ME Crisis May Escalate

I applaud the Europeans, especially President Nicolas Sarkozy, for intensifying efforts to try to achieve a meaningful cease-fire by actually daring to travel to the region for talks. . On the other hand, President Bush’s policy has been to sit back and watch Israel when trouble flares up. Our very own ,Condoleeza Rice has done nothing but phone foreign leaders. I thought Middle East peace was her legacy? They have now left it to Gordon Brown to save the failing British economy and save the innocent of Gaza. Good chance he’ll fail at both.
One can understand President- Elect’s decision to remain quite on this issue as not to send mixed signals but he and his team better have a plan ready for a broader solution to the crisis. He will have to revive peace talks as soon as he takes oath.
The Muslim leaders have proven to be worse than any others. They have been impotent for a long time. If only they could unite on this issue, a cease-fire could have been achieved and hundreds of innocent lives could have been saved. They meet, greet, and write a strong statement and then return to their protected worlds.
If the rogue states like Iran and Syria start siding up with Hamas, (it is claimed Iran has already declared support) then the world will face an alarming escalation of this crisis.
Anila Ali

"The Ultimate Tragedy" in the eyes of MLK

"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people." Martim Luther King Jr.

I feel it is our duty as human beings to speak against oppression. Thus I speak my mind.

The Palestinians are in the midst of a terrible tragedy. The world only watches the mighty Israeli army slaughter the innocent Palestinian women and children. Wasn't it enough that they were living in"ghettos" anyways and now to destroy those as well? Have the Israelis forgotten what their ghettos were like in Europe- they are just like the ghettos the poor Palestinians live in? Have they forgotten how they were oppressed and treated like untouchables by the Christians of Europe? One would think they would learn from their harsh experience and turn into race that would protect human rights not violate them.

I am asked again and again why are Americans hated around the world. We are hated for our double-standards. We led an outcry against the Russian aggression recently but we are siding up squarely with Israel in its cruel offensive. We want to be beacons of democracy in the world but we want to crush Hamas which was democratically elected by the Palestinians.

If these aren't double-standards to be ashamed of then what are they?