[rescue] "The wickedness and awesome cruelty of a crushed and humiliated people"

Sun Sep 16 08:08:24 CDT 2001

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  By Robert Fisk

  12 September 2001

  So it has come to this. The entire modern history of the Middle East - =
the
collapse of the Ottoman empire, the Balfour declaration, Lawrence of
Arabia's lies, the Arab revolt, the foundation of the state of Israel, =
four
Arab-Israeli wars and the 34 years of Israel's brutal occupation of
Arabland - all erased within hours as those who claim to represent a =
rushed,
humiliated population struck back with the wickedness and awesome =
cruelty of
  a doomed people. Is it fair - is it moral - to write this so soon, =
without
proof, when the last act of barbarism, in Oklahoma, turned out to be the
work of home-grown Americans? I fear it is. America is at war and, =
unless I
am mistaken, many thousands more are now scheduled to die in the Middle
East, perhaps in America too. Some of us warned of "the explosion to =
come''.
But we never dreamt this nightmare.

  And yes, Osama bin Laden comes to mind, his money, his theology, his
frightening dedication to destroy American power. I have sat in front of =
bin
Laden as he described how his men helped to destroy the Russian army in
Afghanistan and thus the Soviet Union. Their boundless confidence =
allowed
them to declare war on America. But 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.

  No, there is no doubting the utter, indescribable evil of what has
happened in the United States. That Palestinians could celebrate the
massacre of 20,000, perhaps 35,000 innocent people is not only a symbol =
of
their despair but of their political immaturity, of their failure to =
grasp
what they had always been accusing their Israeli enemies of doing: =
acting
  disproportionately. All the years of rhetoric, all the promises to =
strike
at the heart of America, to cut off the head of "the American snake'' we
took for empty threats. How could a backward, conservative, undemocratic =
and
corrupt group of regimes and small, violent organisations fulfil such
preposterous promises? Now we know.

  And in the hours that followed yesterday's annihilation, I began to
remember those other extraordinary assaults upon the US and its allies,
miniature now by comparison with yesterday's casualties. Did not the =
suicide
bombers who killed 241 American servicemen and 100 French paratroops in
Beirut on 23 October 1983, time their attacks with unthinkable =
precision?

  There were just seven seconds between the Marine bombing and the
destruction of the French three miles away. Then there were the attacks =
on
US bases in Saudi Arabia, and last year's attempt - almost successful it =
now
turns out - to sink the USS Cole in Aden. And then how easy was our =
failure
to recognise the new weapon of the Middle East which neither Americans =
nor
any other  Westerners could equal: the despair-driven, desperate suicide
bomber.

  And there will be, inevitably, and quite immorally, an attempt to =
obscure
the historical wrongs and the injustices that lie behind yesterday's
firestorms. We will be told about "mindless terrorism'', the "mindless" =
bit
being essential if we are not to realise how hated America has become in =
the
land of the birth of three great religions.

  Ask an Arab how he responds to 20,000 or 30,000 innocent deaths and he =
or
she will respond as decent people should, that it is an unspeakable =
crime.
But they will ask why we did not use such words about the sanctions that
have destroyed the lives of perhaps half a million children in Iraq, why =
we
did not rage about the 17,500 civilians killed in Israel's 1982 invasion =
of
Lebanon. And those basic reasons why the Middle East caught fire last
September - the Israeli occupation of Arab land, the dispossession of
Palestinians, the bombardments and state-sponsored executions ... all =
these
must be obscured lest they provide the smallest fractional reason for
yesterday's mass savagery.

  No, Israel was not to blame - though we can be sure that Saddam =
Hussein
and
the other grotesque dictators will claim so - but the malign influence =
of
history and our share in its burden must surely stand in the dark with =
the
suicide bombers. Our broken promises, perhaps even our destruction of =
the
Ottoman Empire, led inevitably to this tragedy. America has bankrolled
Israel's wars for so many years that it believed this would be =
cost-free. No
longer so. But, of course, the US will want to strike back against =
"world
terror'', and last night's bombardment of Kabul may have been the =
opening
salvo. Indeed, who could ever point the finger at Americans now for =
using
that pejorative and sometimes racist word "terrorism''?

  Eight years ago, I helped to make a television series that tried to
explain why so many Muslims had come to hate the West. Last night, I
remembered some of those Muslims in that film, their families burnt by
American-made bombs and weapons. They talked about how no one would help
them but God. Theology versus technology, the suicide bomber against the
nuclear power. Now we have learnt what this means

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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" =
size=3D3><BR><BR> =20
By Robert Fisk<BR><BR>  12 September 2001<BR><BR>  So it has =
come to=20
this. The entire modern history of the Middle East - the<BR>collapse of =
the=20
Ottoman empire, the Balfour declaration, Lawrence of<BR>Arabia's lies, =
the Arab=20
revolt, the foundation of the state of Israel, four<BR>Arab-Israeli wars =
and the=20
34 years of Israel's brutal occupation of<BR>Arabland - all erased =
within hours=20
as those who claim to represent a rushed,<BR>humiliated population =
struck back=20
with the wickedness and awesome cruelty of<BR>  a doomed people. Is =
it fair=20
- is it moral - to write this so soon, without<BR>proof, when the last =
act of=20
barbarism, in Oklahoma, turned out to be the<BR>work of home-grown =
Americans? I=20
fear it is. America is at war and, unless I<BR>am mistaken, many =
thousands more=20
are now scheduled to die in the Middle<BR>East, perhaps in America too. =
Some of=20
us warned of "the explosion to come''.<BR>But we never dreamt this=20
nightmare.<BR><BR>  And yes, Osama bin Laden comes to mind, his =
money, his=20
theology, his<BR>frightening dedication to destroy American power. I =
have sat in=20
front of bin<BR>Laden as he described how his men helped to destroy the =
Russian=20
army in<BR>Afghanistan and thus the Soviet Union. Their boundless =
confidence=20
allowed<BR>them to declare war on America. But this is not the war of =
democracy=20
versus<BR>terror that the world will be asked to believe in the coming =
days. It=20
is<BR>also about American missiles smashing into Palestinian homes and=20
US<BR>helicopters firing missiles into a Lebanese ambulance in 1996 and=20
American<BR>shells<BR>  crashing into a village called Qana and =
about a=20
Lebanese militia - paid<BR>and uniformed by America's Israeli ally - =
hacking and=20
raping and murdering<BR>their way through refugee camps.<BR><BR>  =
No, there=20
is no doubting the utter, indescribable evil of what has<BR>happened in =
the=20
United States. That Palestinians could celebrate the<BR>massacre of =
20,000,=20
perhaps 35,000 innocent people is not only a symbol of<BR>their despair =
but of=20
their political immaturity, of their failure to grasp<BR>what they had =
always=20
been accusing their Israeli enemies of doing: acting<BR> =20
disproportionately. All the years of rhetoric, all the promises to =
strike<BR>at=20
the heart of America, to cut off the head of "the American snake'' =
we<BR>took=20
for empty threats. How could a backward, conservative, undemocratic=20
and<BR>corrupt group of regimes and small, violent organisations fulfil=20
such<BR>preposterous promises? Now we know.<BR><BR>  And in the =
hours that=20
followed yesterday's annihilation, I began to<BR>remember those other=20
extraordinary assaults upon the US and its allies,<BR>miniature now by=20
comparison with yesterday's casualties. Did not the suicide<BR>bombers =
who=20
killed 241 American servicemen and 100 French paratroops in<BR>Beirut on =
23=20
October 1983, time their attacks with unthinkable =
precision?<BR><BR>  There=20
were just seven seconds between the Marine bombing and =
the<BR>destruction of the=20
French three miles away. Then there were the attacks on<BR>US bases in =
Saudi=20
Arabia, and last year's attempt - almost successful it now<BR>turns out =
- to=20
sink the USS Cole in Aden. And then how easy was our failure<BR>to =
recognise the=20
new weapon of the Middle East which neither Americans nor<BR>any =
other =20
Westerners could equal: the despair-driven, desperate=20
suicide<BR>bomber.<BR><BR>  And there will be, inevitably, and =
quite=20
immorally, an attempt to obscure<BR>the historical wrongs and the =
injustices=20
that lie behind yesterday's<BR>firestorms. We will be told about =
"mindless=20
terrorism'', the "mindless" bit<BR>being essential if we are not to =
realise how=20
hated America has become in the<BR>land of the birth of three great=20
religions.<BR><BR>  Ask an Arab how he responds to 20,000 or 30,000 =

innocent deaths and he or she will respond as decent people should, =
that it=20
is an unspeakable crime. But they will ask why we did not use such =
words=20
about the sanctions that have destroyed the lives of perhaps half a =
million=20
children in Iraq, why we did not rage about the 17,500 civilians =
killed in=20
Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. And those basic reasons why the =
Middle=20
East caught fire last September - the Israeli occupation of Arab =
land, the=20
dispossession of Palestinians, the bombardments and state-sponsored=20
executions ... all these must be obscured lest they provide the =
smallest=20
fractional reason for yesterday's mass savagery.   No, =
Israel was=20
not to blame - though we can be sure that Saddam Hussein and the =
other=20
grotesque dictators will claim so - but the malign influence =
of history and=20
our share in its burden must surely stand in the dark with =
the suicide=20
bombers. Our broken promises, perhaps even our destruction of =
the Ottoman=20
Empire, led inevitably to this tragedy. America has =
bankrolled Israel's wars=20
for so many years that it believed this would be cost-free. No longer =
so.=20
But, of course, the US will want to strike back against =
"world terror'', and=20
last night's bombardment of Kabul may have been the opening salvo. =
Indeed,=20
who could ever point the finger at Americans now for using that =
pejorative=20
and sometimes racist word "terrorism''?   Eight years ago, I =
helped=20
to make a television series that tried to explain why so many Muslims =
had=20
come to hate the West. Last night, I remembered some of those Muslims =
in that=20
film, their families burnt by American-made bombs and weapons. They =
talked=20
about how no one would help them but God. Theology versus technology, =
the=20
suicide bomber against the nuclear power. Now we have learnt what =
this=20
means </DIV></BODY></HTML>

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