>X-Comment: CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU: Mail was sent by bay.csuhayward.edu >X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 >Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 10:53:28 -0700 >Reply-To: Association of Black Sociologists <ABSLST-L@LISTSERV.CMICH.EDU> >Sender: Association of Black Sociologists <ABSLST-L@LISTSERV.CMICH.EDU> >From: "Benjamin P. Bowser" <bbowser@CSUHAYWARD.EDU> >Subject: Fw: The Tamim Ansary Letter >To: ABSLST-L@LISTSERV.CMICH.EDU > >See commentary below from an Afghan. Interesting inside view of the current >war cry to bomb them back to the stone age. > >Benjamin Bowser > >Department of Sociology and Social Services >California State University, Hayward >Hayward, Ca. 94542 >510-885-3187 >510-885-2390 Fax >http://www.isis.csuhayward.edu/alss/soc/bbowser > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: Uzoma Onyeije > > > > To: Onyeije@earthlink.net > > > > Sent: 9/18/01 6:44 PM > > > > > > > > > > > > This is a rational, thought provoking, and chilling commentary. It > > > > comes from Tamim, a writer and columnist in San Francisco, who comes > > > > from Afghanistan. > > > > > > > > > > * * * * > > > > > > > > > I've been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the > > > > Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that this > > > would > > > > mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this > > > > atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept collateral damage. What > > > > else can we do?" Minutes later I heard some TV pundit discussing > > > > whether we "have the belly to do what must be done." > > > > > > > > And I thought about the issues being raised especially hard because I > > > > am from Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here for 35 years I've > > > > never lost track of what's going on there. So I want to tell anyone > > > who > > > > will > > > > > listen how it all looks from where I'm standing. > > > > > > > > I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no > > > > doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity > > > > in>New York. I agree that something must be done about those monsters. > > > > > > > > But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even > > > the > > > > government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant > > > > psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political > > > > criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you > > > > think Bin Laden,think Hitler. And when you think "the people of > > > > Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." > > > > > > > > It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this > > > > atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would > > > > exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear > > > out > > > > the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. > > > > > > > > Some say, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban? The > > > > answer is, they're starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. > > > > A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 > > > > disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no food. > > > > There are millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying these > > > > widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered with land mines, the > > > > farms were all > > > > destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the > > > Afghan > > > > people have not overthrown the Taliban. > > > > > > > > We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone > > > > Age.Trouble is, that's been done. The Soviets took care of it already. > > > > Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their > > > houses? > > > > Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their > > > > hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from > > > > medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that. > > > > > > > > New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at > > > > least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today's Afghanistan, only the > > > > Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They'd slip > > > away > > > > and hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans, > > > they > > > > don't move too fast, they don't even have wheelchairs. But flying over > > > > Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really be a strike against the > > > > criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would only be > > > making > > > > common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the people they've > > > > been raping all this time. > > > > > > > > So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me now speak with > > > > true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in > > > there > > > > with ground troops. When people speak of "having the belly to do what > > > > needs to be done" they're thinking in terms of having the belly to > > > kill > > > > as many as needed. Having the belly to overcome any moral qualms > > > about > > > > killing innocent people. Let's pull our heads out of the sand. What's > > > > actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just because some > > > > Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin > > > > Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that folks. Because to get any > > > > troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they > > > let > > > > us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will > > > > other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're > > > > flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. > > > > > > > > And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he > > > > wants. That's why he did this. Read his speeches and statements. It's > > > > all right there. He really believes Islam would beat the west. It > > > > might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the world > > > into > > > > Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers. If the west wreaks a > > > > holocaust in those lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to > > > > lose, that's even better from Bin Laden's point of view. He's probably > > > > wrong, in the end the West would win, whatever that would mean, but > > > the > > > > war would last for years and millions would die, not just theirs but > > > > ours. Who has the belly for that? > > > > > > > > Bin Laden does. Anyone else? > > > > > > > > Tamim Ansary > > > > > > > > > > > > The information contained in this E-mail message is privileged, > > > > confidential, and may be protected from disclosure; please be aware > > > that > > > any > > > > other use, printing, copying, disclosure or dissemination of this > > > > communication may be subject to legal restriction or sanction. If you > > > think > > > > that you have received this E-mail message in error, please reply to > > > the > > > > sender. > > > > > > > > This E-mail message and any attachments have been scanned for viruses > > > and > > > > are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that might affect > > > any > > > > computer system into which it is received and opened. However, it is > > > the > > > > responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no > > > > responsibility is accepted by Kelley Drye & Warren LLP for any loss or > > > > damage arising in any way from its use. > > > > > > >
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Oct 02 2001 - 00:00:05 EDT