Inevitably, the brave Australian journalist Mike Carlton has lost his job because, sickened by the slaughter of innocent children in Gaza by the IDF, he wrote the strong article criticising Israel and the Likudites of Netenyahu. He was subjected to a torrent of abuse, and death threats from the Jewish lobby and their apologists. He responded with some robust language and was suspended by FAIRFAX Media. He chose to resign because of their lack of support for his right to Free Speech.
FAIRFAX have of course denied that he was suspended because of pressure from the Jewish lobby but because he was rude to their readers. Pull the other one it has bells on.
Close to 2,000 Palestinians have now been killed by the IDF’s latest furious attacks on Gaza. Seventy percent were civilians, and almost 300 of them were children. And their blood lies not only on the hands of the Israelis – but also on the hands of American politicians with their blind and unconditional support of Israel.
But this is not the first time, and sadly it will not be the last, when America has sponsored the killing of children (think Iraq, think Afghanistan, think Viet Nam). One of the stories in my book THE GULF is about Carter “Call me Buddy” Scruggins who was a sharpshooter during the Viet Nam War. He was under orders to “take out” (What a delightful euphemism for Kill) children who approached US patrols through the villages in case they had explosives strapped to them.
This why anti-Viet Nam War activists used to taunt President Lyndon Johnson with the chant “Hey, Hey, LBJ . . . How many Kids did you kill today.
How many more children have to die before American politicians in general, and Barak Obama in particular, says enough is enough? What is the tipping point? 2,000 children, 20,000 children, 2 million children? There is no valid excuse in the world for killing even one child. It is barbaric and inhuman – and America could, and should, stop it in its tracks regardless of the power of the Jewish lobby.
Obama is no Mandela – but if he wishes to go down in history as some sort of statesman he should stop the Israelis in their tracks by cutting all US Aid to Israeli until they conform with international law. It is US Aid of more than US$ 20 Million per day that is enabling and prolonging the ongoing battles in Gaza. Cut off the aid and it will stop. There is a precedent.
For 25 years the IRA was allowed to raise funds in the USA to enable their terrorist tactics in Northern Ireland because of the power of the Irish Lobby. But when the Kennedy Era faded the USA found the political will to condemn the IRA and stop the fund raising. The IRA decommissioned their weapons within a year and there is now peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland
The final chapter in my book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind” deals not with the dead Palestinian children (unfortunately they are beyond our help) but with the orphans who receive equally heartless treatment in this atavistic battle in The Holy Lands. The protagonist Layla, a Christian Palestinian who runs a Church of England orphanage in Ramallah, puts it into context. She says that this conflict (just like Northern Ireland) is not really a religious or idealogical battle between Judaism and Islam: it is an ancient and atavistic blood feud over territory and resources between Arab tribes – and the West do not understand and should not be involved.
You can preview my book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind” at:
http://www.amazon.com/author/mikerichards
and download it if you have a Kindle.
Or if you prefer a real book you can order the paperback edition from:
http://www.thebookdepository.co.uk
The ISBN number is 978-1908147097
They offer free delivery worldwide.
I hope it touches your heart and leads to action. As Noam Chomsky said “knowledge of the world is of no use unless it leads to action.”