Re: Our support of Israel hurts us in Iraq, by Nicholas Kristof, May 27.
On June 1 you printed several letters critical of Kristof's column. Among the opinions expressed was that current U.S. problems in the Middle East have nothing to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That couldn't be more wrong.
I recently made a 10-day visit to Saudi Arabia as a member of a survey team sponsored by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the top priority issue mentioned and was characterized as "the mother of all issues."
A long-time personal friend and friend of the United States hosted a dinner party for the survey team. He said, "You have allowed American foreign policy to fall captive to Israel and the American Jewish lobby. This fact, my friends, is the real issue between the Arab world and the United States. For many years American foreign policy has caused incredible pain and damage economically, politically and socially. Israel's usurpation of American foreign policy and international role has alienated and outraged the Arab world and muted American friends in the Middle East."
A former senior government official, now retired, confirmed this view, saying that the United States is blind on this subject and the result has been a large accumulated bitterness. He said, "The United States may never regain any measure of respect or friendship in the Arab world if it does not mediate an equitable settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on an urgent basis."
The key to advancing the U.S. interests in the Middle East is the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Preaching about democracy and freedom for the Middle East will do little good as long as we stand back and allow this original wound to fester. If we were to step forward and bring about a fair and equitable resolution of this issue, I think we could change the whole political climate and dynamic in the Middle East.
-- Joseph A. Mahon, St. Petersburg
Many on both sides seek peace
Re: Letters on the Middle East situation, June 1.
The Palestinians I've met in this country and in Israel deplore the activities of the terrorists among their ranks, as well as the Israeli practice of collective retaliation that victimizes innocent civilians along with the real villains. They are shocked and saddened that our government supports the Israeli military machine. And most of them seem to have little hope that a viable Palestinian state will be established any time soon.
There are glimmers of light on both sides of the conflict. International Solidarity Movement is a Palestinian initiative to achieve statehood by nonviolent methods, mostly by means of peaceful protests and public education. Rabbis for Human Rights is headed by Jewish religious leaders who strive for rational and humane treatment of Palestinians and other groups who are denied social justice in Israel, such as Bedouins and immigrant laborers. Women in Black, based in Israel and with chapters across the world, lobbies for an end to the occupation and justice for Palestinians. The Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions is another Israeli group fighting for Palestinian rights, as is Peace Now, which advocates peace and statehood for Palestinians.
These groups are all worthy of attention and support. In addition, there should be a permanent international presence such as United Nations, European Union, Red Cross, World Council of Churches, Nonviolent Peaceforce - or an amalgam of all these agencies - to monitor the situation, provide fair and accurate reportage, and hopefully bring about a reduction in violence so that serious negotiations could take place.
Indiscriminate slaughter of civilians by both sides and construction of an apartheid wall on Palestinian land are counterproductive. I am hoping that the government that succeeds George Bush's administration will set up a bona fide Department of Peace that will contribute to a just and lasting resolution to the Middle East conflict.
-- Bill Rose, Tampa
U.S. should take a balanced view
I am pro-Israel, but I am also pro-Palestine. I don't believe there can ever be peace in the Middle East until the United States can approach the situation with a balanced view. In the past, American media have presented the situation from the Israeli point of view to such an extent that any criticism of the Israeli government has come to be viewed as anti-Semitism. However, many Jews - both around the world and in Israel - are opposed to the occupation. More than 500 Israeli soldiers have refused to serve in the occupied territories because they think it is immoral.
Also, the media-created stereotype of Israeli soldiers defending themselves against the Palestinian terrorist is belied by the facts. One example was reported in the Guardian last month - a child was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier from a tank. It would be hard for any reasonable person to believe that small child was a terrorist. Since September of 2000, 110 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians, but at least 576 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli soldiers. Most of these children - Israeli and Palestinian - were going about normal activities such as going to school or shopping, and many of the Palestinian children were simply in their homes.
Since the United States gives $15-million a day to Israel, it is important that we become better informed about the situation. For those interested in educating themselves, a lot of objective data can be found at www.ifamericansknew.org Also, I would like to commend the Times for increasing our exposure to the Palestinian point of view.
-- Melva Underbakke, Temple Terrace
We need our own oil sources
Re: Kerry's cheap talk about energy, May 31.
Kudos to Debra Saunders for an excellent column about our energy crisis and the Democratic candidate's approach to the solution.
While I am certainly not a Democrat, nor an environmentalist, we must understand that there are larger problems to address, whether or not you drive an SUV. No, I don't drive an SUV and have no sympathies for those who do.
The front-page the other day told of dozens of foreign workers being killed and mutilated in Saudi Arabia by the militant Islamists who want to cripple the Saudi oil program and drive the world economy into the tank. They say they want the crusaders out of Islamic lands. This is the second time in just over two weeks when Westerners have been killed around Saudi oil facilities, and it is obvious that the killing is escalating.
Will we wait until the Saudi royal family is driven out of power and the oil spigot of our largest supplier is turned off? Will we continue to be concerned about the caribou, or the spotted owl or whatever creature the environmentalists think is more important than the economy and jobs?
These "tree hugging" environmentalists need to understand that we are running our refineries at 98 percent capacity, and we have not been allowed to build a single new refinery in our country since 1976 while those in production have declined by almost half.
We are not being allowed to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, even though we would only use 2 percent of the land, protecting the caribou and the environment while doing so. Also, drilling is being discouraged in other areas like the Rocky Mountain states, the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of California.
Please, let's all wake up before oil Armageddon and do something for independence from foreign oil besides rhetoric.
-- Sam Lasley, Clearwater
Cheap talk about Kerry
Re: Sen. Kerry's cheap talk about energy.
With all due respect, I could title this column "Debra Saunders' cheap talk about Sen. Kerry"! If one reads her article carefully, one realizes that she cites many positive aspects of John Kerry's agenda - like better fuel efficiency for cars - and twists them against him in a typically Bush smear-campaign fashion. All she finds to rebuke him for is a vague 10-year-old contemplation of raising taxes on gas - taxes supported by Vice President Dick Cheney, a fact she conveniently "forgets" to mention, which the senator promptly rejected - and his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge! Only die-hard Cheney-loving neocons can condemn John Kerry's desire to protect this sanctuary.
With her distorted article, Saunders once again proves that she is a biased propagandist carrying water for the White House. It is her right to do so, but she should admit it instead of playing the virtuous arbiter.
-- Simon Agmann, St. Petersburg
The economics of alternative energy
We are told that it is too expensive to develop the three major, nonpolluting energy sources in the United States: hydroelectricity, solar and wind power. Yet when we count the true cost of producing oil, natural gas and coal, these nonrenewable energy sources are no bargains.
In 1998, the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) estimated the real cost of gasoline at $15.14 per gallon. The group considered over 40 separate cost factors, such as pollution, health problems and subsidies for the petroleum industry.
ICTA stated that the Defense Department spent between $55-billion and $95-billion in 1998 "to secure and protect" our foreign oil sources.
Demand for gasoline has skyrocketed since then, along with prices. Since Iraq has the second-largest oil reserves in the world, I believe that our present occupation there qualifies as an oil resource protection activity. Therefore, if we add the $100-billion-plus for the Iraq war, the real cost per gallon could rise to around $50.
This total price will continue to increase as the oil supply is depleted and military costs multiply. It does not include the value of human lives lost, families disrupted, and the world's escalating animosity toward the United States, as we continue to protect our oil sources.
If we have the national will to do so, we can be energy independent. American ingenuity is formidable. To make it happen, we must encourage the construction of wind farms, buy high-mileage vehicles or hybrids, and add energy-saving features to our homes and businesses. It is encouraging that the U.S. Department of Energy stated in its Hydrogen Posture Plan of February 2004: "Wind power is currently the most cost-effective renewable power technology" to produce electricity and hydrogen, using electrolysis.
We must elect leaders who have the courage to lead us away from our costly dependence on oil, coal and natural gas to the ultimate fuel, hydrogen.
-- David Nicholson, Sun City Center
Raise gas tax, lower fuel consumption
The solution to the high gas prices is simply to make them still higher. Add a 20 percent tax to imported and domestic crude oil each year until it reaches 100 percent.
Use part of the tax money to help airlines, trucking companies, taxi companies, poor people with fuel efficient cars, etc., to cope with the higher gas prices. Let the well-to-do with gas guzzlers pay the full tax.
The tax would speed the process of eliminating the gas guzzlers, produce more efficient cars, provide alternate kinds of fuel, reduce the amount of crude oil imported, and perhaps make United States cope much better with this problem.
-- Leif Rongved, Clearwater
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