dusted

Posted: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 Special Dispatch No. 351: Egyptian Columnist: Guantanamo is the Real Auschwitz An article by Islamist Dr. Rif'at Sayyid Ahmad, titled "Guantanamo, the Auschwitz of the American era: J'accuse!!" recently appeared in the Lebanese daily Al-Liwa. The article described the detention of the Al-Qaida and Taliban members at Guantanamo as a war crime. Following are excerpts from the article: Guantanamo Bay: 'The American Auschwitz' "...We always see how human beings prey upon each other, how values are trampled, and how tragedies recur. This is exactly what happened, and is still happening, at the 'American Auschwitz' detention camp...excuse me, I meant the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay!! This is one of the worst deeds of the American era in which we live, and one of the most infamous of its crimes, and will go down in history if [history] is written by men of honor, not by traitors." "This detention camp reminds me of 'J'accuse' by Emile Zola, who, in 1898, defended Alfred Dreyfus, the French officer of the Jewish faith... This French officer objected to his trial being exploited by the Zionist Jews, led by Herzl. He [also] refused to meet with them because he objected to the Zionist plan and to the establishment of an independent [Jewish] state, and supported Jewish integration into [European] society. He saw [his trial] as fundamentally French, completely unconnected to his religion. This is what spurred Emil Zola to take up the subject in his political-literary article 'J'accuse,' for which he paid a heavy price; he too was sentenced to prison, for a year, for the offense of [publishing] the article..." "With his article, Emile Zola implanted in the Western conscience principles which, in my opinion, are being completely destroyed today. The first of these is respect for the value of the individual as an individual, regardless of nationality, religion, or the color of his skin. [second,] the value of resistance to oppression, primarily [oppression] by someone who rules and holds power against the weak and who cannot confront him. [Third,] the value of liberty and the risk of depriving the individual of it..." "It is interesting how perceptions, values, and history have changed from Zola's time to the war crimes now being committed by the U.S., the length and breadth of the world, primarily in Guantanamo. This detention camp is the outcome of the crime of the destruction of Afghanistan (30,000 dead and hundreds of villages destroyed!!)." "Has the situation changed? History repeats itself, painfully. This time, we are not talking of a single Dreyfus, but of nearly 2,500 Muslim Dreyufuses, placed in iron cages like animals and treated with a cruelty rarely found even among the wild beasts in the jungles. These are the days of the Stone Age, days in which the difference between human beings, stones, and animals has disappeared!!... This is a cruelty that demands more than one Emil Zola to cry out before the arrogant and bloodthirsty master of the world [President Bush]...'J'accuse'!!" "While Zola accused eight high-ranking generals in the French army...I direct my political and moral accusation at the president of the U.S.; his deputy Dick Cheney, that super-racist Jew; his secretary of state, Colin Powell; his intelligence minister [sic]; his national security advisor; his war ministry staff [sic]; his administration in the White House; British Prime Minister Tony Blair... who played the role of procurer, as did all the ministers and presidents of the European Union countries who have participated in and supported the crime being committed at Guantanamo and who, by their declared collaboration or their open silence, have brought to ruin the values that they claim exist in their civilization – the values of Emil Zola, Montesquieu, Russell, and Toynbee..." U.S. Committing War Crimes "We accuse all these of committing, or participating in committing, the crime of war against humanity taking place before their very eyes in Guantanamo, without opening their mouths. They even exacerbate [the crime and create] another Auschwitz, at the beginning of the new century. Auschwitz, for those who don't know, is the detention camp in which, it is claimed, Hitler burned Jews in gas chambers during World War II." "The stench of their charred skin filled the nose from dozens of kilometers away. Although I do not believe this exaggerated Jewish yarn, the detention camp [at Auschwitz] did indeed exist, and there was a Nazi crime against all of humanity (not only against the Jews, as they claim)... If the stench filled noses for miles around, then [today] the same stench fills the nose of the 'civilized' West, extorted financially, politically, and educationally, as Holocaust studies are mandatory in European schools, as a supreme value that cannot be ignored or denied." "If indeed this happened in Hitler's Auschwitz, why can't it happen in Bush's Auschwitz?! Could it be because those whose skin burns in the Cuban sun, in the iron cages exposed [to the sun] from all directions – because these men whose humanity is stripped from them, who are turned into 'objects,' neither men nor beasts – are Muslims?! Is the Western conscience dead, and has it sunk to this level of barbarity?..." "If what happened in the U.S. on September 11, 2001 (which I oppose from the humane point of view, but nothing more) and the disastrous war in Afghanistan that followed, are termed 'the first war of the century,' then what is happening in Guantanamo is worthy of being called 'the first Auschwitz of the century'..." Bush Administration Does Not Trust Its 'Impotent Homosexual Military' "The increased security measures and the restrictions placed on the [Guantanamo] detainees expose the fear of the Muslim that dwells in the heart of the American fighter. These also reveal that the American leadership does not trust the abilities of its impotent and homosexual fighters, who fear for their lives, unlike the [Muslim] prisoners who persistently seek martyrdom..."(1) Is this guy kidding? Is he actually trying to compare Guantanamo Bay to Auschwitz? Guantanomo Bay is too good for these people. On second thought, maybe they should throw them into population in Sing Sing. See how long these motherfuckers last.

Breaks ny: please try to be a little less long winded. I would like to know what makes you such an expert on the Muslim world, the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, or American foreign policy. What, you think because you watch BBC News that you know everything there is to know? What books have you read on the subject? What have you read about the Israeli side of things? Why do you think we have to find the root causes of terrorism? Do you think we should have tried to "understand" the root causes of the Nazi's? How about Tim Mcveigh? No everyone was happy to see him put to death. No one was interested in finding anything about him. The liberal media was curiously silent. Why is it only America that is bound to follow this so called "international law" (which basically only destroys a nations sovereignty)? Does Turkey abide by international law when it comes to slaughtering the Kurds? Does Saudi Arabia abide by international law? Is Zimbabwe following international law? Or is it a double standard, is the U.S. because we are so powerful supposed to be hobbled? Why you are so concerned about the treatment of these prisoners is beyond me. Were you this concerned about Timothy McVeigh's treatment. How come no one was screaming that he should have POW status? Wasn't his act a political statement?

So basically you think people should be able to spew idiocy, and not be taken to task for it. And then you try to censor people who disagree with you. If you'll notice, I don't think I ever told Tony to shut the fuck up. Its just typical of people to try to shut people up when they don't have a leg to stand on. And if you think having a political discussion constitutes drama, you must be really dumb. Why don't you just stick to the Exit or Soundfactory? which is better? threads.

Chomsky 101.

I don't think TonytheLovers gonna like what you said.

I'm with you. Hammerstein is the most HORRIBLE VENUE! The sound blows, the crowd blows, their Gestapo security blows, the fact that they kick you out at 4 or close to it really blows. I HATE THAT FUCKING PLACE! I saw the Chemicals there twice and it sucked. A bunch of K-rock listening, backward baseball cap wearing noodnicks who stood around watching the Chems and not dancing. Me and my friend were like "What the fuck is everyone staring at? They're just pushing buttons! Its not Pete Townshend up there smashing his guitar, for fucks sake!" Oh, and lets not forget the utter fiasco that was Saeed and Palash.j No way. I think this is a bullshit rumor. They can't be spinning there. They just can't. Say it ain't so.

And do you point out the faults and failings of their countries?

Can you imagine what Siouxsie looks like nowadays?

A LITTLE fucked up? Siouxsie and the Banshees on the same bill as Sasha and Digweed? Scary.

I didn't say criticism was wrong. But when you have people dissing you to your face for being American, you should say something. Its unbelievably disrespectful and obnoxious. You wouldn't let people talk shit about your mother would you? And if you disagree so much with American foreign policy, then I wouldn't join the Marines if I were you, cause before you know it, you'll be getting sent to Afghanistan.

And just because women are held down by the glass ceiling, doesn't mean they're in poverty. They just aren't making as much money as they would like.

There's a difference between working hard and working smart. How is it that all these black people can't make money, but all these Arabs and Pakistanis can? How is it that Indians are buying houses left and right, but Americans can't? Why do you think that is?

Why can't he be for real?

I'm not. But TonytheLover would be very upset to hear this conversation.

Yeah, I heard from a reliable source that its gonna be at WEBSTER HALL! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Then why do you live in a country that oppresses you? Why not move somewhere else? Cause you're living the good life here, thats why. Like I said before, you're a mooch. Why not go live in a country that you would feel comfortable defending?

How can you think about cell phones when poor little Iraqi children are starving to death?

Sweden is a constitutional monarchy. Are you trying to tell me that Saudi Arabia and Brunei are not tyrannical regimes?

I ain't buying it. I think you were afraid to stand up for yourself, because deep down, you're ashamed to be American. So you let this trash talk shit about your country. Pathetic really.

I don't know, all these Arabs and other immigrants seem to be doing fine here. They all seem to be making money. Maybe its because, like every society on earth, we have our underclass, which, like in many other countries, is perpetuated by the welfare state. If you can't make money in this country, there is something wrong with you, or you're just not trying. Why the fuck do you think everyone wants to come here? Hint: its not for the religious freedom

They are all corrupt shitholes. And the question was (for the third time) From where does one get the right to move to someone elses country?

What kind of an obsequious little sychophant are you anyway? You would actually sit there and listen to your supposed friends talk shit about the country that you come from, and you won't say a word to defend it? With citizens like you, who needs Osama Bin Laden! Do you think these people would sit by and allow you to dis their countries? You'd probably get a punch in the jaw. Try having a little fucking self respect.

Why don't you just answer the question? I don't think you can.

FYI: I'm not religious, I'm an atheist. And if you think that wanting to protect your country and your countries borders makes you an extremist, then you are really fucked up. But no one has answered the question: From where does one derive the right to move to someone elses country? Do I as an American, have the right to move to and work in any European country, or any Arab country. Do I have the right to pick up and move to, say, Saudi Arabia?