The End of the War on Terror
It is time for the War on Terror to end. The lesson we can draw from this war-mentality is that violence does not end violence. Mr. Bush and his cadre of neo-conservatives have led the American people down the well-worn path of patriotic militarism. And once again, it has failed.
Those of us who dared to ask a basic question were shouted down after 9/11: Why would people in the Arab world hate us so much? Mr. Bush's response was, "Because they envy our freedom." Really? Or is it, in large part, due to the fact that the US supports repressive regimes that deny Arabs their freedom?
Thankfully, the Democratic victory in the Novemeber elections provides a new opportunity for the US to regain some of its lost stature in the world. People everywhere might begin to see that Mr. Bush's policies do not represent the American people. In fact, the electorate has soundly rejected those failed policies.
Here's how the media in Arab countries covered the US mid-term elections:
Arab News: "Americans sharply rebuked President George Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress on Tuesday.... The election yesterday was a repudiation of Republican scandal, with a succession of tainted politicians losing seats as their leaders lost power, and a stinging referendum on the course of the Iraq war and the nation’s direction. "
Al -Jazeera: "The mid-term election results that heralded a massive power shift in the American political landscape, including the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, have been greeted with jubilation around the world. ... From Paris to Pakistan, politicians, analysts and ordinary citizens said on Wednesday they hoped the Democratic takeover of at least one house of Congress would force Bush to adopt a more conciliatory approach to the globe's crises, and teach a president many see as a 'cowboy' a lesson in humility."
The Egyptian Gazette: "The American people have made it clear they are tired of the failures of the last six years. ... Chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs Abdel Ra'ouf el-Ridi said, 'To my mind, this was like a referendum on US foreign policy. The vote for the Democrats showed that the Americans were dissatisfied with the foreign policies of the administration.'"
The Jordan Times: "If the Democrats quickly get to work on all the ills that befell their country under the Republicans’ watch and keep their slate clean of scandals, they may be on the road to ending a very controversial era in US history. ... With the Democrats ready to “change course” in Iraq, and get cracking on the “Six for ‘06” agenda, there is ‘hope’ too that the US will start acting in tandem with the rest of the international community on major international issues, including global warming and nuclear threats."
The Jakarta Post: "The changing political landscape in Washington is a welcome development for the rest of the world. At the very least, it is restoring our faith in liberal democracy.
With all its weaknesses and shortcomings, America is still the leading democracy in the free world. It has been going through rough patches in the last few years because it has vested so much power in one person without the benefits of checks and balances. "
Dar Al-Hayat: "The results of the mid-term elections are a prelude to a way out of the great divisions that have erupted in American society. The Democrats will make the most of these results to make the [2008] presidential elections a remedy for healing the rift in American society."
We should hope and pray that we can begin to repair the damage done to our reputation by our misguided War on Terror. It is now time to wage Peace.
Those of us who dared to ask a basic question were shouted down after 9/11: Why would people in the Arab world hate us so much? Mr. Bush's response was, "Because they envy our freedom." Really? Or is it, in large part, due to the fact that the US supports repressive regimes that deny Arabs their freedom?
Thankfully, the Democratic victory in the Novemeber elections provides a new opportunity for the US to regain some of its lost stature in the world. People everywhere might begin to see that Mr. Bush's policies do not represent the American people. In fact, the electorate has soundly rejected those failed policies.
Here's how the media in Arab countries covered the US mid-term elections:
Arab News: "Americans sharply rebuked President George Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress on Tuesday.... The election yesterday was a repudiation of Republican scandal, with a succession of tainted politicians losing seats as their leaders lost power, and a stinging referendum on the course of the Iraq war and the nation’s direction. "
Al -Jazeera: "The mid-term election results that heralded a massive power shift in the American political landscape, including the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, have been greeted with jubilation around the world. ... From Paris to Pakistan, politicians, analysts and ordinary citizens said on Wednesday they hoped the Democratic takeover of at least one house of Congress would force Bush to adopt a more conciliatory approach to the globe's crises, and teach a president many see as a 'cowboy' a lesson in humility."
The Egyptian Gazette: "The American people have made it clear they are tired of the failures of the last six years. ... Chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs Abdel Ra'ouf el-Ridi said, 'To my mind, this was like a referendum on US foreign policy. The vote for the Democrats showed that the Americans were dissatisfied with the foreign policies of the administration.'"
The Jordan Times: "If the Democrats quickly get to work on all the ills that befell their country under the Republicans’ watch and keep their slate clean of scandals, they may be on the road to ending a very controversial era in US history. ... With the Democrats ready to “change course” in Iraq, and get cracking on the “Six for ‘06” agenda, there is ‘hope’ too that the US will start acting in tandem with the rest of the international community on major international issues, including global warming and nuclear threats."
The Jakarta Post: "The changing political landscape in Washington is a welcome development for the rest of the world. At the very least, it is restoring our faith in liberal democracy.
With all its weaknesses and shortcomings, America is still the leading democracy in the free world. It has been going through rough patches in the last few years because it has vested so much power in one person without the benefits of checks and balances. "
Dar Al-Hayat: "The results of the mid-term elections are a prelude to a way out of the great divisions that have erupted in American society. The Democrats will make the most of these results to make the [2008] presidential elections a remedy for healing the rift in American society."
We should hope and pray that we can begin to repair the damage done to our reputation by our misguided War on Terror. It is now time to wage Peace.
posted by scott a hunt at
9:44 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Scott, I just wanted to say thank you for writing this book. It was amazing I liked the way you talked about the positive side.. we are faced with so much negativity in the world. It was really good to read that there are people in the middle of war who are trying to make a difference. I was so impressed I talked about the book in my new years post.. I just found your blog when I recommended the book to a friend of mine visiting from Texas.. So I thought I would just call in and say - Thank you its fantastic work you are doing :)
http://tanyaruka.blogspot.com/2006_12_29_archive.html
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