"They" hate America because of America’s support of dictators who kill their family members and loved ones. The best Homeland Security America can develop is a more evenhanded Foreign Policy that promotes Human Rights, Economic Development, and World Peace.
The mistrust of the American government by many Americans and people around the world is leading people to draw different conclusions regarding the reported death of Osama Bin Laden.
Some people believe he’s been dead for quite a while now. Others believe he’s still alive. Then there are those who believe in the recent reports of his death, and in a morbid way, are celebrating it.
No matter which side you come down on, the cost of killing two men, Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein has been extremely high. Thousands of American soldiers lost their lives, hundreds of thousands of Arab lives were lost, including innocent men, women, and children along with soldiers.
Three countries –Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan– suffered billions of dollars of damage to their infrastructure, due to the devastating bombings by way of air attacks. Trillions of American dollars spent on wars to kill two people, while Americans suffer from the closing of Senior Centers, Day Care Centers, Health Care cuts, Education cuts, skyrocketing unemployment, and so forth–all of this in the name of stopping terrorism and killing two people.
After they killed Saddam did they pull the troops out of Iraq – No! People are still dying and the country is still destabilized. Now that they have reported the death of Osama, will they pull the troops out of Afghanistan – I think not. America will always have some bogus justification for war – it’s profitable.
Let me say for the record, that I reject and denounce all forms of terrorism. Terrorism is the intentional killing of innocent civilians by an organization or a state government. There is never any rationale or reason for terrorism.
Innocent men and women were killed at the World Trade Center. Innocent men and women were killed in Gaza and all over the Middle East. Innocent civilians were killed in Kenya and Tanzania due to terrorist bombings. Countless acts of terrorism have occurred worldwide. The killing of the innocent can never be justified. Let us remember that killing breeds more killing; hate breeds more hate.
The American Government’s claim that they are doing all of this killing in the name of stopping dictators and promoting democracy and freedom is hypocritical. America historically and presently has supported dictators. Remember, Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier in Haiti – murderous dictators; the Shah of Iran – a murderous dictator; Pinochet in Chile – a murderous dictator; Marcos in the Philippines – a murderous dictator; Mobutu in Zaire, Africa – a murderous dictator; Batista in Cuba – a murderous dictator; Somoza in Nicaragua – a murderous dictator; and last but not least Hosni Mubarak of Egypt – a murderous dictator for over 30 years. All of these murders were backed by America, and the list is longer.
People all over the world don’t hate America because they are jealous of American prosperity. They hate America because of America’s support of dictators who kill their family members and loved ones. The best Homeland Security America can develop is a more evenhanded Foreign Policy that promotes Human Rights, Economic Development, and World Peace. America has already claimed the killing of Osama Bin Laden and assisted the Iraqi people in catching and killing Saddam Hussein, and now they are out to support NATO forces in killing the Libyan leader Qaddafi. In the midst of all this attention around the reported killing of Bin Laden, what was lost is the killing of Qaddafi’s son and grandchildren by NATO forces that bombed his son’s compound in Libya.
The Libyan leader Qaddafi and his wife were in the compound at that time, but were not injured. Now they’re trying to kill Qaddafi. This madness must stop. Remember when Russia was in Afghanistan, President Ronald Reagan called Osama Bin Laden an “Afghani Freedom Fighter”. When Saddam Hussein was fighting against Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeini, he was an American ally. America supplied both of these men with weapons to fight their wars. This is American hypocrisy at its worst and it will only lead to more confusion and life threatening confrontations. Let me close by sharing this moving passionate experience with a young child in my district.
I was walking home from my District Office in East New York, Brooklyn last week when a group of children, ages 10 – 14 years, called me from across the street.
One of the young girls approached me and said, “Charles Barron they killed that guy and now the Arabs are angry”, and I said “You mean Osama Bin Laden”.
She replied, “Yes, they are going to get us back. My friends are afraid to go into the Arab stores now but I told them they won’t hurt us”.
I then replied confidently to ease her fear; “You’re right, the people in the store are not going to hurt you”.
That day, I couldn’t help but think that this young girl in her innocence was just as fearful and concerned as others about America’s foreign policy. Out of the mouths of babes – “They are going to get us back.” What message is being sent to our children?
It’s time to demand justice, respect for humanity, and world peace. This is the only way to bring safety, security and prosperity to the planet. Let’s get busy.
Barron is a New York City Councilman from Brooklyn.
