As Salaamu Alaikum. I keep hearing this figure of $2 Billion dollars a year being pumped into Israel by the U.S. Is this correct and what is the U.S. getting in return?
Answer
As far as I know, the US gives Israel more then that up to 3 Billion dollars a year. This money of course comes form the taxpayers’ payments. What the US gets out of this is debatable. The most repeated argument is that Israel is powerful and the US can count on it to keep the Middle East in Order. This is of course the view of the pentagon (the Militarist view). On the political side, the Jews and the pro Israeli lobby have a great deal of influence on the congress which approves the funds. There is the opinion that if the US decides to attack Iraq and if some Arab countries object or interfere the US can count on Israel to be on its side.
Name
Abdul Rahman
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Profession
Question
The current adminstration seems very adament about persuing a war with Iraq although Iraq does not pose any present danger. Given this incongruency, this policy seems rather strange. Is there some other inderlying agenda in the Bush adminstration's policy to provok a war in Iraq like fueling the military industry or keeping attention off the domestic politcal/economic situation?
Answer
These are possibilities but there are other arguments. President bush seems to have a personal vendetta with Saddam Hussein. He would like to finish what his father failed to do. There have been rumors that a few years ago when the older Bush visited Kuwait there was plot against his life planned by Saddam Hussein but it failed. Further the pro Israeli lobby and in particular the assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfawitze have been lobbying strongly to attack Iraq because Saddam has been adamant against Israel. During the Gulf war, Iraq fired missiles against Israel; therefore they feel that in a future conflagration Iraq will do the same. Furthermore, there is always the charge that Saddam is building an arsenal of weapons of mass destructive and they claim that he has been supporting terrorism although there has been no definite proof that he has any connection to the Al-Qaida.
Name
darek
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Profession
Question
With Bush's new war on terrorism, how hard is it for him to focus on small terrorists factions without hurting the general population and infrastructure of the nation states in the middle east. Do you think Bush has been effective in this aspect and, which of his policies best demonstrate this?
Answer
Judging by what has happened in Afghanistan, there has not been much consideration for civilian casualties. The recent evidence is the firing of missiles in a wedding party killing 40 people and injuring a 100 people. Again, the US has shown no compassion to what Israel has been doing to the Palestinians. Obviously, the Bush government does not give much consideration to these causalities and call them collateral damage as if they should be dismissed.
Name
Saied
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Profession
Question
Has the US policies towards the Middle East changed essentially over the past fifty years or do the remain essentially the same especially in regards to the issue of Palestian and the gulf states especially in terms of their oil.
Answer
The answer is that it has not changed much. In fact every single definition of American policy in the Middle East lists the Security of Israel and Oil as the two major concerns. The Gulf War of 1990 was definitely motivated by the preservation of the oil supply. Had there been no oil, I don’t thing the US would have given any care that Saddam had taken over Kuwait. Furthermore, I don't think they were concerned that he was a threat to his Arab neighbors. This is their rationalization.
The policy of the United States, which has been inherited from Britain, is to use Israel to keep the Arab world divided, weak, and subdued. By keeping them in this condition the US can easily dominate the region.
Name
Rihan
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Profession
Question
After September 11, how will the West and the U.S.A. in particular view the Islamic movement in the middle east. Will they lump them together as being all terrorist organizations and go after them.
Answer
Unfortunately the degree of confusion between terrorist organizations and legitimate Islamic movements has been great so much so that we have seen a recent attack on Islam as such. For example, the reverend Franklin Graham the son of Billy Graham had said " I believe that Islam is a very evil and wicked religion". There have been many similar statements. Recently, some one called for the expelling of all Muslims from the US. Most of the Muslim population the in the US are American citizens and this does not seem to bother the people who are detractors of Islam.
To be fare, there have been wise and judicious statements about Islam by a few Americans. As a matter of Fact, yesterday in the op-ed of the New York times there was an article by Nicholes Christov in which he mentions the admirable qualities of Islam such as a "lack of religious hierarchy and profound egalitarianism that confer diginity and self respect among believers" and he praises the institutionalizes system of Charity(Zakat) which provides to the poor. Unfortunately, the majority express bigoted, ignorant, and biased opinions.
On the whole, the terrorist activities have played into the hands of Westerners and led them to confuse such activities with true Islam.
Name
Shamim
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Profession
Question
What is the option before Muslims as a final resort to help Palastine from Israli invantion in the modern context?Ie, as support from the Arabic world cannot be expected at the required level to Palastine.
Answer
The Muslim World should express solidarity with the Palestinian cause. They could use moral and political pressure on the US to apply an evenhanded policy in this situation. They could also try to convince the Israelis that they are not going to be pushed in the sea. As far as the Palestinians are concerned, they need not only political support but also financial and material support so they can withstand Israeli aggression. Another thing that the Muslim World can is to convince the Palestinians that these suicide bombings are backfiring. They also need to stress the legitimate rights and demands of the Palestinians in public and private.
Name
ibrahim
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Profession
Question
why should the american govt feel the need to have any policies atall in the middle east. are these policies to aid the muslims in the middle east or just to aid the jews...and what about the AIPAC which lobbies the american govt against the muslims over there. with the AIPAC is there a chance for peace over there? do the jews really want peace in the middle east with the existance of christian zionist groups that openly supports the killing of muslims?
Answer
With the Sharon government in power and the support for Israel among Zionist Christians, I don’t think that the Israelis want peace or they want peace on their own terms although Sharon has made it clear that he is opposed to a Palestinian state and the recent statement by president Bush betrays that policy. That plan has been " a disappointment to the Arabs and Americas friends in Europe" as the journalist Patrick Seal mentioned in his recently published article analyzing Bush’s speech .
Furthermore, the US is not interested in the well being of Muslims. They are interested in promoting their own interests. Recently, we have been hearing of American imperialism and the attempt to really dominate the World. This is the dictate of the arrogance of power.
