Pubdate: Tue, 29 Jun 2004
Source: Bradenton Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2004 Bradenton Herald
Contact:  http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/58
Author: Tom Matthew

FIND REASONS WHY THEY HATE US

The war on terrorism is illusive and analogous to the wars on drugs and 
crime. A clear victory can never be established. In the war on drugs and 
crime, society tries to determine and address the root cause. Drug addicts 
are treated with counseling and criminals with rehabilitation.

What motivates the terrorist? Are we doing anything to find out why we are 
the victims of Middle Eastern terrorists? We know they hate us but are we 
trying to determine why and can anything be done to eliminate their 
reasons? The terrorists will multiply and be a threat to America for 
generations to come unless we address the root causes.

It is not as simplistic as Mr. Bush's statement that they hate us because 
we are a free democracy. Do they hate us because we are officious 
intermeddlers in their national affairs? Such as manipulating national 
boundaries, supporting repressive monarchies and dictatorships, using them 
as surrogates to fight the Russians, supplying F-16s and Apache helicopters 
to their enemies, and not supporting United Nations resolutions against 
their enemies?

The CIA has been involved in covert ghost wars in the Middle East over the 
past several decades with little or no direction from Washington. Their 
policies were at the whim of each CIA director and the regional operation 
chief. With the help of the CIA we have done a good job of making enemies 
out of friends. They resent us because they believe we are interested only 
in their oil and look down on them as a colony. Do they believe we see the 
Israeli-Palistine war through the lens of the Israelis? Ramzi Yousel, the 
World Trade Center 1993 bomber, told the FBI that Jewish targets were his 
first priority but they were too secure so he bombed "his enemies' friends."

Trying to root out terrorism without replowing the soil in which it grows 
is unlikely to succeed. It is time to start rethinking the policies that 
breed anti-American sentiment.

Tom Matthew, Bradenton
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D