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U.S., Israel perpetuate war
By Zoë Williams
williamz@mscd.edu

On the morning of Aug. 10 my parents were packing for a trip to the East Coast before a driver service arrived to take them to the airport. The driver arrived an hour early.

My father said he was a little shocked until the driver explained the British government had stopped 10 U.S.-bound airplanes that were intended to explode over the Atlantic Ocean.

My dad told me Denver International Airport was a mess and it took them over an hour to battle airport security. My parents surrendered all water bottles, lip balm and toothpaste from their carry-on luggage and made it to their flight on time.

The suspects were all too predictable. I didn’t need to read the news to know their ethnicity, religion or alleged group affiliation. They came from the Middle East and had some ties to al-Qaeda according to intelligence from the United Kingdom and the United States.

Across the pond in the good old U.S. of A., our terror level is currently at yellow, while aviation alerts are red. No liquids except for those vital to sustaining life for the ill or small children are permitted on planes.

“It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the United States of America ... This nation is at war,” President Bush said.

Scared yet? The top story on every news station is flashing terror warnings and angry sentiments from political officials. Every 15 minutes these networks have done us the gracious favor of reminding the world that this could have been the next September 11.

Please, sit back and relax. I do not want to hear about anyone running out to acquire duct tape and plastic sheeting.

I am no expert in terrorism and I am not a scholar in Middle Eastern politics. However, I know human nature and current events well enough to offer an adequate solution: the United States and Israel need to quit their overaggressive and preemptive tactics.

A recent report by the United Nations found that over 100 Iraqi civilians are dying daily as the United States-led occupation of their nation continues.

In Lebanon an estimated death toll of over 1,000 – at least 75 percent being civilians – continues rising as Israel continues with aerial bombardments. One of the more infamous attacks look place at Qana, where more than 60 civilians were killed; more than 30 of the dead were children.

Since June, at least 162 people have died in Gaza from Israeli strikes; well over half of them are civilians. There are few medical supplies in Gaza. The primary power plant has been struck and requires millions of dollars in repair. The water treatment plant is on the brink of flooding villages with sewage.

In both of the Israeli strikes, a majority of the weapons used were given by or purchased from the United States.

Meanwhile, the United Nations is giving an exemplary demonstration of the word inert, as they toss resolutions back and forth, bickering about inconsequential wording. The atrocities have already been committed and continue every day.

Here’s my idea. Call me Ward Churchill if you please, but I think that if our government and our allies quit being the primary perpetrators of war crimes in the world, people may be significantly less likely to want to attack the lands in which we reside.

Now, someone may suggest that the armed resistance groups of Lebanon and Palestine, such as Hezbollah, could drop their guns and flash a peace sign.

It’s a nice thought, though not a probable resolution. After all, according to Israeli journalist Uri Avnery, Israeli intelligence thought they were attacking 1,200 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. Today, 400 are dead.

This was said to be retaliation for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. Now, more than 1,000 civilian deaths, innumerable human rights abuses and illegal arrests later, Israel continues its barrage on Lebanon to get those last eight hundred fighters. Even after a cease fire was declared, Israeli cluster bombs continued to explode in Lebanon, killing and injuring civilians. Something tells me Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert won’t negotiate much.

I am pleading with the world to listen. If the United States and Israel quit destroying countries, the residents of said countries will probably not be inclined to attack them.