Posted by twin towers on September 17, 2001 at 08:26:02:
Twin Towers
>>
>>
Uri Avnery
>>
>>15.9.01.
>> After the smoke has cleared, the dust has settled down and the initial
>>fury blown over, humankind will wake up and realize a new fact: there is
>>no safe place on earth.
>> A handful of suicide-bombers has brought the United States to a
>>standstill, caused the President to hide in a bunker under a far-away
>>mountain, dealt a terrible blow to the economy, grounded all aircraft, and
>>emptied government offices throughout the country. This can happen in
>>every country. The Twin Towers are everywhere.
>> Not only Israel, but the whole world is now full of gibberish about
>>"fighting terrorism". Politicians, "experts on terrorism" and their likes
>>propose to hit, destroy, annihilate etc., as well as to allocate more
>>billions to the "intelligence community". They make brilliant suggestions.
>>But nothing of this kind will help the threatened nations, much as nothing
>>of this kind has helped Israel.
>> There is no patent remedy for terrorism. The only remedy is to remove
>>its causes. One can kill a million mosquitoes, and millions more will take
>>their place. In order to get rid of them, one has to dry the swamp that
>>breeds them. And the swamp is always political.
>> A person does not wake up one morning and tell himself: Today I shall
>>hijack a plane and kill myself. Nor does a person wake up one morning and
>>tell himself: Today I shall blow myself up in a Tel-Aviv discotheque. Such
>>a decision grows in a person's mind through a slow process, taking years.
>>The background to the decision is either national or religious, social and
>>spiritual.
>> No fighting underground can operate without popular roots and a
>>supportive environment that is ready to supply new recruits, assistance,
>>hiding places, money and means of propaganda. An underground organization
>>wants to gain popularity, not lose it. Therefore it commits attacks when
>>it thinks that this is what the surrounding public wants. Terror attacks
>>always testify to the public mood.
>> That is true in this case, too. The initiators of the attacks decided
>>to implement their plan after America has provoked immense hatred
>>throughout the world. Not because of its might, but because of the way it
>>uses its might. It is hated by the enemies of globalization, who blame it
>>for the terrible gap between rich and poor in the world. It is hated by
>>millions of Arabs, because of its support for the Israeli occupation and
>>the suffering of the Palestinian people. It is hated by multitudes of
>>Muslims, because of what looks like its support for the Jewish domination
>>of the Islamic holy shrines in Jerusalem. And there are many more angry
>>peoples who believe that America supports their tormentors.
>> Until September 11, 2001 - a date to remember - Americans could
>>entertain the illusion that all this concerns only others, in far-away
>>places beyond the seas, that it does not touch their sheltered lives at
>>home. No more.
>> That is the other side of globalization: all the world's problems
>>concern everyone in the world. Every case of injustice, every case of
>>oppression. Terrorism, the weapon of the weak, can easily reach every spot
>>on earth. Every society can easily be targeted, and the more developed a
>>society is, the more it is in danger. Fewer and fewer people are needed to
>>inflict pain on more and more people. Soon one single person will be
>>enough to carry a suitcase with a tiny atomic bomb and destroy a
>>megalopolis of tens of millions.
>> This is the reality of the 21st century that started this week in
>>earnest. It must lead to the globalization of all problems and the
>>globalization of their solutions. Not in the abstract, by fatuous
>>declarations in the UN, but by a global endeavor to resolve conflicts and
>>establish peace, with the participation of all nations, with the US
>>playing a central role.
>> Since the US has become a world power, it has deviated from the path
>>outlined by its founders. It was Thomas Jefferson who said: No nation can
>>behave without a decent respect for the opinion of mankind. (I quote from
>>memory). When the US delegation left the world conference in Durban, in
>>order to abort the debate about the evils of slavery and in order to court
>>the Israeli right, Jefferson must have turned over in his grave.
>> If it is confirmed that the attack on New York and Washington was
>>perpetrated by Arabs - and even if not! - the world must at long last
>>treat the festering wound of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is
>>poisoning the whole body of humanity. One of the wise guys in the Bush
>>administration said only a few weeks ago: "Let them bleed!" - meaning the
>>Palestinians and the Israelis. Now America is bleeding. He who runs away
>>from the conflict is followed by it, even into his home. Americans, and
>>Europeans too, should learn this lesson.
>> The distance from Jerusalem to New York is small, and so is the
>>distance from New York to Paris, London and Berlin. Not only
>>multi-national corporations embrace the globe, but terror organizations do
>>so, too. In the same way, the instruments for the solution of conflicts
>>must be global.
>> Instead of the destroyed New York edifices, the twin towers of Peace
>>and Justice must be built.
>>