Nature provides ample opportunity to people of every age to open their eyes to reality and act accordingly. The gruesome videos and pictures coming out of Syria indicate that the Sunnis of Syria are being presented as a threat since long. Of course, they have a different perspective, but they are not the enemy. The difference in perspective is obviously due to their living through different forms of exploitations. Imagine the level and impact of pain in a society, where occupation forces kill countless people in cold blood and destroy dozens of homes on a weekly basis. As direct victims, they have seen the conflicts through much starker images.
Addressing people on the fifth anniversary of 9/11, from the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia, Mr. Bush said: "The best way to protect the American people is to stay on the offensive, to stay on the offensive at home and to stay on the offensive overseas. We're going after the terrorists, wherever they hide and wherever they plan. We will keep them on the run; we'll bring them to justice." Assad is following the same strategy from the beginning.
The question is who has authorized him to do so? Why are so many prepared to kill themselves? Those who are convinced of the crimes committed by Assad demand his removal. However, would his removal give us any evidence for justifying his illegal war? Was the removal of Qaddafi and Hosni Mubarak a solution to the problems facing the world today? With thousands of people killed, two countries directly occupied and others threatened with occupation, the world cannot afford brushing aside too many questions and countless facts. We need to know the culprits behind 9/11 and their real motives. — Israrul Haque, Jeddah
Death of the two-state solution
This month marks 18 years of the Oslo Accord and 20 years of the Madrid Conference. This was enough time for Israel to chip away the foundation laid down at these conferences for a two-state solution. The reality is that the two-state solution is dead. The two-state solution was always a ruse to gain time to fundamentally change the demographics on the ground, and in which Israel has succeeded and has been well-supported by the internal strife among Palestinians in particular and Arabs in general. Only a few days back the Israeli prime minister announced a plan to build 300 more settlements and the number may well be 600. Since those conferences, Israel has built walls that run deep through the West Bank and there was nothing the international community could do.
The expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is effectively turning both Israel and the West Bank into one unitary state, which means one day both the Jews and the Arabs will live side by side as equal citizens under a new sovereign country, something like the old Czechoslovakia. This is the only permanent solution, and one that will avoid another India-Pakistan type situation, where both countries have fought four wars since partition.
With the Arab Spring still in full swing, we will see less of ultra-nationalism in Arab countries, which is mostly associated with dictatorships, and which is also against the Islamic injunction. The new political order in these countries will mean pluralistic societies and more relaxed social and cultural environments, which will mean that the fight against Israel will no longer be a priority. The priority now is good governance, better job opportunities and good living standards. If we love the US and its green cards, why can't we love its child too?
This is also a time for Israel to be seen as not exploiting the difficult situation in these countries but rather taking some bold initiatives to make life better and easier for the Palestinians. That mentality for occupation, domination, and crude racism should give way to good neighborliness and interference only to help the neighbors.
Israel should forge partnerships with all Arab and Muslim countries to fight extremism on all sides. This change in Israel’s attitude towards its fellow citizens and neighbors will make many extremist groups including Iran irrelevant to the Middle East conflict. — Seif A. Somalya, Jeddah
Letters — Bashar Assad on the offensive
