Columns
by Ibrahim Khader '04
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The long awaited Al-Jazeera English
website is now online;
http://english.aljazeera.net. Right after
the terrorist attacks on the U.S. in
2001, Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel became
popular throughout the world for airing
videotape messages of Al-Qiada’s
leader, Osama Bin Laden. Later, the
channel came under intense criticism from
the U.S. administration after airing
footage of American POW’s in the war
on Iraq. However, Al-Jazeera has been
widely viewed in the Arab World since its
launch in 1996.
At first thought, you might think this
site will only contain anti-American
news. However, if you browse the site,
you will discover it is simply
information that is vital and rarely
heard in the American media. Exposure to
both American and non-American news will
help you form a better idea of events
happening around the world and,
specifically, in the Middle East. For
example, if you read the in-depth reports
on Iraq posted now on Al-Jazeera, you
will have an entirely different
perception of what is going on there,
unlike if you only depend on American
media, which is mainly covering the
American side of the story. After all,
there is always more than one side to any
story.
On September 11, 2001, many asked:
"What did we do to deserve this
aggression against us? Why do they hate
us?" Well, this is your opportunity
to find out the impact of American
foreign policy through the eyes of the
Middle East: how the Arab and Muslim
world feel about U.S. actions in their
countries. For example, the U.S.
government considers the war on Iraqi
liberation, while the Middle East
considers it an occupation.
It is critical that we understand how
the people of the Arab world receive the
U.S. messages. Often, what the United
States. considers to be a step in the
right direction is viewed in the Middle
East as a recipe for disaster. For
example, the American media made a huge
deal about the new governing council in
Iraq the day it was announced. The
council was glorified and shown as a
great step towards democracy in Iraq.
That same day, reports from Middle
Eastern news agencies exposed the corrupt
history of some of the council members,
showing proof of millions of dollars they
have stolen from Iraqi bank accounts
abroad. This was a communication
contradiction: what the United States
wanted the world to see as a positive
step was perceived as a puppet corrupt
governing council in the Middle East.
For that very reason, having
Al-Jazeera publish its news in English
will help us here understand how to act
and communicate better with that part of
the world. This site is now a valuable
tool at our disposal acting as a mirror
image to our actions. The hatred and
anger towards one another between the
Americans and the Arabs did not come from
a vacuum. It is a result of decades of
misinformation and ignorance on behalf of
both sides.
It is our duty, as civilized and
educated people, to strive to find the
truth. Make this one of your new school
year resolutions. By exploring various
news sources, you are only bound to
become more informed. It is a win-win
situation. After all, this is what the
word NEWS stands for: "North East
West South." So let’s make our
news sources likewise.
This column originally appeared in
the Wartburg Trumpet September 15, 2003.
New bill hurts world's
view of U.S.
Fill in the blanks and guess whom the
X refers to in this U.S. document?
“To halt X support for terrorism,
end its occupation of …, stop its
development of weapons of mass
destruction, cease its illegal
importation of …, and hold X
accountable for its role in the Middle
East.”
The X neither refers to Iraq nor North
Korea, and no, this is not a question
that appeared on a political science exam
or Jeopardy. Ladies and gentlemen, this
is the newly passed United States
Congress Bill: “Syria Accountability
and Lebanese Sovereignty Act.”
In simple terms, this is the bill the
U.S. government will utilize to sell you
the upcoming war campaign titled,
“Let’s occupy another country
in the Middle East to secure more oil
pipes.”
President Bush signed this bill last
week giving him authority to impose
economic and diplomatic sanctions on
Syria.
On the economic front, the bill
prohibits any export of U.S. products
other than food and medicine to Syria.
However, some food and medicine items are
considered “dual-use items,”
consumed by both civilians and the
military. Therefore, they are banned.
This is the same terminology used in the
United Nations sanctions on Iraq for 12
years, which labeled insulin, antistatic
drugs, cardiovascular medicine and cancer
treatment chemicals as “dual-use
items.” As a result, more than a
half million Iraqis died due to lack of
medical and nutritional supplies.
Moreover, the “Findings”
section of the bill state that
“there are reports that Syria is
pursuing the development of chemical
weapons, such as VX and Sarin.”
Do these accusations sound familiar?
Did we not hear them about eight months
ago when the Iraq Occupation campaign was
in full pursuit? Are these reports going
to be falsely endorsed by CIA director
George Tenet testifying before the
Senate, or better yet, by Secretary of
State Colin Powell as he holds on to
satellite images of Iraqi Weapons of Mass
Distruction (WMD) plants in front of the
U.N. General Assembly? Yet, neither one
of the gentlemen nor their agencies have
provided any evidence of such programs.
Hopefully, more concrete evidence will be
provided this time.
However, the bill did include an
entertaining segment. As I was reading
it, one bullet point brought a smile to
my face: “Restrict travel of Syrian
diplomats assigned to Washington,
District of Columbia or the United
Nations in New York, New York, to a
25-mile radius of Washington or the
United Nations headquarters building,
respectively.”
Here is the humor: Doing a simple
search on Mapquest.com shows the distance
from downtown Washington DC to Washington
Dulles International Airport to be 33
miles. Another search from Ground Zero of
Manhattan to JFK International Airport
shows the distance to be 26 miles. I
understand how economic sanctions could
be effective, but how is containing
Syrian diplomats in the United States
supposed to help stop terrorism or
development of WMD?
Also, on multiple occasions the bill
refers to Syria’s violation of U.N.
Resolution 520 of 1982 calling for:
“strict respect of the sovereignty,
territorial integrity, unity and
political independence of Lebanon.”
By the same token, what about U.N.
Resolution 424 of 1967 demanding
“just and lasting peace” in the
Middle East? It includes the withdrawal
of Israeli occupation forces from the
Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip and
East Jerusalem and “respect for the
sovereignty, territorial integrity and
political independence of every state in
the area and their right to live in
secure and recognized boundaries.”
Why hasn’t the United States acted
so aggressively with respect to Israel
occupying Palestine for the past 56 years
and has caged the Palestinians in
ghettos?
The last astonishing point of this
bill is the call for Syria to stop
harboring terrorist organizations that
launch “attacks on civilian targets
in Israel.” Yet, no bill has called
for Israel to stop bombing refugee camps
in Syria.
In my opinion, this bill is bogus,
hypocritical and biased. These are the
kinds of actions that will instigate more
9/11’s in the future. This bill and
similar U.S. actions in the Middle East
are the answers to questions like,
“Why do they hate us? What did we do
to them?” I guarantee that the list
of answers will not include,
“because they hate our love for
freedom and democracy.”
Next time the U.S. government calls on
you to support its new war in the Middle
East, stop for a minute and think about
the integrity of the accusations and the
cost of such operations. We ought to have
learned by then that toppling Arab
regimes like dominoes will do no good for
anyone.
This column originally appeared in
the Wartburg Trumpet November 17, 2003.
We all need to care
about world events
A Wartburg friend asked me the other
day: “So, what’s been happening
in your area of the world [the Middle
East] lately?”
Believe it or not, I struggled to
answer the question. Not because I did
not know what was happening, but because
I did not know where to start!
A lot has occurred since the start of
2004: a few Israeli invasions into the
occupied Palestinian lands, a few
bombings in Israel by Palestinians, U.S.
troops killed in Iraq reached 500 on the
night of the Iowa caucuses, and David
Kay, the head of the U.S. search team for
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has
resigned his position stating: “The
weapons did not exist.” Also, a
historic prisoners’ exchange between
Lebanese Hizb Allah group and Israel
mediated by Germany was accomplished.
There were 450 Arab prisoners freed
from Israeli jails in exchange for one
alive Israeli prisoner and three corpses.
And as a side note, the U.S.
administration has declared its support
of Israel with regards to the apartheid
(separation) wall the former is building
in the West Bank, creating a massive
Palestinian ghetto.
Now you’re thinking: “Ok,
great, what do I have to do with all of
this? Why should I even care”? If
that’s what you’re thinking,
then allow me to answer you.
You should be concerned about these
events and others like them around the
world because they will directly affect
you sooner or later.
All these events are related to
American foreign policy, which is set by
the governments you elect every four
years. Just ask our very own Wartburg
Sojourners about the perception of the
U.S. around the world these days. Your
safety here and abroad is strongly
related to America’s role in the
world.
The idea that American foreign policy
only relates to the outside world no
longer holds true. We have seen how
foreign policy directly affects this
country from the inside as well.
This brings us to my final
point—VOTE. Simply stated, if you
think your participation in the upcoming
elections will not matter, then you are
wrong.
I would argue to you that American
citizens who vote are among the most
powerful of the world’s citizens
because they are electing the president
of the strongest nation in our time. Just
take a look at how President George W.
Bush has turned the world upside down
with his three wars.
Therefore, I urge you to pay attention
to this year’s presidential
elections, become familiar with them and
their history. These elections will not
only affect the American people, but it
will also dictate the faith of millions
of people around the world.
This column originally appeared in
the Wartburg Trumpet February 2.
Ibrahim Khader '04 is a computer
information systems major at Wartburg
College.
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