Chris' Lounge

The former dictator of Iraq, who waged war as did the former Yugoslavian leader Mr. S. Milosevic, was actually a friend of the US at various points in history. Well, his hanging took place after a long, drawn out, and secretive trial outside of the US borders. All of a sudden, his hanging was announced to the world. Any sympathizer could do nothing to contest this decision and none was informed enough to prevent it from happening, even if that was desired. Disagreement with this verdict was widespread in Europe, and the citizens of the US really were stated neither to be in favor of it or against it. In the US, killing one person or many, is equally deemed as a deserved sentence for a killer – in many of our states, but not all. If the Hussein trial were conducted here in the USA, and not in an undisclosed location, there may have been a feeling that dissent could be exercised. But, as was the case with the Milosevic trial in The Hague, both former US president Bill Clinton and George Bush took personal initiative to end the crimes against humanity that took place. But, it is important to recognize that the US agenda to start a war against global terrorism (extremely ambitious and disputable as to how to achieve success) really began with domestic bombings of federal buildings, US naval ships elsewhere, US embassies elsewhere, world trade center attacks etc. Dislike of a foreign dictator, spurned on war, and really created impetus for US military action. Furthermore, there was economic incentive. As was the case in Yugoslavia by Britain; the US acted virtually alone to attack the geographic area where dislike of a foreign leader and terrorism seemingly merged – into what Mr. D. Cheney would come to refer to as a “nexus” for terror.

Our invasion of Iraq was not hindered by other countries. We are now over four years and counting into the red. We have brought the war to that region, but would it have ever met our shores if Mr. Blair and our US president hadn’t wanted to wage this ‘revolution’, starting with Iraq? If America had known of the men’s plans, would it have believed that there was any good reason for it? Or, was America all too top-heavy and ready to unleash it’s soldiers’ fury we know as the “military industrial complex”?

Well, spying on American residents has gone on for a very long time; maybe decades. Ever since the world trade center attacks, it became publicly revealed that our government could
tap any one of our communications’ systems, claiming to gather intelligence. Today our news outlets have revealed that there will be a moratorium on the programs of such spying.

Regarding Guantanamo Bay Cuba, it is a prison camp which detained and still does detain
“suspects”- some of whom had seemingly been round-up to be made an example of, and who have no ties to the extremist group themselves. Rendition is wrong and torture is wrong, which is why I find their detention shameful. If they are guilty of no crime, then we as a nation are. I hope that Amnesty International and Cindy Sheehan’s efforts are successful and based on accurate assertions of the prison camp.

Quoting Amnesty International USA:
“Many like Murat Kurnaz, only 20 when detained, were released
without charge after years of harsh and cruel detention. Some were
as young as 13 when detained. The overwhelming majority have been
held only on suspicion, guilty until proven innocent.”

Today Condoleeza Rice will be meeting with the German Chancellor. Germany now holds the
rotating EU presidency post. Ms. Rice wishes to discuss her perception of the Palestinian Israeli
conflict.
Since the US led Iraq War and the Lebanese Israeli wars have emerged, it has become clear to me, that longtime dormant tensions among all countries in the region now overshadow the years’ old popular topic of debate in America – the Palestinian Israeli conflict.
So many of our US elders have hung on to the Israeli & Palestinian conflict which now finally needs to be ignored as though it were dead – for it has become clear that the areas of contention hold different modern geographies within all of the Arab nations.
It has been clear that the differences once discussed in such volume, had their roots in the
leaders’ hatred for one another; namely Arafat and Israel. That era is over. Those leaders are now dead.
And, Mr. Hussein, a dictator who ruled by force, is also now dead. Change for the better is in place. We need to focus mentally with the Iraqi conflict – bargain with the emerging rule of law there, and allow our US forces to be removed in phases, lest they be left to die.
The differences among many of the middle-east countries which have surfaced (since the Iraqi invasion) will become reason to negotiate new frontiers. Discussing a practically non-existent Palestinian conflict seems counter to intuition. But, contention resides within boundaries of other Middle Eastern. Not the opposing sides as depicted in stale US news programs.