e-Letter 200: "Caught like a rat"
 
December 14, 2003
 
The most significant development - tangibly and symbolically - in the war against terrorism and international threat to peace was without a doubt the capture of Saddam Hussein last evening ("Saddam Hussein Captured in Iraq Hideout," Associated Press, 12/14/03).  Tangibly because one of the top figures of tyranny and ruthlessness and threat to the international community and his own people since Hitler was physically captured alive. Symbolically, because of how he was captured. Like a rat (the words of Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno on Saddam today in Iraq) in a spider's hall with weapons he did not use and with hundreds of thousands of dollars he looked more pathetic than his pretentious image all over Iraq during the decades of his vicious wielding of power. 
 
His demeanor with his interrogators mirrors someone how is not only pathetic but not very stable. ("Notes from Saddam in Custody: Saddam is talking, but he isn't cooperative. New details on his capture and his first Interrogation," Brian Bennett/Baghdad, Time Exclusive, December 14, 2003).  He surrendered without a fight and without doing harm to himself proving him to be rather narcissistic. One who sent millions to sacrifice their lives in his name and the name of Islam and Arab cause yet he did not practice what he preached.  Even a Hamas statement from the Gaza strip today expressed disappointment. That could be indeed the best news in addition to his capture.
 
Yet, as important as his capture is by no means does it signify the end of the war.  The terrorists are not resting (yet).  They are not only plotting their next moves but widely communicate them to an already horrified world ("Arabic Daily: Al-Qa'ida Prepares Big Operation to Coincide with Eid Al-Adha [Feast of the Sacrifice] on Feb. 2, 2004 - New Bin Laden Tape will Explain Details," MEMRI, Special Alert - Jihad and Terrorism Studies, December 10, 2003, No. 13).

It is worthwhile to view a scholarly article that examines the conceptual underpinnings of the modern international terror movement and the who's who among radical Islamic thinkers ("Al-Qaeda's Intellectual Legacy: New Radical Islamic Thinking Justifying the Genocide of Infidels," Jonathan D. Halevi, Jerusalem Viewpoints, No. 508, 1 December 2003).  It is killing for the sake of killing: "Al-Qaeda has adopted a broader interpretation of the religious command concerning the killing of infidels. It is considered an absolute command that does not depend on political circumstances, the need or will to take revenge, or a wish to liberate Muslim lands from infidel rule."
 
Regrettably while some receive their financial support from dubious sources such as Saudi Arabia (surprise surprise; see the detailed expos้ "The Saudi Connection: How billions in oil money spawned a global terror network," David E. Kaplan, U.S. News and World Report, Cover Story 12/15/03) the Palestinians receive it directly from the international community ("EuroCash: What does the Palestinian Authority do with European money?" Rachel Ehrenfeld, National Review, December 10, 2003).  While some call for greater accountability of the billions of dollars that Arafat and his puppet PA have bilked from the international community to date ("Palestinian aid audit," Rachel Ehrenfeld, The Washington Times, December 13, 2003) there are no signs that this is likely to happen.
 
This is important to note because when poets write about jihad as a soul cleansing activity (in the pursuit of "inner struggle"), or football teams adopt it as their name, those who truly matter define jihad unambiguously as war against the infidels and it is a war that demands killing ("Jehad means only killing: Azhar," The Indian Express, December 08, 2003).
 
Indeed, a very alarming sign of the cultural and organizational impact of the Arab/Muslim violence has penetrated the US and it does not auger well for the future.  The same way that Palestinian streets, schools, and summer camps are named after terrorists and violence (Jihad, Shaheed), Muslim youth groups in California have named their football teams Mujahideen, Intifada, and Soldiers of Allah ("Taking the Intifada to the Football Field,"  William Lobdell, The Los Angeles Times,  December 7, 2003).  Team members say that ".. it [the name] describes a righteous fight against oppression, whether it's in the Middle East or in America." And that is exactly the problem. They have showed how they fight "oppression" by murdering unsuspecting citizens in Israel and other parts of the Middle East and now they want to fight "oppression" in the U.S. after already killing about 3,000 in the infamous September 11 atrocity.
 
Some recommend a change of name for these teams but dismiss the seriousness of this affair as youthful mischief and the concerns raised about these names as nothing more than a tempest in a tea pot ("Drop the Names -- and the Outrage," Dana Parsons, The Los Angeles Times, December 12, 2003). Apparently it must be very difficult for some to see the link between this kind of behavior and its lending legitimacy and inspiration to terrorism.  By the time those who are dismissing it now will give it the appropriate seriousness, it will be too late and too costly. If a team's name is "Soldiers of Allah" why would that be so different than the Hitlerjugend and his Brown Shirts (see "Goebbels and mass mind control;" sadly, too many detractors of the Bush administration use these terms on the internet to describe him rather than the real enemy)?  By no means should this be dismissed as an innocent youth sports team or a fashion statement by a shirt designer.
 
As the menace of international terrorism continues to grow, its manifestations are not only training camps in Mideast countries, sleeper networks in Europe, Canada, the Latin American triangle, and the U.S. Nor is it limited to "innocent" football teams who adopt jihad as their team logo.  Charges from responsible and knowledgeable sources of fifth-column activities are also very alarming.  The latest is a systematic expos้ of the activities of an American conservative who is reported to have ties to a terror network that has shown itself to be dangerous, and working on behalf of the radical Islamic front fund and thus have links to and support the Islamic terror agenda ("A Troubling Influence," Frank J Gaffney Jr., FrontPageMagazine.com, December 9, 2003) to an extent that "The growing influence of this operation – and the larger Islamist enterprise principally funded by Saudia Arabia – has created a strategic vulnerability for the nation, and a political liability for its President."
 
While terrorists have been busy planning (and luckily most being caught before carrying their plans out), the propagandists have not rested either.  A vicious Syrian antisemitic propaganda TV film series - the usual canard of the Jews ruling the world and responsible for all its ills - was produced ("Al-Shatat: The Syrian-Produced Ramadan 2003 TV Special," MEMRI, Dispatch - Syria/Arab Antisemitism Documentation Project, December 12, 2003, No. 627) and those responsible denied any antisemitism "because every single person who participated in the production, editing and broadcasting of the episodes was a Semite."  Arabs are indeed Semites but the term antisemitism evolved to describe anti-Jewish actions not those directed against Arabs. Segment 20 features the notorious blood libel in which a Christian child is depicted ritually murdered by Jews and his blood is used to bake Passover matzas (for text and video see: "Syrian-Produced Hizbullah TV Ramadan Series' Video Clip of a 'Blood Libel,'" MEMRI, Special Dispatch - Arab Antisemitism Documentation Project/Syria, December 8, 2003, No. 623).
 
Some Arab/Muslim sources are starting to understand that the problem is rooted well in their corner. A Somali journalist has written on the damage that Wahhabism has brought to Somalia ("Somali Muslim Journalist on the Detrimental Effects of Wahhabism on His Country," MEMRI, Special Dispatch - Saudi Arabia/Reform Project, December 9, 2003, No. 625) and an Ethiopian journalist about the same damage brought to Ethiopia ("Ethiopian Journalist on the Detrimental Effects of Saudi Arabia's 'Poisonous Wahhabism' on His Country," MEMRI, Special Dispatch - Saudi Arabia/Reform Project, December 9, 2003, No. 624).
 
The European behavior in this regard is also alarming. While branding all Europeans as anti-Semite would be a mistake, there are forces that suppress manifestations of antisemitism's dangers in favor of protecting a false "multiculturalism" ("As Rome Starts to Smoulder: European illusions of multiculturalism," Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, December 09, 2003): "combating anti-Semitism, it seems, is less important than preserving the dangerous illusions of multiculturalism, and, probably, recognizing the demographics of a Europe where there are more Muslims to appease than Jews to protect."
 
Some, understandably, take offense at the constant toll that antisemitism has brought upon the Jewish people and suggest that it is the Jews who have been humiliated (and more) throughout history - a fact that current Arab victimizers tend to invert by presenting themselves as the victims ("The Ongoing Humiliation of the Jews," Beth Goodtree, IsraelNationalNews.com, December 7, 2003).  Frankly, we hear very little from millions of airline passengers who are humiliated daily when trying to take a flight by having to be searched, take their shoes off, be screened by security personnel and having their schedule and freedom of movement affected. Yet it is the Palestinians and the Arab world who are perpetually screaming "humiliation."
 
Of course, one of the worse shows of antisemitism takes place on the world's stage at the UN. Last week it withdrew a draft resolution on (condemning) antisemitism because of strong Arab/Muslim opposition ("The U.N.'s Dirty Little Secret: The international body refuses to condemn anti-Semitism," Anne Bayefsky, The Wall Street Journal, December 8, 2003).  It was particularly disheartening - but by no means surprising - to see that Ireland which shepherded various religious tolerance resolutions was the one slamming the door against this one as it deemed Arab/Muslim interests more important than basic principles of human rights.
 
Some question this age-old scourge's return to the world stage in a vicious force, the worse since WWII ("The Return of Anti-Semitism: Israel has become the flash point—and the excuse—for a global explosion of an age-old syndrome. Why has hating the Jews become politically correct in many places? And what can be done about it? Craig Horowitz, New York Magazine, December 15, 2003) and are trying to find effective ways to cope with it: "Anti-Semitism is being spread through those who teach Islam, and it's metastasizing. It took Christianity 2,000 years to clean up its act and now it's being taught again through a religious system... Most American Jewish leaders believe they are up against huge forces around the world and that ultimately they cannot fight this fight alone. ‘We have to make people understand that anti-Semitism is not a uniquely Jewish problem...It's a cancer which left unchecked infects and ultimately kills democratic societies... That's the message we have to get out.'"
 
Others recognize the danger that antisemitism's claws have not only to Jews ("The hate that shames us," Julie Burchill, The Guardian, December 6, 2003): "Make no mistake, the Jews are not hated because of Israel; they are hated for their very modernity, mobility, lust for life and love of knowledge. Their most basic toast, ‘L'chaim!' (To Life!), is a red rag to those who fetishise death because they have failed to take any joy from their life on earth. ‘Not our Jews! Leave our Jews alone!' yelled the locals who turned out to fight the Mosleyites in Cable Street. It may be politically incorrect to call this ancient people ‘ours', but what the hell: they're tough, they can take it. And they are still our Jews, in that if they are wiped out, in Israel or anywhere else, we will be wiped out, too, one day, all of the modern world and its achievements - swept back into the Dark Ages mulch from whence we came. The cry of Cable Street still rings true. Not our Jews! But, this time, ‘our' means mankind, and the very future of our species." 
 
This view receives scholarly support that identifies common elements to both antisemitism and anti-Americanism ("European Anti-Americanism and Anti-Semitism: Similarities and Differences: An Interview with Andrei S. Markovits," Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism, No. 16, 1 January 2004): "Anti-Semitism in Europe goes back a thousand years. Anti-Americanism emerged more than 200 years ago among European elites. Current European prejudices are enhanced by the Europeans' perception of how America and Israel use power. America and Jews are seen by many Europeans as paragons of a modernity they dislike and distrust: money-driven, profit-hungry, urban, universalistic, individualistic, mobile, rootless, inauthentic, and thus hostile to established traditions and values. Anti-Americanism fulfills a structural role in helping to create a European identity. Anti-Semitism does not necessarily do this, hence it might abate if and when peace is reached in the Middle East. Anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism are the only major icons shared by the European extreme left and far right, including neo-Nazis."
 
And look at the shock from the unexpected. The Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate was marketed by the media as a progressive force in her country, a "liberal" women who stood up to the tyranny of the Ayatollahs only to find out that this version did not meet the expectation in its first international test. To the cheers of America haters she found fault - in her acceptance speech -  with the US but not with the Iranian  regime (only obliquely), not with terror supporters, and not with dictatorships ("In Speech, Nobel Winner Rebukes the U.S." Craig S. Smith, The New York Times, December 11, 2003).  Clearly, this is not the first mistake the Nobel Peace Prize Committee has ever made. She joins a long list of others who were not worthy of the Prize, questioning the very credibility of the Prize itself. 
 
Last week the U.S. administration found itself in an awkward position. It denied non-supporters of the coalition the opportunity to bid for lucrative projects of Iraq's reconstruction and at the same time went to the same countries asking them to forgo Iraq's international debt.  In the meantime U.S. forces in Iraq are reported to benefit from Israel's valuable military assistance ("Learning the Art of Occupation from Israel: The U.S. military is reportedly turning to Israel for tips on how to manage the insurgency in Iraq. Will it work?" Tony Karon, Time, Dec. 09, 2003) even if the report erroneously compares the ("occupation") situations and concludes that "Washington, may indeed find itself in a situation uncomfortably familiar to Israelis." 
 
An even longer list of the value that Israel has for the US is reported by Reuters ("Israel Quietly Helps U.S. in Iraq, Aides Say," Adam Entous, Reuters, December 11, 2003): "Israel has been contributing intelligence, tactics and technology mostly in secret to avert an Arab backlash." The assistance includes aerial surveillance equipment, decoy drones and D-9 armored bulldozers, as well as sharing new training software designed for Israeli commanders stationed in Palestinian areas.
 
Despite Israel's obvious value there are those who do not spare their pen to make Israel the problem in the area almost as if Israel is the enemy and the Palestinians are innocent victims ("Breaking and Entering," Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, December 11, 2003; titled "With Saddam Gone, Pressure Builds on Israel", Atlanta Journal-Constitution).   
 
Even when often at great cost, Israel has proven its case in the battlefield far more successfully than in the arena of public/international relations.  The problem is that both before, during, and after wars are fought, their initiation, duration, and outcome are directly impacted by Israel's stature in the world. That is precisely why it has never been able to translate (decisive) military victory after victory to political gains that might prevent the likelihood of the next war to break out.  That is why it is not surprising to see strong and valid criticism on Israel's poor PR efforts. 
 
The criticism focuses on Israel's "failing to speak in a coherent and confident voice" suggesting that this "is an assured recipe for disaster" ("Foreign to the cause," Efraim Karsh, The Jerusalem Post, Dec. 4, 2003). After all the problem is not merely with facts but how those facts are placed in a perspective.  One commendable effort in this direction is the attempt to make a case for Israel. That such an effort is even required attests to Israel's predicament.  A famous attorney argues that it is necessary to show elements of Israel's case on which there is a wide consensus among Israelis and outsiders [with the obvious exception f the Arabs] ("The consensus case," Alan M. Dershowitz, The Jerusalem Post, Dec. 4, 2003).  Of course, how to reach such a consensus - and assuming one is reached - how would it be communicated effectively, remains the challenge for the day.
 
The repercussions of the so-called the "Geneva Agreement" continue to reverberate this week.  Interestingly enough the opponents are on both sides. For the Palestinians this is clearly nothing but a tactic but they also take advantage of the golden opportunity to voice their objections to things they have actually not agreed to in the first place thus reaping a double PR advantage.  Most Israelis are genuinely concerned about the implications of the act on future developments.  Some see the act as a reverse salami; namely, taking Israel piece by piece ("Today Jerusalem, Tomorrow the Rest of Israel?" Bruce S. Ticker, IsraelNationalNews.com, December 11, 2003) or as a formula for annihilation ("A Program for Israeli Self-annihilation," Steven Plaut, IsraelNationalNews.com, December 8, 2003). 

Others question the credibility and the motives of those behind the initiative and they aim their arrows particularly at Israel's Beilin and at Jimmy Carter suggesting that both are suffering from a sort of a Stockholm Syndrome ("Carter Attacks the 'Road to Peace,'" Lowell Ponte, FrontPageMagazine.com, December 12, 2003).
While these certainly make important and relevant points it is not less interesting to note arguments that focus on the consequences for the Palestinians for not coming to the negotiating table and the possibility that they will end up with even less than they have now ("The price of intransigence," Mortimer B. Zuckerman, U.S. News and World Report, 12/15/03).
 
Media presentation of the situation in the Middle East is not helpful to Israel's case as one media watchdog group has noted ("Security Fence Distortions: News photos of Israel's security fence distort its physical properties, and a Boston Globe op-ed misrepresents its placement in the West Bank." HonestReporting, COMMUNIQUE: 7 December 2003).  This is followed by two important recognitions. First, concessions are counterproductive because they only reinforce the perception that terrorism pays ("Concessions don't help," Barry Rubin, The Jerusalem Post, Dec. 9, 2003): "This is neither a colonial problem nor the mere result of an oppressive occupation. It is an ideological issue on the Arab side, one of how the conflict is defined and the methods deemed worthy of pursuing it. By continuing to insist that the problem is that Israel has not offered enough, Israelis do not prove their goodwill but rather seem to suggest that they are the guilty party. This is also part of the reason for the world's hostility. These unfamiliar concepts for the West should be becoming more familiar from having to deal with such Middle Eastern phenomena as the Iranian revolution, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and radical Islamism."
 
"Previous generations supposedly learned such lessons in dealing with fascism and communism: Not everyone is a pragmatist eager for conciliation with those who prove their good intentions, willingness to make concessions, and kind natures. These are hard words to say, but they are needed to explain why this conflict has gone on for endless decades, bred so much hate, and cost so many lives."
 
Indeed. The second observation concisely suggests that the problems lies with terrorism as the pivotal cause of the modern era's problems ("It's the terrorists, stupid," Moshe Arens, Haaretz, December 09, 2003):  "Palestinian terrorists hold the peace process hostage and no meaningful progress toward peace can be made until their murderous activity is ended. It doesn't matter if the Palestinian interlocutor is Yasser Arafat, Abu Mazen, Abu Ala, or Abed Rabo - nothing significant will be achieved as long as Jews are being killed by Palestinian terrorists in our streets and on our buses. The idea that negotiations and a readiness by Israel to make extensive concessions will lead these terrorists to cease their murderous activities is absurd and has been proved wrong time and again at great cost."

"Terrorism, deliberately directed against civilians, with the intention of causing mass casualties, has become a worldwide scourge in recent years. If not controlled, it threatens the very existence of states as we have come to know them in the past century. "It is the intention of terrorists associated with Islamic fundamentalism to shake the foundations of the states whose civilian populations they attack, whether it be in the United States, Turkey, Israel, or Saudi Arabia - they want to prove that these states have lost their "monopoly on domestic violence" and cannot protect their citizens. Their success would call into question the existence of these states as we now know them, and could plunge the whole world into anarchy."
 
The fight against terror and tyranny received a tremendous boost with the capture of Hussein.  There are a number of other top leaders who need to be captured or killed before this war gets to an end. But even more important is the absolute need to combat the vicious antisemitic and anti-American propaganda which is the breeding ground for terror activities.
 
ฉ Robbie Friedmann, Ph.D.
 
To view previous e-Letters:
 
     "Wannsee, Oslo, Geneva" (e-Letter #199)
 
     "Do not show a fool a job half-done" (e-Letter #198)
 
     "Mirror mirror on the wall: who is the wickedest mayor of them all?" (e-Letter #197)
 
     "Butt out Jimmy! Help around the house Tom!" (e-Letter #196)
 
     "Per-diem for relatives of a "humiliated" terrorist" (e-Letter #195)
 
     "The greatest threat to world peace" (e-Letter #194)
 
     "Rulers of the world means candidates for extinction" (e-Letter #193)
 
     "Have you driven a Ford lately?" (e-Letter #192)
 
     "And the wolf cried: the sheep attacked me" (e-Letter #191)
 
     "Saturday (lunch massacre) at Maxim's" (e-Letter #190)
 
     "The "I do not do windows" Approach to Fighting Terrorism" (e-Letter#189)
 
     "Would the French recognize their enemy or become one?" (e-Letter #188)

 
     "A fence built, an expulsion that wasn't, and a 2-year old 9-11" (e-Letter #187)
 
     "Terrorism delenda est! (With Thanks to Senator Cato)" (e-Letter #186)
 
 
     "Consuming hate - exporting terror" (e-Letter #185)
 
     "Human Weapons: Terrorism Also Numbs the Senses" (e-letter #184)

 
     "The sui-genocide bomber" (e-Letter #183)
 
     "Terrorists Do Not Apologize" (e-Letter #182)
 
     "The Terrorist as a Ventriloquist (No Offense to the Latter)" (e-letter #181)
 
      "When 'peace' means war" (e-Letter #180)
 
     "Old news we should pay attention to" (e-Letter #179) 
 
       "The poor bully and the unwilling victim" (e-Letter #178) 
 
     "Terror and the rhetoric of peace" (e-Letter #177)
 
     "To catch a terrorist" (e-Letter #176)
 
     "Spilling blood and ink" (e-Letter #175)
 
     "The language Laundromat at work: Troubled ally or troubling "ally" (e-Letter #174)
 
     "The piranha bully: The 'right' to lie and murder" (e-Letter #173)
 
     "Terrorists are being rewarded yet again" (e-Letter #172)
 
     "The road not to be taken (with thanks to Robert Frost)" (e-Letter #171)
 
     "News reports do not necessarily reflect reality" (e-Letter #170)
 
       "Golf Wars" (e-Letter #169)
 
       "1001 Baghdad tales" (e-Letter #168)
 
      "Taxi wars"  (e-Letter #167) 
 
       "It was calm at first, everyone thought it was part of the act" (e-Letter #162)
 
       "The terrorist as a killer and destroyer" (e-Letter #160)
 
     e-Letters on the web
 
Additional e-Letters and articles:    
     "Everyone is a critic" 
 
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