Dear Editor,
One of my disappointment with the administration of United States of America President Barak Obama and his western allies is that they seem not to have a sense of history, or are prepared to go against good judgement and even to back 'scorched earth' policies, if geopolitical and economic gains are in the offing.
My comments are directly related to the current conflict in Syria to oust the duly elected regime of President Assad, where the USA and some of its Western and Arab allies are all part of an unholy alliance that include internal forces and external ones, that are drawn to do battle for myriad reasons, including groups that swear allegiance to al-Qaeda, terrorist group supremo and the sworn enemy of the United States of America.
What strange bedfellows does this conflict make?
Reflect on the decade between 1979 and 1989, at the height of the Cold War in Afghanistan, which was the epicentre of the conflict between United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic — the two superpowers. The Russians were the main backers of the Afghan regime, while the Americans, with the support of Britain and Saudi Arabia, poured billions of their taxpayers' money in cash and war material, in support of the mujahidin who eventually ousted the Soviets from that territory.
The mujahidins were led by Osama Bin Laden, the architect of 9/11 -- a day which has been written in the blood of over three thousand innocent lives lost on US soil and the subsequent prosecution of a "war on terror" by the administration of George W Bush. This resulted in close to 5,000 US soldiers being killed and 32,000 suffering life-altering injuries in Iraq, while in the case of Afghanistan it's in excess of 2,200 of a coalition body count of 3,200 according to official sources, not to mention the billions of taxpayers' dollars that was diverted to this cause. The numbers of innocent Iraqi and Afghanistan civilian lives lost and maimed in these two conflicts are in the hundreds of thousands.
That is why I am very concerned about the attitude of the Obama regime towards the release of the Cuban Five, whose only "crime" was to defend their homeland against the same kind of terrorism hatched in most cases on US territory and which has resulted in 3,478 innocent lives lost, injuries close to 3,000 and immense economic damage to that country's economy since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. This same terrorism that has seen electronic eavesdropping, unlawful rendition in third-party countries, extra-territorial detention in Guantanamo Bay, and the use of drones as part of the arsenal that the USA has brought to bear on this hydra-headed monster.
President Obama, "it's not too late for a shower of rain," release the Cuban Five so that they can be reunited with their families and friends in their homeland. Terrorism knows no boundaries and you are judged by the kind of company that you keep.
Trevor G Brown
trevorgbrown@hotmail.com
Will history repeat itself
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One of my disappointment with the administration of United States of America President Barak Obama and his western allies is that they seem not to have a sense of history, or are prepared to go against good judgement and even to back 'scorched earth' policies, if geopolitical and economic gains are in the offing.
My comments are directly related to the current conflict in Syria to oust the duly elected regime of President Assad, where the USA and some of its Western and Arab allies are all part of an unholy alliance that include internal forces and external ones, that are drawn to do battle for myriad reasons, including groups that swear allegiance to al-Qaeda, terrorist group supremo and the sworn enemy of the United States of America.
What strange bedfellows does this conflict make?
Reflect on the decade between 1979 and 1989, at the height of the Cold War in Afghanistan, which was the epicentre of the conflict between United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic — the two superpowers. The Russians were the main backers of the Afghan regime, while the Americans, with the support of Britain and Saudi Arabia, poured billions of their taxpayers' money in cash and war material, in support of the mujahidin who eventually ousted the Soviets from that territory.
The mujahidins were led by Osama Bin Laden, the architect of 9/11 -- a day which has been written in the blood of over three thousand innocent lives lost on US soil and the subsequent prosecution of a "war on terror" by the administration of George W Bush. This resulted in close to 5,000 US soldiers being killed and 32,000 suffering life-altering injuries in Iraq, while in the case of Afghanistan it's in excess of 2,200 of a coalition body count of 3,200 according to official sources, not to mention the billions of taxpayers' dollars that was diverted to this cause. The numbers of innocent Iraqi and Afghanistan civilian lives lost and maimed in these two conflicts are in the hundreds of thousands.
That is why I am very concerned about the attitude of the Obama regime towards the release of the Cuban Five, whose only "crime" was to defend their homeland against the same kind of terrorism hatched in most cases on US territory and which has resulted in 3,478 innocent lives lost, injuries close to 3,000 and immense economic damage to that country's economy since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. This same terrorism that has seen electronic eavesdropping, unlawful rendition in third-party countries, extra-territorial detention in Guantanamo Bay, and the use of drones as part of the arsenal that the USA has brought to bear on this hydra-headed monster.
President Obama, "it's not too late for a shower of rain," release the Cuban Five so that they can be reunited with their families and friends in their homeland. Terrorism knows no boundaries and you are judged by the kind of company that you keep.
Trevor G Brown
trevorgbrown@hotmail.com
Will history repeat itself
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