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WHEN THE TIDE TURNED - Barely remembered was the 60th celebration of the
decisive battle in Egypt at el-Alemain in WW II. Prior to this battle the Allies never had a
victory and after Alemain they never had a defeat. “The scale of sacrifice we
commemorate at the 60th anniversary of that decisive battle of el-Alamein demonstrates
the willingness of free people to pay a heavy price for ensuring that liberty will triumph
over terror and oppression,” Australian Governor-General Peter Hollingworth said.. This
two week battle started on October 23rd, 1942 and was the first defeat for German Field
Marshall Rommel, known as the “Desert Fox”. British. Gen Montgomery led the Allies to
to this major victory - but at a very heavy price. About 32,000 Germans & Italians died as
did 13,500 men of the British 8th Army which included British, Australian, New
Zealanders, Greeks, French and Canadians. They were able to stop what had been an
unrestricted advance towards the Suez Canal and the Mid-East oil fields.
CONCLUSION OF THE STRUGGLE OVER ISLAM LAW - Is sharia consistently
practiced? Actually, no. Today there are four major schools of sharia thought - down from
19 in antiquity - and all are considered equally legitimate. They disagree on matters large
and small, including, for example, whether a thief must have his hand cut off. Some
scholars say sharia teaches mercy toward those who are so poor they steal out of need;
therefore amputation should be meted out only in an ideal Islamic state with no gaps
between rich and poor. Today, in secular states like Egypt, Syria, and Malaysia,
governments pay only lip service to sharia. In theory , Iran’s fundamentalist theocracy
operates under sharia, but the pragmatic Ayatollah Khomeini declared it could be
subordinated to state interests. So Iranian women can work, vote, drive, ride bicycles, and
hold elected office. That issue has sharply split the Muslim world, giving rise to the fanatic
extremism of Osama bin Laden and his al Qaida brethren. The fundamentalists believe it is
the world’s destiny to be governed by sharia law in its most rigorous form; their ideal state
was Afghanistan, as ruled by the Taliban. There, women could not leave home unless
completely covered in a burqa and accompanied by a male relative, and men were beaten
or jailed for not growing their beards to a prescribed length. Anything smacking of
Western influence was considered “unclean,” including - to quote the official penal code -
“music, wine, lobster, nail polish, firecrackers, statues, sewing catalogs, pictures,{and}
Christmas cards.” A former soccer stadium near the capital, Kabul, became the staging
ground for public executions. There, women were shot point blank in the head, and
convicted homosexuals were lined up in front of walls that were then bulldozed by tanks.
The greatest progress is coming in the area of women’s rights. In 1999, the Emir of
Kuwait granted women the right to vote, but conservatives in parliament narrowly blocked
the effort. Egypt recently made it easier for women to divorce: in Bangladesh, grass root
groups are teaching them how to run for elected office. Reformers tend to base their
appeals on ancient Islamic principles. They point out that when Mohammed was chosen to
lead all Muslims, a delegation of Arabian women offered him support. Thus, they say,
Muslim females were exercising their political rights 14 centuries ago. Khadja,
Mohammed’s first wife, actually proposed to him and continued to manage her own
business after they were married. Mohammed himself stated that seeking knowledge is the
obligation of every Muslim, male or female. “It’s clear that in the prophet’s day,” said
sociologist Abubaker Bagader, of King Abdul Aziz University, “women led very public
lives.” I feel this two part article on Islam shows how difficult it will be to democratize
Iraq. I also feel that part of our Iraqi agenda is to not only control the country but to take
over the oil fields to be run by American oil interests.
KURDS POISED FOR ACTION - The Kurds in an effort to create a homeland might try
to capture the near by oil rich areas if and when the U.S. attacks Iraq. Such a move can
create a military and political problem that could trouble Pentagon planners. This move
would enrage Turkey as they see the oil producing areas as a traditional ethnic Turkish
zone. The 50,000 strong Iraqi-Kurdish armed forces want to defend the oil fields in North
Central Iraq. “:We don’t want to attack. We want to defend our territory”, said Cmdr.
Hamul Efendi. The memories of the 1991 Persian Gulf war’s aftermath are still vivid and
painful. Hussein’s forces crushed a Kurdish uprising. Washington had encouraged the
revolt with words but failed to follow through with military support. “No one will again
defeat us on Kurdish land,” he said, “We will defend it down to the last life.” It appears
that while we are regime changing in Baghdad, we better have a plan for the Kurds which
will be necessary to protect them from our friend and ally - Turkey.
LET’S MAKE A DEAL - No, this is not the TV show - it is dictator Kim Jung of North
Korea telling us that he has nuclear weapons. This makes him more dangerous than
Hussein who we think will have them in a few years. Using the Bush logic why not launch
a preemptive strike? First of all we do not want two wars and second of all, there is no
oil!! Without oil we will probably be able to negotiate another treaty which will
experiment with market reforms. In concert with Japan and South Korea we can exercise
leverage. We should offer economic incentives that would help him feed his starving
nation, as long as he abandons his nuclear ambitions. Pyongyang will give up its bombs in
return for a promise that the U.S. won’t pre-emptively attack and some help in getting
new energy sources. Let’s swallow hard and make a deal. The alternative is another
dangerous conflict the U.S. doesn’t need.
WHY SO MUCH FOR DEFENSE - The U.S., defense budget is $335 billion - Russia just
doubled their defense budget to $11 billion! I doubt if the rest of the worlds defense
expenditures equal ours ! Who are we planning to fight for $300 billion and why? Is it
possible that we are supporting a military complex for the sake of supporting a military
complex? To put things in its proper perspective - the 1945 GI bill that guaranteed a
college/vocational education to every returning serviceman/women that wanted it. This
same program could be made available today to every high school graduate at a cost of
about $85 billion. Sure sounds better than $85 billion worth of guns and stuff.
GRAMM GETS BANK JOB - Sen Phil Gramm(R. Texas), author of the 1999 bill that
relaxed Depression-era barriers between banks and securities firms, which allowed the
creation of financial conglomerates, will become a vice chairman of UBS Warburg
investment bank when he retires from the Senate in January. Gramm will advise on
political matters and work with corporate clients. He added that he thought he was hired
for his expertise, not as a reward for his work in Congress. Lucky breaks are something of
a family trait: His wife, Wendy Gramm, as former head of the Commodities Futures
Trading Commission, helped Enron gain exemptions from regulations before she was
named a paid member of Enron’s board of directors. She served on the audit committee,
which supervised bookkeeping( as a director she earned over $1,000,000.00).
Coincidentally, after Enron’s bankruptcy Warburg acquired Enron’s energy trading
business. “Senator Gramm is the darling of the banks, the oil industry and Enron,” said
Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook. “In the Senate, he did the bidding of the banking
industry and took its money. He did the bidding of the oil industry and took its money. He
did the bidding of energy traders and took their money. Now, he’s going to get paid
directly from the company that took over Enron’s fraudulent energy trading operation, a
business Gramm helped create through a law that deregulated such trading.”
EMPIRE BUILDING - Defense Sec’y Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Sec’y Paul
Wolfowitz have for years stressed the need for the U. S. to lean forward and to throw its
weight around. Their obsession became official policy on Sept. 20, when Pres.. Bush
unveiled a report called “The National Security Strategy of the United States.” It says,
“We will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary, to exercise our right of self defense by
acting preemptively.” This doctrine says the United States will defend “our interests at
home and abroad by identifying and destroying the threats before it reaches our borders.”
And woe betide any nation that tries to compete with the U.S. militarily. “The President
has no intention of allowing any foreign power to catch up with the huge lead the U.S. has
opened.” This is a doctrine of endless military dominance. Iraq is just the test case. At
least now I know why we have to spend $355 billion on guns and stuff!!
ELECTIONS - WE GET WHAT WE DESERVE - According to a survey, the Mid-Term
election will see about a 40% turnout of voters. This means that 21% of the voters can
elect a candidate. Bad government policy and bad public servants exist because of the
people that do not vote. An organized minority can control a disorganized majority.
Political arrogance exists because of voter apathy. Make sure you vote and take a friend
with you. Congress would be much more responsive if 85% of the people voted. But they
do not have to respond since 98% of incumbents get reelected, regardless of the way they
carry out their duties.
SURPLUS TO DEFICIT - The government ran a $155 billion deficit in the fiscal year just
ended. Just last year the government had a $127 billion surplus - this adds up to a $286
billion swing in a single year. How long will it take us to pay this off if we just pay the
minimum asked for each month by the credit card holder. A $5,000.00 balance being
reduced by the suggested minimum will take close to 20 years to get a zero balance.
PLATTCHAT #201 10/27/02
