Monday, November 06, 2006
A message from the people of the United States of America
We entered into a war with Iraq in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, based upon intelligence, however flawed, that indicated a threat from Iraq from weapons of mass destruction and possible links to our attackers. Nobody wanted another 9/11 and our government felt like it was a good choice to strike before being struck to prevent such a thing from happening again. Congress voted to support it with Democrats and Republicans alike giving their collective majority support.
But we were wrong.
Hindsight being what it is, we find that there was less of a connection between Iraq and the planners of 9/11 than had been thought and that no weapons of mass destruction were found as predicted before the war. The resulting war that has ensued has caused sectarian division and violence in Iraq, deeply divided our own people on the subject of this war, generated anti-US sentiment throughout the world and by the account of our own Intelligence Community, has become a breeding ground for more terrorism.
The primary enemy all along has been terrorism and perhaps we need to be careful to identify terrorism as an ideology and not a nation. Terrorism, by this definition, is using violence against innocent people to achieve gain for an idea.
For our part in this conflict-- because the result of war is that innocent people are inevitably killed, captured and sometimes tortured-- we offer, as the American people, an apology to the people of Iraq for any loss of innocent loved ones and for any error in calculation that has been made. In our anger over the terrorist events of September 11, 2001, we must not become the enemy. We must not be tempted to stoop to the level of those we hold responsible for that tragedy. We must make a bold move to separate ourselves from those that would spill the blood of innocent people to further their cause, so that the world can see them for what they are and not count us among them.
As soon as is it is possible, it is the goal of the United States to turn Iraqi affairs over to Iraqis, with their newly founded democratic right to choose their own leadership. However, we will not do so until we feel that this fledgling country has enough strength to stand on its own feet. We will make every effort to facilitate the creation of a functional government that reflects the diversity of the people of Iraq and ask the world to join with us to facilitate this. We acknowledge that the current situation in Iraq is a complicated one. As we have been wrong in our judgment in the past about Iraq, we cannot claim to know the answer to Iraq’s problems. But with open ears and minds, we hope to help facilitate the way to peace that best serves all of the people of Iraq.
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24 comments:
All change has to start with acknowledging that what came before has not worked as well as we would have wanted.
Only the strong can apologize and mean it.
Staying a course to disaster and error because you don't want to admit your original choices were misguided is not wise.
Nessa - USA
I'm not sure if the apology strikes me as the best thing. Remembering our values has to be the first step. So far in this war on terror, we've ignored or reversed or truncated so much of who we claim to be and what we say we believe that to apologize from here would just be insincere. Morality is everything else before it's in words.
Oh, California, USA
I'm also not sure everything written here is a good idea. The apology ignores the underlying problems that led to the catastrophe. Many of us have to apologize for not paying more attention to the political process, for not voting. (I am one of them) Thinking voters would never have elected someone like Bush. We have to apologize for allowing a climate of intolerance towards opposing opinions that has come to be the norm in America, etc. As long as these issues aren't dealt with, we are in the best position to do more and more damage in the world.
I'm trying to remember ever reading a similar apology of the German people towards the Jews immediately after WWII. Think how that sounds: "Sorry we killed all you guys, we thought we were right, but I guess we were wrong." (this oversimplifies your apology, I admit, but that's what it sounds like to me on the surface) when the real problem was allowing Hitler to come to power at all. There were warning signs, just as there were warnings about Bush. Our country broke down in Florida in 2000. We have to apologize that that happened, and fix things so it never happens again.
My perspective on all this is much different of course, having lived outside of the zeitgeist responsible for the events in America, and in some respects, having been immune to it or better innoculated against it. I have been living in Germany since the 80's and I remember a different America. I have found an excellent book by Norman Corwin "Trivializing America" (1983) which documents the processes of breakdown that occurred in our country, and made visionary predictions about where we were heading.
It was possible to have known and been aware of where our country was headed. But only a few were, and those that spoke these views publically after 9/11 were persecuted in the most shameful, un-American manner.
I live in Germany, am originally from Ohio. I sometimes do political writing at americanviewsabroad.org.
A global letter of apology would be a start and a show of intent to move in the right direction. It should also be followed very closely by a similiar letter of apology from the British government and any others who supported the United States in the war against Iraq.
Kingston Upon Hull, England.
I, too, paused at the thought of apologizing, because apologies come cheap. How much is the promise of our current goverment worth?
Doug and Fred have already addressed my misgivings. I don't think an apology is undeserved, I just don't think it even comes close to an acceptable means of reparation.
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Just dropping in, wanted to let you know I've read but I am still collecting my thoughts on this one.
I shall return.
WA State
Hi Tom, one of the hardest things to fathom in human existence.
Should we stand up to school bullies, does standing up to school bullies just make matters worse.
Of course in society, civil society we expect not to be threatened - and if we are we expect a dedicated police force to step in and remove and/or incarcerate the threat.
In war the one with the largest weapons (muscle) is by definition the bully, the US and Israel. Lebanon or Palestinians or even Iraqi insurgents - what difference between them and jewish zealots that fought the 'oppressors or invaders' and were severely punished or defeated by the mighty roman empire at Massada and elsewhere.
The hardest one for us all is to turn the other cheek, whether in our sibbling rivalries, whether in our parental/child differences of opinion, whether in our marital arguments - however in each of these instances we deny our christianity (and I say we, because I include myself, having argued with anyone and everyone including myself to the nth degree)
Yep, we are always trying to impose our views, preferences, choices, ... whether with subtlety or by force. At what time we eat, what we eat, where we eat, who we eat with. Of course most of the time it is simply pure human interaction, (for convenience, babt feeding times, school hours, school dinners, bed time) but other times it is deliberate imposition, trying to impose our will on our partner/spouse, our parents/children, our sibblings, and/or our peers and friends.
And these sometimes end up in conflict within the unit, or because we are powerless within the unit, we either externalise as hatred towards others, and the easiest always hatred against another group race or country.
Amusing to see Jews trying to avoid conflict among jews, by drawing their attention towards conflict with non-jews. Yet the truth is that whilst some jews have more in common with non-jews, they'll join together with jews who they are in discord with to victimise Palestinians or Lebanon, rather than sort out their own quarrels, and then attempt to sort out the quarrels with their neighbours.
Now when this happens to people caught up in it, it is easy for me to stand aloof, but when I see people getting caught up in it whether in California or England, then I know it is a disease.
Jews & Israelis even those outside Israel will not rationalise the conflict, they become emotionally attached - threatened(?).
And the same is true of the US. The hysteria wipped up by the media the pentagon and the whitehouse to get 300 million US citizens to support war on Iraq when 3000 died on 9/11, (an act which had nothing to do with Iraq - an act of pure vengeance, sheer vengeance on an unknown attacker or enemy, Iraq the innocent victim) and not a moments thought for all those lost their lives in the South East Asian Tsunami, or the hundreds of thousands killed in the Iraq war ... and who did Bush take national revenge against (revenge on behalf of the nation) for the New Orleans deaths?
So I rant, and I offer no solution.
But, the bottom line is "the buck stops here" not understanding what Christ meant allowing himself to be crucified by a few scruffy and maybe illiterate roman soldiers, despite having the power to destroy Rome at his fingertips, is not to understand the message of Christ. It is to be a false christian, as in pre-christian judaism, or the imperfect faith ...
Ask yourself will you allow yourself to be killed, or will you say no I must kill to live because my family need me ... yeah and maybe next day you get hit by a car or die of a heart attack, the difference is you then die a murderer. Of course we all fantasise of being heros dying in battle for our family, our loved ones, our community, our tribe or nation, but...
Would you kill to feed your children, I mean other than hunting (killing) for food ...
Would you kill to protect your children, would you kill to protect your wife ...
These are all questions that most people answer YES to, instinctively, intuitevely and emphatically. Some will stop and give it some thought and rationalise and also answer YES
Then there is no right or wrong, if it is right for me to kill to defend myself, my family, my beliefs, my nation - it is equally right for others, whether Iraqi insurgents, or Palestinians to do the same. It even justifies the attackers who brought down the twin towers.
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. George Washington was a wanted terrorist hunted like a dog by British redcoats. Israel was born out of an act of terrorism against the British military HQ in Palestine @ the king David hotel in Jerusalem. Yep the mighty British Empire and its army ran like a dog with its tail between its legs, opening the doors to the present ongoing conflict for dominion of the land, and blatant attempt to eradicate and exterminate a peoples and a geographical nation called Palestine. They are in the same kind of denial white european settlers were of native american or indigenous rights.
I voted on your poll and at the real polls today. I'm from Seattle, WA. I like what you have to say. This is like a bad nightmare, current situation in the world.
"Israel was born out of an act of terror against the British military".
Okay, it is comments like that and others too numerous to quote from just one commenter that make it quite easy to see why World Peace is a lofty ambition at best.
People too extreme in either direction are just not able to listen and have a dialogue. It is a shame for sure. Partly why I just avoid political blogging.
I do not vote for an apology, but I would really be interested in what the people of Iraq would vote for. I mean that sincerely.
Oh yeah and I'm a Jew from Queens, New York.
G, I am well aware that a lot of americans are living on some other planet, or in cloud cucu land.
But it is a historical fact that a bomb was planted at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the then British army HQ in Palestine.
You can say "so what"
But putting a lampshade over your head or burying your head in the sand does not change the fact.
Answer me this: you've already exiled half the Palestinians, what is the final solution for your beloved Israel, put the remaining Palestinians in Gaza (Aushwitz) AND GAS THEM?
Why don't you try giving them hope of a future - A Peaceful future.
I'm sick of you claiming to be the victims. The germans also lived in 'denial' of what was going on.
And G-d are we reminded often enough. Yet all the nazi gold went to the victors, yeah guess who The USA.
Quasar, Very interesting that a call for discussion about America's involvment in Iraq and open dialogue brought out cries of terrorism against Israel and the Jews. I call it like I see it - you're a not so veiled anti-Semite just chafing at the bit to put that vitriol out there. For that reason alone I will not carry this discussion further with you, but also because it detracts from open honest intelligent discussion by the Blog Host(s).
Actually I take that back, it's not very interesting - it's very sickening.
Since this is a blog about peace, I am trying to figure out a peaceful way to comment. It's very hard, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Q, I feel very upset after reading your comments. I believe people should be free to express their opinions and you have certainly done so, but you should know that your words are inciting the exact oposite of what is trying to be accomplished here. You have spoken with such certitude that it is scary. And the things that you have said are hurtful and not true. While you have made a few factual statements, you are doing the exact thing that you are claiming to be against. You have made blanket statements about people you do not know, and made assumptions about all kinds of people based on their categories. You claim to be against bullies, but I have to tell you that I feel bullied by your words.
True change begins with an acknowledgement and an apology, written just like this was, swiftly followed by a new course of action. We American's have been apathetic in forcing our elected officials to be accountable, forthcoming and beyond reproach. We must change that to set a new course of action. The cost of war is too high, we must find better ways to protect ourselves from the demented while living in peace.
Kat C. Ohio USA
G - Your ignorance knows no bounds
Palestinians are Semites.
Answer the question
Having exiled half the Palestinians what does your beloved Israel propose doing with the remaining Palestinians in Gaza & the West Bank.
What is Israel's final solution
Living in denial does not hide and disguise the reality to those of us who can see thru the lies.
Goldennib, not all germans hated jews, not all germans condoned the nazi concentration camps or extermination of jews
But a hell of a lot of germans kept schmut because it was their homeland or fatherland or motherland and they believed they were the master race in the promised land.
Ring any bells.
No good glossing over the war on Iraq - if you don't look at the undelying reason why the US military is in Iraq.
I can tell you one thing for sure 9/11 had nothing to do with it. That was a convenient(?) excuse to dupe the ignorant the blind the self-deluded and those in denial.
The Truth hurts.
And until the question is answered all the rest is just smog to cover up what is really going on.
Q: The truth is you are doing all of the things you claim to be against and all of the things you accuse the USA government and Isreal of doing. You are taking sides based a group’s identification, you are name calling, you are inciting anger and you are attacking. You sound like a demigod who knows everything and all things. You are trying to make longstanding and complicated issues sound like they are black and white. What you are not doing is encouraging open discussion. Why don’t you try asking a simple question without all of the rhetoric and maybe someone will attempt to respond.
There really needs to be an impartial moderation/judge to cut through all these issues and hate to solve things fairly and finally. At the moment America takes on this role less than it ever did.
As defined in Wikipedia: Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility toward or prejudice against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group, which can range in expression from individual hatred to institutionalized, violent persecution. While the term's semantics may imply that antisemitism is directed against all people of a Semite descent, it is in fact used exclusively to refer to hostility towards Jews. The highly explicit ideology of Adolf Hitler's Nazism was the most extreme example of this phenomenon, leading to the genocide of European Jewry.
Quasar, As you get caught up in semantics, I stand by my defifnition as corroborated by Wikipedia above. I am well aware of the term semites and who it covers.
Now talking about ignorance knowing no bounds, you do not know my stance on Iraq on my feelings for the American government, yet you have jumped in with your attack on Jews and Israel.
Goldennib set it quite eloquently and far more diplomatically then I could or would muster for the likes of you. My discussion with you ends here.
uh, what's the name of this site, again?
Quasar9, i find myself extremely confused by your responses here, mostly because i wonder what a narrow-minded/wrongly opinionated individual like you is doing commenting on a site like this. a site created (i believe) to look for a means of acheiving some semblance of peace in this mixed up crazy world of ours. many many MANY unkind words want to fly out of my fingers and into this comment, but i'm not going to let that happen, because i prefer not to engage in rhetoric that might further steer the discussion away from the original intentions of this blog.
but know this, i am deeply offended by your responses, especially as they relate to my dear, brilliant, and OPEN-minded friend, G. i am not impressed by you or your bullying tactics, not to mention your poor ability to express yourself in a way that is coherent, substantive, or intelligent. and i am significantly less hopeful of forging any and all Paths to Peace when i know there are others out there who share your views. please, for all our sakes, break out of that bubble, break *into* the piggy-bank, and buy yourself a clue.
Stamford, CT, USA
G, Neva
You believe what you like
You hear what you like
You understand what you like
and you see what you like
How many killed by Israeli jets today on civilian homes.
Yet another apology from Israel, yet more Palestinian deaths.
I have no problem with beautiful jews and/or israelis, but only a retard would assume all jews and israelis are beautiful or good people.
I can oppose Israel without being an anti-semite
Just as I can oppose the US government without being anti-american
And I can oppose the British Government because I want to.
Does that mean I hate the english duh? CAN I HATE MYSELF
Don't need to, I'm sensing enough hate & poison from you two ladies. No need to ask me to dinner, I somehow don't feel it would taste right
Wow! And we haven't even gotten to Darfur yet.
Al, USA
I honestly wasn't sure how to vote on this. We do need an apology followed by real actions, a revival of our ideals of freedom and respect for the individual. I didn't think this apology went far enough. How should I vote?
Incidentally, I was shocked to read that voter turnout was only 40% this election. After all that's happened, and can still happen, only 40% even care?
I'm trying very hard to figure out how to write this. As I went through the vast list of comments, I could see that many people were right. Yes, apologizing on it's face is bringing the problem down to it's smallest denominator, and simply doing that will not help things. And I also agree that an apology made by a government often means nothing.
But what about an apology from a people? We always think that when we do something we are doing it as a government. But we can't do something as a government, we aren't them, and they are often the people who simply apologize to apease people all over the world. But if we as a people apologize to other people around the world, I can tell by the nature of the comments on here that we will do it as the start of a promise. A promise that we will never allow it to happen again. If we sign a letter of apology we must also tell of our intent with that apology, because the words "I'm sorry" without intent behind them are truly the stalest words I have ever seen.
Maybe the best thing we can do is forget apologies and be ambassadors for our country, trying to live (on an individual basis) the best of our ideals. That would have the same effect as an apology I think.
Fred: "They" said 40% was a very good turn out for midterm elections and your idea of being individual embassadors is a good idea.
Artistinme82: People talking to people is the best. If people got to know each other they empathize more.
I was reading some things on conflict resolution and one of the first things a person should do is try to see things from the other person's point of view. Not easy but necessary and I think we, as USA citizens, have not done that. We don't know much about other people in the world. We have a tendancy to assume everyone is like us or should be like us.
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