Khost was heavily bombed. In fact, Afghanistan's sovereignty was not the >only one violated , but also Pakistan, as the missiles had to first pass >through its territories to reach Afghani targets. >Following the US attacks, which were a loud violation of international >law and even unwritten yet accredited human norms, both National >Secretary Advisor Sandy Berger and Secretary of State Madeline Albright >were loaded with ready-to-go justifications of the US act. Emotional >appeals promptly emerged and showered the American people. Both >officials enthusiastically spoke of some sort of a master plot, led by >Osama bin Laden, where Sudan was the base for the fleeing bombers of >Kenya and Tanzania's US Embassies. >In his recent acceptance speech before the Reform Party convention, Pat >Buchanan quoted Albright when she was asked to justify the bombing of >Sudan and Afghanistan. "It's because we are America. We are the >indispensable nation. We stand tall. We see farther into the future," >she said. >Two years after the August bombings, it's becoming quite clear that the >US's allegations were and continue to remain baseless. International >experts and diplomats who visited the place upon the Sudanese >government's request, found no evidence to support the US >administration's inadequate argument. >In Afghanistan's case, the Mujahideen training site that was bombed >belonged to Harkat ul-Mujahideen, which is well known for it's war >against the Indian forces in Kashmir, and has no such anti-US >involvement, as repeatedly alleged by US officials. >The unwarranted aggressions on both Sudan and Afghanistan are by no >means isolated incidents which were exclusively produced by the >Clinton-Lewinsky affair. It is, ultimately the nature of US foreign >policy which is resolutely applied on Third World countries, with the >Middle East receiving the lion's share in recent years. And with the >repeating of such reprehensible aggressions, the same magic formula used >to justify controversial and violent US stands is unleashed: combating >terrorism, upholding democracy, saving the world from weapons of mass >destruction and so on� >Only time will tell of how many other tragic anniversaries caused by >similar assaults will have to be commemorated, before every nation, >strong or weak, rich or poor, will be held accountable for their crimes >committed against the innocent and defenseless. Until then, let us unite >in our remembrance of the victims who died or those who are waiting to >die, so that Clinton and his likes can consolidate short-lived power >over their greatly deceived nations. >Arabia on Line � 2000 all rights reserved >- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - -- >Background InfoThe United States launched cruise missiles against >targets in Afghanistan and Sudan in August 1998 after bomb attacks on >its embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es -Salaam. It blamed the bombings on >Osama bin Laden, the former Saudi who it accuses of backing many attacks >on US targets. It said that the pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum was >linked to bin Laden and was used to produce chemical weapons. >The US was forced to admit within hours that the plant was not a >Sudanese government facility, but a private factory belonging to Salah >Idris, a Saudi businessman. >The US has virtually no evidence to support its claim that the missile >attack was a strike against terrorism. Most of those who have >investigated the case have concluded that the US acted on faulty >intelligence and that key procedures were overridden by officials in the >White House. > > > >______________________________________________________________________ >To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >BEST PRICES ON THE NET AT IMANDI.COM >Cheapest prices on new cars, insurance, airfare, maids, custom pc's, >mortgages, moving and more! Tell us what you want. 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