Thursday, October 26, 2006
How to fix US Democracy
By Neal AbuNab
Sweeping changes have to be made to restore the faith of Americans in their system of government. Recent polls have found that only 18% of Americans approved of the performance of congress. Of course, these numbers reflect on the poor Republican leadership but there is also a sense of hopelessness that nothing will ever come out of a new congress.
The Democrats have an excellent chance of regaining control of the House of Representatives and they will have to live up to higher expectations from the American people. The issues that surfaced in this campaign are more structural in nature. They question the utility of the system. Campaign finance and low voter turnouts are the two most chronic ailments that ironically shield the system from the benefit of real change and rejuvenation.
Elected politicians have no incentives to level the playing field so that their potential foes can unseat them. Every member of congress is like a feudal Lord; they sit there for 20, 30 or even 50 years. My own congressman, Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) has been in the House for 40 years. My stomach turns every time I go to the voting booth and punch or fill in the circle next to his name. I am disgusted of a system that calls itself democratic when I have to vote for the same person every two years.
My congressman does not need my vote to win the elections. I, the regular voter, have very little power to influence any decision in this system. I write to my congressman and I send him emails but his power had become so entrenched that he does not even need to answer me. And he never does.
Our congress is not accountable to the people. The President chooses a policy course that 70% of the people disagree with, and the Supreme Court is appointed by the President. The original ideas contained in the constitution have become empty words used by powerful politicians to inspire us (the naïve masses) to give them contributions.
It is estimated that a record 2.4 billion dollars will be spent on this election season. This money will reappoint at least 80% of the same 435 feudal Lords we call the lower House of Representatives. They will spend 2.4 trillion dollars of our money as next year’s government budget. Those who financed the campaign get rewarded by receiving a hefty return on their political investment. Small investments of $1,000 and under may receive a “thank you” note.
Judgeships and special legislations cost at least $100,000 in this system. It is a capitalist democracy. If you have money you can invest in it and you have to tell them what you want in return. The gun lobby represented by the NRA buys politicians to tell us that guns on our streets are the greatest guarantee against government tyranny. Then, they give them laws that expand their markets. Seniors represented by AARP pay politicians to tell us that our elders must live in comfort and dignity. Insurance companies, churches, energy companies, defense industries, and lobbyists for every type of imaginable business interest pay politicians to sing their tune. It is a free market where power and influence are sold to the highest bidder.
People who care about advancing their own agendas contribute money to politicians. If they don’t care enough then they won’t dig into their pockets. That’s the way professional politicians see it. But the constitution gave equal participation to everyone. So, the idea of buying influence makes this democracy only accessible to people with wealth. The constitution did not make democracy a privilege. Equality of influence is supposed to be the right of every citizen. Democracy was intended to create a free market of ideas but because it can be bought and sold, it has turned into a massive marketing campaign of targeted ideas.
If you have no money then you can sit at home, receive the pamphlets in the mail, watch the TV ads, and then go out and vote for the lesser of two evils. If nothing else, it’ll give you a thrill for a moment when you fill in the circle next to the name of the leader of your choice. But a feeling of disappointment sets in as soon as you leave the voting precinct. You already know deep down inside that nothing will ever change. The only two choices on the ballot got there in the first place because they were able to raise the money to become viable candidates. Their names appeared on the ballot not because of you but in spite of you. Incumbent politicians sitting in office have an advantage of filling up their coffers in exchange for favors years ahead of an election. That’s why they will never abolish this system.
Money should have no place in a democracy. It enslaves society to a set of ideas and a class of leaders that serve the interests of special groups of people at the expense of the silenced majority. Contributions should be banned from politics altogether and all campaigns should become publicly funded. A qualified candidate who collects the required petitions to run for a public office can apply for campaign funds. Candidates competing for the same office will receive an equal amount of money to fund their campaigns. This will open the door of democracy wide open to every person who is willing to do the hard work of leadership. Free from the obligations of investors, a leader can focus on doing what is right instead of what gets him more money for re-election.
It is estimated that 28 billion dollars will be earmarked by politicians in this year’s budget. This is unnecessary pork barrel spending reserved by elected politicians to reward the people who financed their campaigns. It is cheaper for the taxpayer to pay 2.4 billions to fund the campaigns instead of 28 billions.
Most people who don’t vote fail to see a direct benefit coming to them from their vote. They view Government as a permanent monkey riding on the back of the people. It is a tool of taxation and a source of constant struggle for power between corrupt politicians. If conservatives are disappointed with their GOP they stay at home and if Democrats are excited they go out and vote. Politicians compete to suppress the vote of their opposition. The system works towards the goal of achieving a low voter turnout. There is a self-defeating mechanism in this system.
Then, politicians reprimand us the voters for not getting involved to change the system. But they won’t listen to us unless we give them money. And if we have money to give to them it won’t be in our favor to change the current system. Community leaders blame their communities for not participating and individual voters say shame on us for allowing ourselves to become so helpless.
If voting is a basic right guaranteed by the constitution then it should become a compulsory obligation of citizenship, just like jury duty. In times of war, young men are drafted involuntarily into the armed forces to defend their nation. We are now facing a crisis and a structural breakdown in the system of government. These times call for such measures so we can begin fixing the most glaring defects in our system.
By Neal AbuNab
Sweeping changes have to be made to restore the faith of Americans in their system of government. Recent polls have found that only 18% of Americans approved of the performance of congress. Of course, these numbers reflect on the poor Republican leadership but there is also a sense of hopelessness that nothing will ever come out of a new congress.
The Democrats have an excellent chance of regaining control of the House of Representatives and they will have to live up to higher expectations from the American people. The issues that surfaced in this campaign are more structural in nature. They question the utility of the system. Campaign finance and low voter turnouts are the two most chronic ailments that ironically shield the system from the benefit of real change and rejuvenation.
Elected politicians have no incentives to level the playing field so that their potential foes can unseat them. Every member of congress is like a feudal Lord; they sit there for 20, 30 or even 50 years. My own congressman, Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) has been in the House for 40 years. My stomach turns every time I go to the voting booth and punch or fill in the circle next to his name. I am disgusted of a system that calls itself democratic when I have to vote for the same person every two years.
My congressman does not need my vote to win the elections. I, the regular voter, have very little power to influence any decision in this system. I write to my congressman and I send him emails but his power had become so entrenched that he does not even need to answer me. And he never does.
Our congress is not accountable to the people. The President chooses a policy course that 70% of the people disagree with, and the Supreme Court is appointed by the President. The original ideas contained in the constitution have become empty words used by powerful politicians to inspire us (the naïve masses) to give them contributions.
It is estimated that a record 2.4 billion dollars will be spent on this election season. This money will reappoint at least 80% of the same 435 feudal Lords we call the lower House of Representatives. They will spend 2.4 trillion dollars of our money as next year’s government budget. Those who financed the campaign get rewarded by receiving a hefty return on their political investment. Small investments of $1,000 and under may receive a “thank you” note.
Judgeships and special legislations cost at least $100,000 in this system. It is a capitalist democracy. If you have money you can invest in it and you have to tell them what you want in return. The gun lobby represented by the NRA buys politicians to tell us that guns on our streets are the greatest guarantee against government tyranny. Then, they give them laws that expand their markets. Seniors represented by AARP pay politicians to tell us that our elders must live in comfort and dignity. Insurance companies, churches, energy companies, defense industries, and lobbyists for every type of imaginable business interest pay politicians to sing their tune. It is a free market where power and influence are sold to the highest bidder.
People who care about advancing their own agendas contribute money to politicians. If they don’t care enough then they won’t dig into their pockets. That’s the way professional politicians see it. But the constitution gave equal participation to everyone. So, the idea of buying influence makes this democracy only accessible to people with wealth. The constitution did not make democracy a privilege. Equality of influence is supposed to be the right of every citizen. Democracy was intended to create a free market of ideas but because it can be bought and sold, it has turned into a massive marketing campaign of targeted ideas.
If you have no money then you can sit at home, receive the pamphlets in the mail, watch the TV ads, and then go out and vote for the lesser of two evils. If nothing else, it’ll give you a thrill for a moment when you fill in the circle next to the name of the leader of your choice. But a feeling of disappointment sets in as soon as you leave the voting precinct. You already know deep down inside that nothing will ever change. The only two choices on the ballot got there in the first place because they were able to raise the money to become viable candidates. Their names appeared on the ballot not because of you but in spite of you. Incumbent politicians sitting in office have an advantage of filling up their coffers in exchange for favors years ahead of an election. That’s why they will never abolish this system.
Money should have no place in a democracy. It enslaves society to a set of ideas and a class of leaders that serve the interests of special groups of people at the expense of the silenced majority. Contributions should be banned from politics altogether and all campaigns should become publicly funded. A qualified candidate who collects the required petitions to run for a public office can apply for campaign funds. Candidates competing for the same office will receive an equal amount of money to fund their campaigns. This will open the door of democracy wide open to every person who is willing to do the hard work of leadership. Free from the obligations of investors, a leader can focus on doing what is right instead of what gets him more money for re-election.
It is estimated that 28 billion dollars will be earmarked by politicians in this year’s budget. This is unnecessary pork barrel spending reserved by elected politicians to reward the people who financed their campaigns. It is cheaper for the taxpayer to pay 2.4 billions to fund the campaigns instead of 28 billions.
Most people who don’t vote fail to see a direct benefit coming to them from their vote. They view Government as a permanent monkey riding on the back of the people. It is a tool of taxation and a source of constant struggle for power between corrupt politicians. If conservatives are disappointed with their GOP they stay at home and if Democrats are excited they go out and vote. Politicians compete to suppress the vote of their opposition. The system works towards the goal of achieving a low voter turnout. There is a self-defeating mechanism in this system.
Then, politicians reprimand us the voters for not getting involved to change the system. But they won’t listen to us unless we give them money. And if we have money to give to them it won’t be in our favor to change the current system. Community leaders blame their communities for not participating and individual voters say shame on us for allowing ourselves to become so helpless.
If voting is a basic right guaranteed by the constitution then it should become a compulsory obligation of citizenship, just like jury duty. In times of war, young men are drafted involuntarily into the armed forces to defend their nation. We are now facing a crisis and a structural breakdown in the system of government. These times call for such measures so we can begin fixing the most glaring defects in our system.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Iraq is terminally broken
By Neal AbuNab
He just arrived in America fresh from Iraq. The deep lines in the face of this 40-year old Chaldean Iraqi speak silently of the sorrow and sadness of his people. He is very happy to be in America and he’ll never go back to Iraq.
Earlier this year he was kidnapped in Baghdad and held for 24 days as a hostage. His kidnappers claimed to be Sunni Muslim and they demanded a huge ransom for his release. They kidnapped him in the name of Jihad and they received hundreds of thousands of dollars to release him in the name of their jihad.
While in captivity, he was abused verbally and tortured physically. His Christianity was denigrated and he was slapped around as a worthless Kafir or infidel. He showed me his back which was used as an ashtray by his captors. It was dotted with black marks of cigarette burns that burrowed small holes like volcano craters. As a Muslim I felt deeply ashamed of my cruel Muslim brothers.
Back in the days of Saddam Hussein this man was a major supplier of alcohol in the Baghdad area. His life was good and even by American standards he was a millionaire. But now he tells me that Iraq had become hopeless and killing is the only game in town. He says that Iraqis are bracing for a long and protracted civil war like the 15-year war of Lebanon.
He might be right because I watch the Arabic TV stations and their version of the news is different from what is shown in America. The commentators here are fighting the wars of “staying the course” or “cut and run” while the commentators in the Arab world are mostly turbaned Imams extolling the virtues of Ali, the prophet’s nephew. One might wonder about a historical figure like Ali and his relationship with what’s going on in Iraq today. The Shi’a Imams are arguing that only in the days of the Umayyad rule (661-750) were Shi’a believers killed based on their religious identity. They were persecuted because they believed that Ali was more deserving of the Caliphate; the Supreme leadership of Islam.
This is a religious dispute over 1,300 years old and it was not settled back then and it is being used today to fuel the sectarian violence. The Shi’a Imams are making their case that Muawiya, who established the Umayyad rule, had little faith in his heart and it was Ali who was filled with the faith of Muhammad since his childhood. By focusing on this ancient argument they are creating a long-sought legitimacy for the rule of Shi’a over Sunnis.
This is irrelevant in toady’s politics except that it widens the gulf of animosity between traditional Sunnis and Shi’a. Sunnis do not consider Muawiya as a revered figure like Ali, but they respect the fact that he expanded the Muslim empire from India to Morocco and united it under one banner. He is nicknamed as the genius of Arab politics.
Some Iraqi Shi’a Imams are equating the ways of Sunni terrorists with the ruthlessness of the Umayyad rulers. They claim that Sunni terrorists are killing them today just because they are followers of Ali. Shi’a terrorists, on the other hand, are only retaliating for the killing initiated by Sunnis.
This started almost three years ago and the vicious cycle of retaliation and counter-revenge has entrenched itself. Too many people have already died and no one in Iraq is calling for forgiveness. Prime Minister Maliki is shuttling between religious and political leaders calling for reconciliation and power-sharing. Most Sunnis are highly skeptical of his motives as he had not called for an end to de-baathification.
The Sunni-Shi’a argument cuts deep across the Arab and Muslim world. A coalition of seven Sunni insurgent groups, including Al-Qaida of Iraq, called this week for the establishment of a Muslim state and a caliphate out of Baghdad. They offered a plan to divide Iraq into three states. The plan was almost identical to the one that democratic presidential hopeful, Senator Joseph Biden, had outlined earlier this year.
But most Arabs and Muslims have now become involved in this civil war in one form or another. The Sunni Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia do not want to see a Shi’a state on their northern border. They want to keep Iraq united under a Sunni ruler. Jordan has an interest in maintaining insecurity in Iraq as it has been very good for its economy. Syria and Iran want to keep the US military bogged down in Iraq so they do not become the next target. Egypt’s Mubarak wants to capitalize on Sunni phobia of Shi’a power and he sends messages that a Shi’a state in Iraq is unacceptable. Almost everyone is united in rejecting the foreign occupation.
It is almost in everybody’s interest to keep the war alive in Iraq. The only way to stop this madness is through a Muslim-Muslim reconciliation initiative where everyone will convene under the auspices of a Muslim conference and strike a deal like the Taif Accords of 1990, which ended the Lebanese civil war. The framework of the solution has to be fashioned by all Muslim nations. Iraq has become their problem.
The Bush administration did not start the religious war but its invasion of Iraq was the catalyst that sparked this disintegration. Whenever President Bush is in real trouble he calls on the power that was behind his father’s presidency, and the ultimate Republican diplomat, former Secretary of State James Baker. He called him in 2000 to lead the Supreme Court battle over Florida’s election results. Now, he has appointed him along with former congressman Lee Hamilton to chair a study group on Iraq. Their report is due in December, not surprisingly after the elections. Baker predicts that the report’s recommendation will be somewhere in between “cut and run” and “stay the course”.
This is a major shift in Bush’s unwavering stance. The Democrats deserve the credit for this shift as they have been very disciplined in broadcasting the same message in this campaign. Patrick Murphy, a young army captain running for congress in Pennsylvania, answered the President’s radio address last Saturday by saying: “staying the course is not visionary, it is blind. Standing still and staying the course is not resolute, it is reckless.” I heard the same punch lines used by Senator John Kerry in New Hampshire and by Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the House, in California. They are all singing the same hymn lines whether in New York or in Minnesota.
They have adopted the Karl Rove modus operandi in running campaigns and Bill Clinton seems to be heavily involved in the current campaign to take back the House. It looks like President Bush has already factored in the expected Republican defeat by calling on Baker to work out the compromise with Democrats. The Iraqi debacle will belong to the US Congress in 2007.
Early next year, we can expect US troops to redeploy from Iraq to Afghanistan where they will resume the war on terror. As for Iraq, we can expect with confidence the disintegration and the dismantlement of that state in the near future.
By Neal AbuNab
He just arrived in America fresh from Iraq. The deep lines in the face of this 40-year old Chaldean Iraqi speak silently of the sorrow and sadness of his people. He is very happy to be in America and he’ll never go back to Iraq.
Earlier this year he was kidnapped in Baghdad and held for 24 days as a hostage. His kidnappers claimed to be Sunni Muslim and they demanded a huge ransom for his release. They kidnapped him in the name of Jihad and they received hundreds of thousands of dollars to release him in the name of their jihad.
While in captivity, he was abused verbally and tortured physically. His Christianity was denigrated and he was slapped around as a worthless Kafir or infidel. He showed me his back which was used as an ashtray by his captors. It was dotted with black marks of cigarette burns that burrowed small holes like volcano craters. As a Muslim I felt deeply ashamed of my cruel Muslim brothers.
Back in the days of Saddam Hussein this man was a major supplier of alcohol in the Baghdad area. His life was good and even by American standards he was a millionaire. But now he tells me that Iraq had become hopeless and killing is the only game in town. He says that Iraqis are bracing for a long and protracted civil war like the 15-year war of Lebanon.
He might be right because I watch the Arabic TV stations and their version of the news is different from what is shown in America. The commentators here are fighting the wars of “staying the course” or “cut and run” while the commentators in the Arab world are mostly turbaned Imams extolling the virtues of Ali, the prophet’s nephew. One might wonder about a historical figure like Ali and his relationship with what’s going on in Iraq today. The Shi’a Imams are arguing that only in the days of the Umayyad rule (661-750) were Shi’a believers killed based on their religious identity. They were persecuted because they believed that Ali was more deserving of the Caliphate; the Supreme leadership of Islam.
This is a religious dispute over 1,300 years old and it was not settled back then and it is being used today to fuel the sectarian violence. The Shi’a Imams are making their case that Muawiya, who established the Umayyad rule, had little faith in his heart and it was Ali who was filled with the faith of Muhammad since his childhood. By focusing on this ancient argument they are creating a long-sought legitimacy for the rule of Shi’a over Sunnis.
This is irrelevant in toady’s politics except that it widens the gulf of animosity between traditional Sunnis and Shi’a. Sunnis do not consider Muawiya as a revered figure like Ali, but they respect the fact that he expanded the Muslim empire from India to Morocco and united it under one banner. He is nicknamed as the genius of Arab politics.
Some Iraqi Shi’a Imams are equating the ways of Sunni terrorists with the ruthlessness of the Umayyad rulers. They claim that Sunni terrorists are killing them today just because they are followers of Ali. Shi’a terrorists, on the other hand, are only retaliating for the killing initiated by Sunnis.
This started almost three years ago and the vicious cycle of retaliation and counter-revenge has entrenched itself. Too many people have already died and no one in Iraq is calling for forgiveness. Prime Minister Maliki is shuttling between religious and political leaders calling for reconciliation and power-sharing. Most Sunnis are highly skeptical of his motives as he had not called for an end to de-baathification.
The Sunni-Shi’a argument cuts deep across the Arab and Muslim world. A coalition of seven Sunni insurgent groups, including Al-Qaida of Iraq, called this week for the establishment of a Muslim state and a caliphate out of Baghdad. They offered a plan to divide Iraq into three states. The plan was almost identical to the one that democratic presidential hopeful, Senator Joseph Biden, had outlined earlier this year.
But most Arabs and Muslims have now become involved in this civil war in one form or another. The Sunni Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia do not want to see a Shi’a state on their northern border. They want to keep Iraq united under a Sunni ruler. Jordan has an interest in maintaining insecurity in Iraq as it has been very good for its economy. Syria and Iran want to keep the US military bogged down in Iraq so they do not become the next target. Egypt’s Mubarak wants to capitalize on Sunni phobia of Shi’a power and he sends messages that a Shi’a state in Iraq is unacceptable. Almost everyone is united in rejecting the foreign occupation.
It is almost in everybody’s interest to keep the war alive in Iraq. The only way to stop this madness is through a Muslim-Muslim reconciliation initiative where everyone will convene under the auspices of a Muslim conference and strike a deal like the Taif Accords of 1990, which ended the Lebanese civil war. The framework of the solution has to be fashioned by all Muslim nations. Iraq has become their problem.
The Bush administration did not start the religious war but its invasion of Iraq was the catalyst that sparked this disintegration. Whenever President Bush is in real trouble he calls on the power that was behind his father’s presidency, and the ultimate Republican diplomat, former Secretary of State James Baker. He called him in 2000 to lead the Supreme Court battle over Florida’s election results. Now, he has appointed him along with former congressman Lee Hamilton to chair a study group on Iraq. Their report is due in December, not surprisingly after the elections. Baker predicts that the report’s recommendation will be somewhere in between “cut and run” and “stay the course”.
This is a major shift in Bush’s unwavering stance. The Democrats deserve the credit for this shift as they have been very disciplined in broadcasting the same message in this campaign. Patrick Murphy, a young army captain running for congress in Pennsylvania, answered the President’s radio address last Saturday by saying: “staying the course is not visionary, it is blind. Standing still and staying the course is not resolute, it is reckless.” I heard the same punch lines used by Senator John Kerry in New Hampshire and by Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the House, in California. They are all singing the same hymn lines whether in New York or in Minnesota.
They have adopted the Karl Rove modus operandi in running campaigns and Bill Clinton seems to be heavily involved in the current campaign to take back the House. It looks like President Bush has already factored in the expected Republican defeat by calling on Baker to work out the compromise with Democrats. The Iraqi debacle will belong to the US Congress in 2007.
Early next year, we can expect US troops to redeploy from Iraq to Afghanistan where they will resume the war on terror. As for Iraq, we can expect with confidence the disintegration and the dismantlement of that state in the near future.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Tyranny is winning
By Neal AbuNab
After the 1967 war in the Middle East the dark ghost of defeatism descended upon the heart of Arabs. Their governments declared a state of emergency. They suspended the constitutional rights of individuals and spent their money stockpiling weapons. The threat of Israel was the overriding concern in every country and people gave up their human rights and freedom because of national security. They never recovered from that loss. The Egyptian government today, like many other Arab governments, is still operating under a state of emergency. People gave up their freedom to the government thereby creating all these entrenched dictatorships. Guess what happened to all the weapons they bought and the great armies they built. They used them against their own people. Anyone who opposed the government became a traitor and a collaborator.
The same dark ghost is descending upon the heart of America. The Patriot Act pales in comparison with the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The new law which was passed by both houses of Congress on September 29th gives the Bush administration absolute power over the lives of its enemies. The law was opposed by most Democrats except for a few like Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan who is running for re-election this year and does not want to appear soft on national security.
The law authorizes the government to hold suspected enemies in detention indefinitely. It also allows the government to torture the detainee and then try him in a military court. The government continues to spy on its own people under the sanitized term of “warrantless wiretaps” program.
The suspected terrorist which is the intended target of this law is most likely a non-US citizen but the law will apply equally to a US citizen. Most of us are not concerned for the welfare of a person who is trying to kill us. This is the argument that made such a law sail so fast through the congress. The problem is that we are dealing with a huge bureaucracy called the government which is known for committing mistakes all the time.
A five-year old boy was featured on national news this week as a suspected terrorist. His name has been on the No-fly list for 4 years. Every time his parents went to the airport they ended up missing their flight because of hours of interrogation. The government promised to correct the mistake years ago.
Let’s say you are a poor soul whose name is similar to a wanted person some where. They will tap your phone and if you speak a foreign language and make phone calls overseas then you will become a suspect. Somebody may decide to pick you up for interrogation. On a dark night they will break through your front door and arrest you while you sleep in your comfortable home with your wife and children. Your family is not allowed to visit you or to ask about you. You are not allowed to ask why you’d been arrested and you can not inquire as to the nature of the charges against you.
While you rot in a secret detention center the interrogators will wake you up at night and play loud music for 24 hours. They will deprive you from sleep and drown you in a bucket of water. If that is not enough to extract a confession they can put you in a freezer and throw water at you till you shiver and turn blue.
Eventually, you will confess and sign a statement to whatever they say. Then, you will be taken to a court where your tormentors can present your confession to a military tribunal and you will not be able to see or rebut the evidence against you. It is called secret evidence and the government will not allow you to see it because it compromises national security. Then, you will be sentenced to life in prison or execution based on the evidence that you will never see. This can happen to any American as a matter of law.
Does this scenario sound familiar? It is the typical operation of any despotic regime including most of the regimes in the Arab world. This is what Americans have surrendered to their government. So, in my opinion the terrorists are winning. We started out this war to spread freedom and to eradicate violence and tyranny. We have escalated the level of senseless violence in this world by invading Iraq and now we are importing tyranny from the Middle East.
America is supposed to be exporting its democratic values to the Middle East but instead we are importing dictatorship from there. The Military Commissions Act is a victory for dictatorship in the world and Arabs can take the credit for it. It is easy to wage war against a people whom you disagree with. It is very easy to drop bombs that destroy life but try building the life of one human being. That is the real jihad.
The Bush administration also shares in the credit for advancing the cause of dictatorship and tyranny. Its love for secrecy and intolerance was finally realized by this new law. In the name of national security it has a blank check to torture all it wants and to detain as many people as its heart’s content.
If the Patriot Act assaulted civil rights the Military Commissions Act strangled the spirit of the US constitution. If terrorists hated our freedom, as Bush always claims, and they attacked this freedom on 9/11, then this new law accomplishes what the terrorists had always targeted. Our congress is handing victory to the terrorists on a silver platter.
Americans have lost so many lives and Arabs have lost more lives and they are all dying for freedom. Arabs want to be free from colonial powers, occupations and propped up puppet regimes. Americans want to be free to pursue a dignified livelihood without insecurity or fear. It is easy to let freedom thrive in this world because it is the air that every human being breathes. It just requires people who do not need to kill other people whom they disagree with.
Some day in the near future when we’d all become slaves of our own fears we will have a great shrine in Washington for Freedom. It will say: US Freedom, Born 1789 Died 2006.
By Neal AbuNab
After the 1967 war in the Middle East the dark ghost of defeatism descended upon the heart of Arabs. Their governments declared a state of emergency. They suspended the constitutional rights of individuals and spent their money stockpiling weapons. The threat of Israel was the overriding concern in every country and people gave up their human rights and freedom because of national security. They never recovered from that loss. The Egyptian government today, like many other Arab governments, is still operating under a state of emergency. People gave up their freedom to the government thereby creating all these entrenched dictatorships. Guess what happened to all the weapons they bought and the great armies they built. They used them against their own people. Anyone who opposed the government became a traitor and a collaborator.
The same dark ghost is descending upon the heart of America. The Patriot Act pales in comparison with the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The new law which was passed by both houses of Congress on September 29th gives the Bush administration absolute power over the lives of its enemies. The law was opposed by most Democrats except for a few like Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan who is running for re-election this year and does not want to appear soft on national security.
The law authorizes the government to hold suspected enemies in detention indefinitely. It also allows the government to torture the detainee and then try him in a military court. The government continues to spy on its own people under the sanitized term of “warrantless wiretaps” program.
The suspected terrorist which is the intended target of this law is most likely a non-US citizen but the law will apply equally to a US citizen. Most of us are not concerned for the welfare of a person who is trying to kill us. This is the argument that made such a law sail so fast through the congress. The problem is that we are dealing with a huge bureaucracy called the government which is known for committing mistakes all the time.
A five-year old boy was featured on national news this week as a suspected terrorist. His name has been on the No-fly list for 4 years. Every time his parents went to the airport they ended up missing their flight because of hours of interrogation. The government promised to correct the mistake years ago.
Let’s say you are a poor soul whose name is similar to a wanted person some where. They will tap your phone and if you speak a foreign language and make phone calls overseas then you will become a suspect. Somebody may decide to pick you up for interrogation. On a dark night they will break through your front door and arrest you while you sleep in your comfortable home with your wife and children. Your family is not allowed to visit you or to ask about you. You are not allowed to ask why you’d been arrested and you can not inquire as to the nature of the charges against you.
While you rot in a secret detention center the interrogators will wake you up at night and play loud music for 24 hours. They will deprive you from sleep and drown you in a bucket of water. If that is not enough to extract a confession they can put you in a freezer and throw water at you till you shiver and turn blue.
Eventually, you will confess and sign a statement to whatever they say. Then, you will be taken to a court where your tormentors can present your confession to a military tribunal and you will not be able to see or rebut the evidence against you. It is called secret evidence and the government will not allow you to see it because it compromises national security. Then, you will be sentenced to life in prison or execution based on the evidence that you will never see. This can happen to any American as a matter of law.
Does this scenario sound familiar? It is the typical operation of any despotic regime including most of the regimes in the Arab world. This is what Americans have surrendered to their government. So, in my opinion the terrorists are winning. We started out this war to spread freedom and to eradicate violence and tyranny. We have escalated the level of senseless violence in this world by invading Iraq and now we are importing tyranny from the Middle East.
America is supposed to be exporting its democratic values to the Middle East but instead we are importing dictatorship from there. The Military Commissions Act is a victory for dictatorship in the world and Arabs can take the credit for it. It is easy to wage war against a people whom you disagree with. It is very easy to drop bombs that destroy life but try building the life of one human being. That is the real jihad.
The Bush administration also shares in the credit for advancing the cause of dictatorship and tyranny. Its love for secrecy and intolerance was finally realized by this new law. In the name of national security it has a blank check to torture all it wants and to detain as many people as its heart’s content.
If the Patriot Act assaulted civil rights the Military Commissions Act strangled the spirit of the US constitution. If terrorists hated our freedom, as Bush always claims, and they attacked this freedom on 9/11, then this new law accomplishes what the terrorists had always targeted. Our congress is handing victory to the terrorists on a silver platter.
Americans have lost so many lives and Arabs have lost more lives and they are all dying for freedom. Arabs want to be free from colonial powers, occupations and propped up puppet regimes. Americans want to be free to pursue a dignified livelihood without insecurity or fear. It is easy to let freedom thrive in this world because it is the air that every human being breathes. It just requires people who do not need to kill other people whom they disagree with.
Some day in the near future when we’d all become slaves of our own fears we will have a great shrine in Washington for Freedom. It will say: US Freedom, Born 1789 Died 2006.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Paralysis in the Middle East
By Neal AbuNab
Muhammad Odeh, a local Palestinian Hamas leader in Ramallah was assassinated by masked gunmen the same day US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, was there visiting with President Mahmoud Abbas. It was probably a small token of affection offered to please the visiting dignitary; a sacrifice at the altar of peace. Clashes between Hamas and Fatah left a dozen people dead and over a 100 wounded in the past week. It is a clear indication of how deeply divided Palestinians have grown over the past few months.
Fatah’s patience had run out. Abbas declared that he had reached a dead end in negotiations with Hamas over a national unity government. He threatened to use his constitutional powers to dissolve the parliament and the current government. But the current constitution does not give him such powers. No problem. This is the Middle East and if he can get the US to consent to it he’ll do it any way. I think the Bush administration has had enough of negotiations in the Middle East to form “unity” governments whether it is in Iraq, Lebanon or Palestine. The same story is happening in all of these newborn democracies; they’re all engaged in violent ways to resolve their power struggles and political differences.
This is a clear manifestation of Bush’s policy in the Middle East. His famous words last month declared clearly that “for decades we pursued policies of stability in the Middle East and like a mirage they did not lead to peace.”
Dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan are more stable and peaceful in nature. But if Bush is determined to go on with his democracy project then instability is bound to reach these countries also.
The idea that democracies in the Middle East are peaceful in nature is a fallacy; Lebanon and Israel are two democracies that dueled to death over the summer. If people knew the nature of Arabs they will realize that each one wants to be a leader of his own people. A capitalist democracy modeled after the US will only inflame power struggles and sectarian passions in the Middle East. A genuine social democracy that offers free healthcare and education to its people, like most European nations do, has a chance of flourishing in the Middle East.
The Bush administration has dug itself a black hole in that part of the world. If “denial” describes its mindset, as journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his latest book, then Paralysis has become the state of politics in that region. Such paralysis is most evident in Palestinian politics. Hamas won the elections, formed a government and then sat under siege for the past 7 months. The Palestinian economy has been virtually wiped out and one has to admire Hamas’s endurance but feel so much pity for the victimized general population of the occupied territories.
Hamas agreed to a unity government with Fatah, based on the “prisoners’ document”, which calls for recognizing Israel and a Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders. Abbas met with Bush a couple of weeks ago in New York and it seems like Bush vetoed the agreement. Everything fell apart when Abbas got home and like he said negotiations were back to “square one.” The US wants Hamas to renounce violence and recognize the legitimacy of all previous accords between the PLO and Israel.
Such accords were nullified by successive Israeli governments starting with Netanyahu in 1996 and ending with Sharon and Olmert. How could the US ask Hamas to recognize accords renounced and nullified by Israel? It is a trap that leaves Hamas no choice but to go into conflict with Fatah and Abbas.
Most Palestinians will trust Hamas to negotiate with Israel as Fatah had proven its willingness to give the store away for the personal benefit of its rich leaders. That’s why the US and Israel prefer to negotiate with Fatah, and will continue their financial stranglehold over the Hamas government till it collapses under the weight of the starving man in the street. Hamas and Fatah are locked into a waltz of death and there is no way out.
But such gridlock, confined to Washington in the past, has traveled to the Middle East and has become the hallmark of politics there. Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and his Kadima Party have a 22% approval rating and the government has lost its disengagement mandate. Olmert is in no position to even appear as if he is giving anything to the Palestinians. Cracks in his coalition may widen and then his government would suddenly collapse.
The Taliban is staging a comeback in Afghanistan and wherever you look in the Muslim world there are grievances and injustices. Most are committed by Muslims against Muslims such as deprivation of basic human rights and wholesale robberies of the wealth of nations. Nothing is moving forward.
The problem is that the average American voter has very little knowledge or interest in the region. Polls have shown that almost 75% of Americans don’t know where Israel is and so most of them can not connect the direct relationship between the misery of Palestinians and the threat to their national security. They will argue forever that Arabs and Israelis want to fight with each other all the time, as if America had nothing to do with it.
In the large political landscape of America, the Palestinian “problem” is like a pimple on the ass of an elephant. Everyone in the world tries to tell the elephant (Bush and the Republicans) that this pimple has to be squeezed before it turns into a tumor, which can kill the elephant. However, the Bush administration is only concerned in chasing the flies off that pimple. Bin Laden used the Palestinian pimple as one of the reasons for attacking America and Al-Qaida continues using it to attract more recruits.
The US is the only power that can squeeze this pimple and break the stalemate. It can do that through direct negotiations with Iran and Syria. But Bush is pursuing a path of “victory” and he still hangs on to the idea that decisive win-lose military solutions are possible, even after the failed experience with Hizbullah.
Secretary Rice’s visit to the Middle East was in response to domestic political pressures ahead of the elections to combat charges of incompetence from the Democrats. It has little to do with pursuing peace in the Middle East. The world is in dire need of courageous leaders in Washington to break this vicious paralysis.
By Neal AbuNab
Muhammad Odeh, a local Palestinian Hamas leader in Ramallah was assassinated by masked gunmen the same day US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, was there visiting with President Mahmoud Abbas. It was probably a small token of affection offered to please the visiting dignitary; a sacrifice at the altar of peace. Clashes between Hamas and Fatah left a dozen people dead and over a 100 wounded in the past week. It is a clear indication of how deeply divided Palestinians have grown over the past few months.
Fatah’s patience had run out. Abbas declared that he had reached a dead end in negotiations with Hamas over a national unity government. He threatened to use his constitutional powers to dissolve the parliament and the current government. But the current constitution does not give him such powers. No problem. This is the Middle East and if he can get the US to consent to it he’ll do it any way. I think the Bush administration has had enough of negotiations in the Middle East to form “unity” governments whether it is in Iraq, Lebanon or Palestine. The same story is happening in all of these newborn democracies; they’re all engaged in violent ways to resolve their power struggles and political differences.
This is a clear manifestation of Bush’s policy in the Middle East. His famous words last month declared clearly that “for decades we pursued policies of stability in the Middle East and like a mirage they did not lead to peace.”
Dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan are more stable and peaceful in nature. But if Bush is determined to go on with his democracy project then instability is bound to reach these countries also.
The idea that democracies in the Middle East are peaceful in nature is a fallacy; Lebanon and Israel are two democracies that dueled to death over the summer. If people knew the nature of Arabs they will realize that each one wants to be a leader of his own people. A capitalist democracy modeled after the US will only inflame power struggles and sectarian passions in the Middle East. A genuine social democracy that offers free healthcare and education to its people, like most European nations do, has a chance of flourishing in the Middle East.
The Bush administration has dug itself a black hole in that part of the world. If “denial” describes its mindset, as journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his latest book, then Paralysis has become the state of politics in that region. Such paralysis is most evident in Palestinian politics. Hamas won the elections, formed a government and then sat under siege for the past 7 months. The Palestinian economy has been virtually wiped out and one has to admire Hamas’s endurance but feel so much pity for the victimized general population of the occupied territories.
Hamas agreed to a unity government with Fatah, based on the “prisoners’ document”, which calls for recognizing Israel and a Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders. Abbas met with Bush a couple of weeks ago in New York and it seems like Bush vetoed the agreement. Everything fell apart when Abbas got home and like he said negotiations were back to “square one.” The US wants Hamas to renounce violence and recognize the legitimacy of all previous accords between the PLO and Israel.
Such accords were nullified by successive Israeli governments starting with Netanyahu in 1996 and ending with Sharon and Olmert. How could the US ask Hamas to recognize accords renounced and nullified by Israel? It is a trap that leaves Hamas no choice but to go into conflict with Fatah and Abbas.
Most Palestinians will trust Hamas to negotiate with Israel as Fatah had proven its willingness to give the store away for the personal benefit of its rich leaders. That’s why the US and Israel prefer to negotiate with Fatah, and will continue their financial stranglehold over the Hamas government till it collapses under the weight of the starving man in the street. Hamas and Fatah are locked into a waltz of death and there is no way out.
But such gridlock, confined to Washington in the past, has traveled to the Middle East and has become the hallmark of politics there. Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and his Kadima Party have a 22% approval rating and the government has lost its disengagement mandate. Olmert is in no position to even appear as if he is giving anything to the Palestinians. Cracks in his coalition may widen and then his government would suddenly collapse.
The Taliban is staging a comeback in Afghanistan and wherever you look in the Muslim world there are grievances and injustices. Most are committed by Muslims against Muslims such as deprivation of basic human rights and wholesale robberies of the wealth of nations. Nothing is moving forward.
The problem is that the average American voter has very little knowledge or interest in the region. Polls have shown that almost 75% of Americans don’t know where Israel is and so most of them can not connect the direct relationship between the misery of Palestinians and the threat to their national security. They will argue forever that Arabs and Israelis want to fight with each other all the time, as if America had nothing to do with it.
In the large political landscape of America, the Palestinian “problem” is like a pimple on the ass of an elephant. Everyone in the world tries to tell the elephant (Bush and the Republicans) that this pimple has to be squeezed before it turns into a tumor, which can kill the elephant. However, the Bush administration is only concerned in chasing the flies off that pimple. Bin Laden used the Palestinian pimple as one of the reasons for attacking America and Al-Qaida continues using it to attract more recruits.
The US is the only power that can squeeze this pimple and break the stalemate. It can do that through direct negotiations with Iran and Syria. But Bush is pursuing a path of “victory” and he still hangs on to the idea that decisive win-lose military solutions are possible, even after the failed experience with Hizbullah.
Secretary Rice’s visit to the Middle East was in response to domestic political pressures ahead of the elections to combat charges of incompetence from the Democrats. It has little to do with pursuing peace in the Middle East. The world is in dire need of courageous leaders in Washington to break this vicious paralysis.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Mel Gibson predicts fall of U.S.
By: Neal AbuNab
Sometimes it feels like we're always in a race with time. We're always in a hurry to get things done or racing to get somewhere fast or just trying to meet somebody else's deadline. Being in a hurry is part of our nature. Impatience to fulfill our most basic needs is imbued in our creation. A baby cries forcefully demanding its milk while a fully-grown corporate executive pounds his fist on the table demanding work be done.
We're always racing but we never seem to catch up. Now, superstar Mel Gibson is telling us to relax and enjoy the ride before it all ends in 2012. Whenever this man speaks, somebody makes him apologize. The other day he took his new movie, "Apocalypto," to a film festival to promote it and made some remarks critical of the Iraq war and the decline of our civilization.
Gibson's work in movies like "Braveheart" and "Patriot" demonstrate that he is a "for God and country" type of man. God weighed heavily on his heart when he made "The Passion of the Christ," which infuriated the Jewish institution in America. Then he made his famous anti-Jewish remarks on July 28th when he was arrested for drinking and driving. He cursed at the officers and told them, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in this world." Obviously, he was disturbed by the Israel-Lebanon war.
The following day he ate his words and groveled in one apology after the other to the Jewish community. They let the storm die down but they never forgave him and he lost some film contracts in the end. Then, he pleaded no contest to the drinking and driving offense on August 18. The judge ordered him to get treatment for alcoholism and to do some public service work. On August 20, the "Los Angeles Times" wrote an editorial calling for disqualifying Mel Gibson from doing public service announcements because he was not a good role model. The paper said, "Gibson should be declared celebrity non-grata, left to wrestle with his own demons in private, as most other bigoted people get to do. Obscurity would be the most fitting punishment for the man."
What do they want from the man besides the whole hearted apology that he made? Maybe he has to check himself into an "Anti-Semitism Rehabilitation Center" to cleanse himself of any critical thoughts of Jews. After completing such a program he will be singing their praises and preaching that they are God's chosen people. Otherwise, he should re-consider his entire existence as a public figure. I am sure that Mel has millions and millions of dollars so he can afford to speak his mind freely. That's why his apology is sincere and Jews must accept it and move on. The Pope made anti-Muslim remarks and then he apologized. No one called for his resignation or told him to cancel his existence as a public figure. We have to foster an atmosphere of dialogue that can accept the honest truths of all points of view.
In the latest remarks, Mel Gibson drew a parallel between the United States and the doomed Mayan civilization; the subject of his latest movie. He said, "The precursors to a civilization that's going under are the same, time and time again." To illustrate his point he asked, "What's human sacrifice if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?"
Everyone is critical of the Iraq war but why did such benign remarks draw any attention at all? It is because of the Jewish connection and the implication that Jews are bringing this civilization down. Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, made the linkage for us, stating, "If Jews are responsible for all the world's wars, then by that logic, they are responsible for the war in Iraq." He wants the 50-year old Oscar winning director to "put matters like that to rest. Until he does, it just hangs over him."
Gibson is a devout Christian and his politics are mostly conservative. He may have offered such scathing criticism of the Iraq war to appease the mostly anti-war Hollywood crowd. It seems like he needs to hire a political consultant these days, somebody like Dick Morris who advised Clinton. His anti-war remarks have now probably alienated his core group of conservative supporters and his anti-Jewish remarks alienated the Hollywood crowd and Democrats. Will all this affect his popularity or potential sales at the box office? Probably no. I predict the opposite will happen.
More people will see his movies than ever before. His remarks represent strong undercurrents in the political discourse. The Rapture Theory and the prophecy of the End Times are current topics discussed by most evangelists and media talk shows. Gibson seems to believe in these ideas and predicting the end of this world is a fulfillment of his convictions. He said, "I don't mean to be a doomsday guy, but the Mayan calendar does end in 2012, boys and girls." He seems to be giving us a hint about the end of our world as the United States falls to its doom like the Mayans did.
The concept of the End Times has been in the subconscious of man since the beginning of time, when he invented the idea that he was created in an instant by a Supreme Being we call God. Any race that has a starting point must also reach a finish line. If God created Adam about 10,000 years ago and started this human race, then at some point we are going to get tired of running in this marathon. There will be an end to this race.
We will inevitably reach our doom because of the deeds of our own hands. That doesn't mean the end of human existence. It is simply the end of the rat race that we have created with our own hands, where we turned ourselves into mere robots in a huge industrial machine.
It may also be the end of our racist thinking when we begin to see all humans as equals regardless of their "race, color, religion, or ethnicity." There is always a silver lining in every cloud and the end of our current way of life might also be the starting point of the God-given promise of a spiritual way of life. Mel Gibson might be right after all when he said, "I don't mean to be a doomsday guy."
By: Neal AbuNab
Sometimes it feels like we're always in a race with time. We're always in a hurry to get things done or racing to get somewhere fast or just trying to meet somebody else's deadline. Being in a hurry is part of our nature. Impatience to fulfill our most basic needs is imbued in our creation. A baby cries forcefully demanding its milk while a fully-grown corporate executive pounds his fist on the table demanding work be done.
We're always racing but we never seem to catch up. Now, superstar Mel Gibson is telling us to relax and enjoy the ride before it all ends in 2012. Whenever this man speaks, somebody makes him apologize. The other day he took his new movie, "Apocalypto," to a film festival to promote it and made some remarks critical of the Iraq war and the decline of our civilization.
Gibson's work in movies like "Braveheart" and "Patriot" demonstrate that he is a "for God and country" type of man. God weighed heavily on his heart when he made "The Passion of the Christ," which infuriated the Jewish institution in America. Then he made his famous anti-Jewish remarks on July 28th when he was arrested for drinking and driving. He cursed at the officers and told them, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in this world." Obviously, he was disturbed by the Israel-Lebanon war.
The following day he ate his words and groveled in one apology after the other to the Jewish community. They let the storm die down but they never forgave him and he lost some film contracts in the end. Then, he pleaded no contest to the drinking and driving offense on August 18. The judge ordered him to get treatment for alcoholism and to do some public service work. On August 20, the "Los Angeles Times" wrote an editorial calling for disqualifying Mel Gibson from doing public service announcements because he was not a good role model. The paper said, "Gibson should be declared celebrity non-grata, left to wrestle with his own demons in private, as most other bigoted people get to do. Obscurity would be the most fitting punishment for the man."
What do they want from the man besides the whole hearted apology that he made? Maybe he has to check himself into an "Anti-Semitism Rehabilitation Center" to cleanse himself of any critical thoughts of Jews. After completing such a program he will be singing their praises and preaching that they are God's chosen people. Otherwise, he should re-consider his entire existence as a public figure. I am sure that Mel has millions and millions of dollars so he can afford to speak his mind freely. That's why his apology is sincere and Jews must accept it and move on. The Pope made anti-Muslim remarks and then he apologized. No one called for his resignation or told him to cancel his existence as a public figure. We have to foster an atmosphere of dialogue that can accept the honest truths of all points of view.
In the latest remarks, Mel Gibson drew a parallel between the United States and the doomed Mayan civilization; the subject of his latest movie. He said, "The precursors to a civilization that's going under are the same, time and time again." To illustrate his point he asked, "What's human sacrifice if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?"
Everyone is critical of the Iraq war but why did such benign remarks draw any attention at all? It is because of the Jewish connection and the implication that Jews are bringing this civilization down. Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, made the linkage for us, stating, "If Jews are responsible for all the world's wars, then by that logic, they are responsible for the war in Iraq." He wants the 50-year old Oscar winning director to "put matters like that to rest. Until he does, it just hangs over him."
Gibson is a devout Christian and his politics are mostly conservative. He may have offered such scathing criticism of the Iraq war to appease the mostly anti-war Hollywood crowd. It seems like he needs to hire a political consultant these days, somebody like Dick Morris who advised Clinton. His anti-war remarks have now probably alienated his core group of conservative supporters and his anti-Jewish remarks alienated the Hollywood crowd and Democrats. Will all this affect his popularity or potential sales at the box office? Probably no. I predict the opposite will happen.
More people will see his movies than ever before. His remarks represent strong undercurrents in the political discourse. The Rapture Theory and the prophecy of the End Times are current topics discussed by most evangelists and media talk shows. Gibson seems to believe in these ideas and predicting the end of this world is a fulfillment of his convictions. He said, "I don't mean to be a doomsday guy, but the Mayan calendar does end in 2012, boys and girls." He seems to be giving us a hint about the end of our world as the United States falls to its doom like the Mayans did.
The concept of the End Times has been in the subconscious of man since the beginning of time, when he invented the idea that he was created in an instant by a Supreme Being we call God. Any race that has a starting point must also reach a finish line. If God created Adam about 10,000 years ago and started this human race, then at some point we are going to get tired of running in this marathon. There will be an end to this race.
We will inevitably reach our doom because of the deeds of our own hands. That doesn't mean the end of human existence. It is simply the end of the rat race that we have created with our own hands, where we turned ourselves into mere robots in a huge industrial machine.
It may also be the end of our racist thinking when we begin to see all humans as equals regardless of their "race, color, religion, or ethnicity." There is always a silver lining in every cloud and the end of our current way of life might also be the starting point of the God-given promise of a spiritual way of life. Mel Gibson might be right after all when he said, "I don't mean to be a doomsday guy."
Neal AbuNab
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