Opinion Editorials, September 2004, To see today's opinion articles, click here: www.aljazeerah.info
Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people
Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
Cities, localities, and tourist attractions
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An Open Letter to Senator John Kerry: The Peace Camp Is Waiting a Word From You
By Hassan El-Najjar
Al-Jazeerah, September 7, 2004
Dear Senator John Kerry,
Your Monday statements in Canonsburg, PA, concerning Iraq are most welcome and will be appreciated by the peace camp in the United States and all over the world.
Truly, it was "the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time," as you eloquently described it.
You're right that Washington should make it clear to the world that the United States had no "long-term designs to maintain bases and troops in Iraq."
The American people "want those troops home" as you said. They support you in your goal of trying to get them home in your first term. But the American people are not the only ones who applaud your position. Peace loving people all over the world salute you for this brave announcement, particularly in Iraq and throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds.
The US relations with the Arab and Muslim worlds can be restored to the peaceful levels of mutual respect and appreciation, which will be made possible by the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
Dear Senator Kerry,
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to come to an end. It is the root cause of all problems in the Middle East and all over the world.
The Palestinian people have been subjected to an extreme injustice since 1948 and to a brutal Israeli occupation since 1967. The Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people has reached a point that made the Palestinian cause not only an Arab and Muslim cause but the cause of all peace and justice loving people all over the world.
Without the US economic and military support for Israel, successive Israeli governments could not have been able to continue the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.
During the previous four years, the Bush administration did nothing to help Palestinians and Israelis resume the peace process. Actually, the hands-off policy of this administration has led to the escalation of the conflict to the ugliest stages it can reach.
The Wall the Israeli government has been building is not a security wall. If that was the case, then it could have been built inside the Israeli 1967 borders. It's nothing but a Land-Grab Wall that divides the West Bank, annexes Palestinian lands, and tightens the subjugation of the Palestinian people.
The Israeli illegal settlement activities have led to more theft of Palestinian lands and the current administration has done nothing to stop it. All the administration's initiatives from Mitchel's to Tenet's to Zinni's to the Road Map led to nothing because the Bush administration was not willing to insist on implementing them.
Dear Senator Kerry,
The peace camp in the US is waiting a word from you about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We want a promise that your administration will be an active participant in the peace process like the Clinton administration. Your opponent has no plan for the Palestinian-Israeli peace after reneging on the Road Map and the Promise for a Palestinian state in 2005.
A pledge for a Palestinian-Israeli peace will bring hope to Palestinians, Israelis, Arabs, and Muslims all over the world, which will help restore America's pre-war image.
People all over the world, particularly in the Middle East, now suspect that everything America does is to enable Israel extend its hegemony in the region. Until there is a Palestinian-Israeli peace, that suspicion will continue fueling anti-American sentiments in the region and the world.
I know that your opponent has made it so hard for you to restore America's stature in the world, as a respected America, not as feared America, like it has become.
I suggest that you create a new department in your administration for the sole purpose of repairing the damage the Bush administration has done to American foreign policy. I suggest that you call it Department of Foreign Policy Repair (DFPR).
It is high time to tell people that there's hope. Everybody is waiting for it: Americans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Israelis, and the whole world.
Your opponent has no plan for peace. He said that he is a War President. The American people want you to be the Peace President. They are waiting for your answer.
Sincerely,
Hassan A. El-Najjar.
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Dr. Hassan El-Najjar is the Editor of www.aljazeeraah.info .
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli Land-Grab Apartheid Wall built inside the Palestinian territories, here separating Abu Dis from occupied East Jerusalem. (IPC, 7/4/04). | ||
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03). |