SUPPORTING THE PALESTINIANS -- 15

+ updated at 3:57 ESDT on Sunday, October 17, 2010

+ Too many Americans are in denial or ignorance when it comes to our policies in the Middle East.  I suggest that you read Wallwritings, a great blog by James Wall, and get informed. James Wall was the Editor of my favorite journal, The Christian Century, from 1972 to 1999. Today he offers "Rahm and the General Are Gone; Time to Put Freeman Back to Work" advocating (as he has consistently) for a huge shift in our foreign policy toward the Middle East.

Excerpt 1: " ... President Obama has at least two more years in which he must work around the Congress and address himself to restoring moral fiber to his handling of the atrocious conduct of the Netanyahu-Lieberman government of Israel. I suggest he start by restoring Charles Freeman to a position of influence in his administration."

(The next 2 excerpts are written by Freeman since he was ousted from the Obama administration in early 2009 probably due to pressure from my NY Senator Charles Schuman, an AIPAC loyalist.)

Excerpt 2: "The Middle East is a constant reminder that a clear conscience is usually a sign of either a faulty memory or a severe case of arrogant amorality. It is not a badge of innocence. These days, we meticulously tally our own battlefield dead; we do not count the numbers of foreigners who perish at our hands or those of our allies. Yet each death is a tragedy that extinguishes one soul and wounds others. This deserves our grief. If we cannot feel it, we may justly be charged with inhumanity."

Excerpt 3: "There is a special irony in having been accused of improper regard for the opinions of foreign governments and societies by a group so clearly intent on enforcing adherence to the policies of a foreign government — in this case, the government of Israel. I believe that the inability of the American public to discuss, or the government to consider, any option for US policies in the Middle East opposed by the ruling faction in Israeli politics has allowed that faction to adopt and sustain policies that ultimately threaten the existence of the state of Israel… This is not just a tragedy for Israelis and their neighbors in the Middle East; it is doing widening damage to the national security of the United States.”