Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
people this is a copy&paste.
post your civilized comments about this article
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As some of you may know, I feel very strongly that the United States is making the wrong choices in its response to the tragic attack on New York and Washington. Given that my viewpoint appears fairly unusual in the American press, I decided to try to publish a short editorial. I have submitted it to the International Herald Tribune, but if they do not publish it I will submit to a broader list of publications and websites, in the hope that it might reach American policymakers. At the least, I can submit it to all of you, "publishing" it, though in a very limited way.
Dr. Nicholas D. Ray
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
America has been hurt. We all feel the wound in our hearts. Yet in their haste, our leaders are moving our nation towards a precipice. We as a people have already accepted that we are at war, yet we do not know with whom, or why they attacked us. Knowing your enemy, I am told, is one of the guiding principles of war. We would be wise to make our best attempt at this before launching military action against the "usual suspects" we have blamed for the attacks.
Not having access to the physical evidence which has been gathered so far, we are limited here to attempting to understand our attackers through their actions. In this case their actions tell us much. Many of us have called them cowards. This is not true. Anyone who can calmly execute such a daring attack and willingly give his own life in the process is no coward-he is a soldier, and one whom we must not underestimate. That his targets were innocent civilians speaks not of his cowardice, but rather of his calculations about the war he is in. We should be reminded that in the twisted logic of war, men have often decided to kill innocent civilians. Examples abound, but Hiroshima comes to mind first.
The soldiers who attacked us, as seen from their actions, are intelligent, disciplined, organized, and extremely committed to their cause. Their extreme commitment, their all-consuming hatred of us, is uncommon. Though the world we live in is far from pure, this degree of hatred is still unusual. Bigots and fascists hate, but they are not often willing to sacrifice themselves in order to destroy the objects of their hatred. To know those who have killed our fellow citizens, we must know why they harbor this hatred of America and Americans, and to do this we must see America as they do.
Many Americans, usually quite happy at home, do not take the time to learn about others, and how others see them, nor do they always know what the American government does overseas. In the Muslim world, where our attackers are from (this appears to be the only certainty so far in the investigation of the attacks), America is seen as a hypocritical and unjust nation. This assessment is based on America's actions in the region, which admit no misinterpretation. The United States speaks often of the rule of law and regularly condemns, imposes sanctions on, or launches military attacks against countries which do not obey international law and UN Security Council Resolutions. Invading other countries, conducting extra-judicial assassinations, expropriating land and forcibly removing its inhabitants (known as "ethnic cleansing" in some places), and torture are among the activities which are against international law. Israel has practiced and continues to practice all of these activities against the Palestinians. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and occupied the southern part of the country for almost 20 years, until forced to retreat by Hizbollah. Throughout these years the United States supported Israel with military aid and loan guarantees without which Israel could not have sustained its war effort. Israel regularly assassinates Palestinian activists and officials, along with any innocent bystanders who happen to be nearby. The United States has publicly condoned Israel's assassination policy. Israel continues to expropriate Palestinian land and build new settlements on it. The United States "recommends" stopping this practice but continues to support Israel economically and militarily. Israel regularly tortures Palestinians suspected of planning attacks, a practice which was legal in Israel until very recently, and still continues. The United States does nothing to protest. All of the above is a matter of public record, as are the deaths of approximately 580 Palestinians and 170 Israelis in the past year. Most of the Palestinians, including many children, were killed on Palestinian land, which Israel is occupying in contravention of international law. Furthermore, many were killed with American weapons given to Israel. Considering these facts, it is obvious why many Muslims see America as an unjust and hypocritical nation.
The United States' plans for retaliation, which our President, apparently for lack of expert advice, has unfortunately referred to as a "crusade," risk aggravating an already explosive situation. Two groups of the President's advisers are arguing over whom to attack, demonstrating clearly that they do not know who is at fault. If they knew, there would be no argument, only planning. Not knowing, we are simply listing those who may be responsible, and preparing to attack them. This is not good policy, especially when the potential target list looks as if it had been composed by Israel (Iraq, Lebanon, Syria). If America goes ahead with attacks against Muslim countries, and these attacks result in the loss of more innocent lives, we will be murderers. Is this what we want? It will also lead to retaliation by more nameless, faceless soldiers filled with hate. Imagine an attack in the United States, even a minor one, every month. The human tragedy, the economic cost, the loss of well-being, which all of us have felt these past weeks, would be horrendous. Terror attacks cannot be eliminated. Any individual in America can carry out a terror attack. An intelligent individual willing to die in the process can do so much more effectively, as we have seen.
The lesson of all of this is that we are vulnerable. We are human. Those we hurt can hurt us back. Recognizing this, in addition to carefully seeking out and punishing those responsible for the recent attacks, we should eliminate the root cause of the hatred against us, by modifying our policies in the Middle East. We should stand by the principles which made our country great, one of which is justice. We should not tolerate that our "allies" use our weapons and our money for the unjust oppression of other people, gravely damaging our reputation and giving us little or nothing in return. Failing this, we should find ourselves better allies.
post your civilized comments about this article
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As some of you may know, I feel very strongly that the United States is making the wrong choices in its response to the tragic attack on New York and Washington. Given that my viewpoint appears fairly unusual in the American press, I decided to try to publish a short editorial. I have submitted it to the International Herald Tribune, but if they do not publish it I will submit to a broader list of publications and websites, in the hope that it might reach American policymakers. At the least, I can submit it to all of you, "publishing" it, though in a very limited way.
Dr. Nicholas D. Ray
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
America has been hurt. We all feel the wound in our hearts. Yet in their haste, our leaders are moving our nation towards a precipice. We as a people have already accepted that we are at war, yet we do not know with whom, or why they attacked us. Knowing your enemy, I am told, is one of the guiding principles of war. We would be wise to make our best attempt at this before launching military action against the "usual suspects" we have blamed for the attacks.
Not having access to the physical evidence which has been gathered so far, we are limited here to attempting to understand our attackers through their actions. In this case their actions tell us much. Many of us have called them cowards. This is not true. Anyone who can calmly execute such a daring attack and willingly give his own life in the process is no coward-he is a soldier, and one whom we must not underestimate. That his targets were innocent civilians speaks not of his cowardice, but rather of his calculations about the war he is in. We should be reminded that in the twisted logic of war, men have often decided to kill innocent civilians. Examples abound, but Hiroshima comes to mind first.
The soldiers who attacked us, as seen from their actions, are intelligent, disciplined, organized, and extremely committed to their cause. Their extreme commitment, their all-consuming hatred of us, is uncommon. Though the world we live in is far from pure, this degree of hatred is still unusual. Bigots and fascists hate, but they are not often willing to sacrifice themselves in order to destroy the objects of their hatred. To know those who have killed our fellow citizens, we must know why they harbor this hatred of America and Americans, and to do this we must see America as they do.
Many Americans, usually quite happy at home, do not take the time to learn about others, and how others see them, nor do they always know what the American government does overseas. In the Muslim world, where our attackers are from (this appears to be the only certainty so far in the investigation of the attacks), America is seen as a hypocritical and unjust nation. This assessment is based on America's actions in the region, which admit no misinterpretation. The United States speaks often of the rule of law and regularly condemns, imposes sanctions on, or launches military attacks against countries which do not obey international law and UN Security Council Resolutions. Invading other countries, conducting extra-judicial assassinations, expropriating land and forcibly removing its inhabitants (known as "ethnic cleansing" in some places), and torture are among the activities which are against international law. Israel has practiced and continues to practice all of these activities against the Palestinians. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and occupied the southern part of the country for almost 20 years, until forced to retreat by Hizbollah. Throughout these years the United States supported Israel with military aid and loan guarantees without which Israel could not have sustained its war effort. Israel regularly assassinates Palestinian activists and officials, along with any innocent bystanders who happen to be nearby. The United States has publicly condoned Israel's assassination policy. Israel continues to expropriate Palestinian land and build new settlements on it. The United States "recommends" stopping this practice but continues to support Israel economically and militarily. Israel regularly tortures Palestinians suspected of planning attacks, a practice which was legal in Israel until very recently, and still continues. The United States does nothing to protest. All of the above is a matter of public record, as are the deaths of approximately 580 Palestinians and 170 Israelis in the past year. Most of the Palestinians, including many children, were killed on Palestinian land, which Israel is occupying in contravention of international law. Furthermore, many were killed with American weapons given to Israel. Considering these facts, it is obvious why many Muslims see America as an unjust and hypocritical nation.
The United States' plans for retaliation, which our President, apparently for lack of expert advice, has unfortunately referred to as a "crusade," risk aggravating an already explosive situation. Two groups of the President's advisers are arguing over whom to attack, demonstrating clearly that they do not know who is at fault. If they knew, there would be no argument, only planning. Not knowing, we are simply listing those who may be responsible, and preparing to attack them. This is not good policy, especially when the potential target list looks as if it had been composed by Israel (Iraq, Lebanon, Syria). If America goes ahead with attacks against Muslim countries, and these attacks result in the loss of more innocent lives, we will be murderers. Is this what we want? It will also lead to retaliation by more nameless, faceless soldiers filled with hate. Imagine an attack in the United States, even a minor one, every month. The human tragedy, the economic cost, the loss of well-being, which all of us have felt these past weeks, would be horrendous. Terror attacks cannot be eliminated. Any individual in America can carry out a terror attack. An intelligent individual willing to die in the process can do so much more effectively, as we have seen.
The lesson of all of this is that we are vulnerable. We are human. Those we hurt can hurt us back. Recognizing this, in addition to carefully seeking out and punishing those responsible for the recent attacks, we should eliminate the root cause of the hatred against us, by modifying our policies in the Middle East. We should stand by the principles which made our country great, one of which is justice. We should not tolerate that our "allies" use our weapons and our money for the unjust oppression of other people, gravely damaging our reputation and giving us little or nothing in return. Failing this, we should find ourselves better allies.
