Hi Yus!
I have to first of all apologise for not replying earlier to the
comments you made to the "CORRECT VERSION: Re: [>-<] fwd:

Gaza: We've Heard from Barak, But Not Barack" thread. I would
also like to apologise to all the others who made comments on

the various articles I posted without my acknowledging or replying to
them. Whilst I was able to send articles, I was not in

a position to sit down and write. Yus, I shall try to address the
issues you made in the mentioned post and comment on some

of the articles you forwarded. Yes, please forward Saye's detail's
privately and forward my email to him.

The first point you made was in reference to deterrence probably being
the main motivating factor for US policy in the Israel

/ Palestine conflict. The US is not innocent in the recent history you
mentioned. It is because of its policies that wreak

havoc on the lives of innocent people that is responsible for the way
it is viewed and treated especially in the Muslim

countries. There are many things that are admirable in and about the US
but its foreign policy, especially its blind support

for Israel, tends to overshadow all that.

The second point you made was in relation to Israeli brutality towards
the Palestinians. You pointed out that the

Palestinians have been "incredibly" brutal towards the the Israelis.
The mistake many people make as a result of the powerful

Zionist media machine, is to equate the abilities of Israel and
Palestine and the extent of the pain they inflict on each

other. Israel has the ability and blessing to be "incredibly" brutal in
two manners. First, it has the ability to be brutal

by imposing illegal blockades, by making the lives of the Palestinians
hell in many ways than one resulting in the deaths,

maiming and disabling mentally and physically of thousands without
actually attacking and unleashing brutality that raises

the alarm. As most of the world depends on the Western media for news
and analysis and interpretation of those news, it makes

sure that it has in place mechanisms that  ensure that such news and
analysis are biased in its favour. Such mechanisms

include investment by its supporters and its people in the acquisition
and control of the major news outlets. Another is

pressure groups such as AIPAc and other Jewish lobbies that make sure
that criticism of Israeli policy is equated with racism

and punishable. Another mechanism is the investment in lobbies that act
within the political sphere to ensure that those with

the power to make any difference dare not take any steps that would
undermine its position. Hence the deafening silence of

"brother" Barack and the blind support of dimwit Bush and co. The
second ability to inflict brutality is being physically

brutal with overwhelming use of disproportionate force paid for by the
US. This is what we have witnessed with extrajudicial

targeted assasinations, what is going on in Gaza at the moment and in
the various incursions during the years with the

assurance that nobody can actually make it stop because of US support
and its veto power at the UN. Comparing Israel and the

Palestinians is a misnomer because it presupposes parity in ability.
Whilst Israel has the fourth strongest army in the

world, is supplied with the latest and most sophisticated weapons by
the US and has an established and highly advanced

weapons industry, Hamas has light weapons and sugar and fertiliser
fueled rockets that overwheliming miss their target.

Hamas' annual budget of 70 million Dollars (for the provision of
necessary social services, defence etc.) is equivalent to

what the US gives to Israel in less than 10 days. This is why Israel
has been able to kill more than 548 Palestinians whilst

Hamas has killed 5 Israelis since the war started, i.e., more than 100
Palestinians for every Israeli!

The third point you made was the irrelevance of who started what. In
the context of the realities on the ground in relation

to whether Israel should exist or not, you are right that talking about
this at this point is not helpful. Israel exists and

just wishing it away won't do. However, the manner in which it started
its existence and the policies and practices that have

made it what it currently is are relevant. This is relevant because for
any peace to be possible, the Zionist and racist

policies and practices that have resulted in the situation Israel and
Palestine find themselves must be analysed and

dismantled. With regard to Obama "simply addressing the latest
phenomenon of rocket attacks against Israeli citizens" and

being spot on, I couldn't disagree more. You wrote: "he couldn't have
been closer to the truth: After all, what sovereign

nation would stand idly by while rockets are rained on its people from
a neighboring country? " This is where people fall

victim to the powerful Zionist propaganda machine especially that in
the US. During the ceasefire, i.e., from June to 27th.

December, no Israeli was killed as a result of rockets fired from Gaza.
It was Islamic Jihad that was responsible for firing

most of the rockets, not Hamas. On the Palestinian side, it was Islamic
Jihad that broke the ceasefire. As to who fired the

first shot after the signing of the ceasefire and in effect breaking
it, it was Israel when on November 4th., it killed 6

Palestinians in a Gaza raid while the world concentrated on the US
elections. The excuse given was that Hamas was planning to

kidnap its soldiers by building a tunnel which would make this
possible. Such crap! The interesting thing is that this attack

was carried out by Israel just days before Hamas and Fatah under Abbas
were supposed to meet in Cairo to reconcile their

differences and work out a single, unified government. The sarcastic
might say that Israel's attack was a calculated move to

disrupt the talks. Because of this unprovoked attack, rockets started
to be fired into Israel as retaliation. Under the terms

of the ceasefire, Israel undertook to end military operations in Gaza
and to end the illegal strangulation of Gaza through

its blockade. It neither lifted the illegal blockade nor ceased to
undertake military operations in Gaza. Immediately

preceding the assault on Gaza, there arose an urgent humanitarian
crisis where food, fuel, mediacl supplies etc.  were in

such shortage that the very existence of the people of Gaza was
threatened. Despite numerous appeals from UN and humanitarian

agencies, Israel refused to let supplies in and was supported in this
illegal, immoral and unjustifiable collective

punishment of the Palestinian people by none other than the US. Now,
you want to tell me that Obama is justified in

condemning Hamas and giving Israel carte blanch right to respond as it
wishes and not blame Israel for not respecting the

ceasefire by continuing its illegal strangulation of Gaza? You want to
tell me that Obama is right and sympathetic to

Palestinians when he can express solidarity with the people of Sderot
where people were afraid of the rockets not none of

them was killed whilst not mentioning the hundreds who are killed and
maimed as a result of Israel's illegal blockade and the

raids it carries out into Gaza? Maybe he is as blind or as insensitive
as that mad, evil Livni woman who is claiming that

there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza at the moment. I guess there
must have been Germans like her when Hitler was gassing

the Jews who were so evil that they were claiming that there was no
humanitarian crisis.

As to aid to the Palestinians, you have to put such aid into its proper
perspective. What the US gives to Gaza is peanuts

compared to what it gives to Israel. What the US gives to Palestine is
to a large extent meant to be a tool to control the

Palestinians. In 2007, the US gave USAID's West Bank and Gaza program
50 million Dollars, i.e., what it gives Israel in 5 / 6

days. It gave the Palestinian Authority (PA) 70 million, i.e., what it
gives Israel in 8 / 9 days. Now taking what it gives

to the Gaza and West Bank program, that money is not given directly to
the authorities on the ground but is used for

humanitarian and other aid programs. With regard to the PA, it receives
the aid because it is recognised by the US because

its leaders are simply puppets. With regard to the rest of the money
meant for Gaza, Israel has to approve everything that

goes into Gaza and thus uses this aid as a political mechanism to
control the Gazans. Just before Tobaski, even the money

that goes into the ATMs for people to withdraw money was confiscated by
Israel and Gazans who had money in the banks could

not withdraw such money to buy necessary stuff for the most important
feast in the Muslim calendar. See the harassment

tactics? As to the more sinister and devastating tactics used by
Israel, humanitarian aid provided for by this money and

other aid is used to collectively punish the Gazans and try to control
them. Food, fuel. medicine etc. are used to control

the Gazans. Just before the attack on Gaza, humanitarian agencies were
shouting in vain that they have run out food, fuel and

medical supplies whilst Israel refused to release the aid. As to the 70
million that goes to the PA, part of it is meant for

administrative costs and weapons which can never pose a threat to
Israel but can counter Hamas. You see? Give Israel enough

money and arms to live a highly comfortable life and get enough weapons
to slaughter not only the Palestinians but all the

Arab states combined as per the "Nixon Doctrine". Give the Palestinians
chicken change that ensures that they survive on the

bare minimum, give the PA enough arms not to pose a threat to Israel
but enough to kind of match Hamas so that next time

there is a problem between them, they will slaughter each other. Do not
give the aid directly to the Palestinians but let

Israel control the aid that goes into Gaza so that it can use it as a
political and military weapon. No wonder someone in

Gaza wrote "we don't want your aid" on a USAID poster in Gaza. Then
Americans wonder why these Gazans are so ungrateful for

receiving the generous aid of Uncle Sam.

Now to some of the issues in the posts I forwarded. I saw you used the
"slingshot" analogy in your response to Pa Musa. This

analogy is spot on. That is why Hamas rockets and weapons, in their use
as retaliation for Israeli killing of Gazans and its

illegal blockade under a period of six months, not a single Israeli was
killed. On the other hand, Israeli action in 10 days

has resulted in over five hundred deaths, over 200 in a single day! It
is just like we are fighting and you and your men have

machine guns and me and mine  have a "fittas".(remember those days?) I
might once in a while succeed in getting a piece of

that plastic bit of slippers in your eyes but every time you shoot you
create disaster. This is not to justify the actions on

any part but just to show the reality of how the sides are armed. If
Hamas and the Palestinians had one tenth the capability

of the Israeli forces, they won't need the sympathy of the outside
world.

To some of the issues contained in some of your forwards. The first
issue I would like to deal with is the consistent lies

spun by the Zionist media that Israel pulled out Gaza and left the
Gazans to build thier nation up but that Hamas is only

interested in firing rockets and wreaking havoc. Israel might have have
pulled its troops out of Gaza (and this is not due to

its kindness) but it maintains a stranglehold on Gaza controlling all
its exits except those on the Egyptian border. That is

left to the reactionary and puppet government of Mubarak which ensures
that the stranglehold is complete. Israel controls all

roads out of Gaza, controls its airspace and can bomb and kill at will,
controls the seaports and goes into Gaza any time and

any how it pleases without repercussions. Would you call that a
withdrawal? Let me paint an analogy. I leave you and your

people in a room where I have the keys and the ability to deny you
food, water, medicine etc. I go outside and surround the

house to make sure that you and anyone else who goes out of the room
would have to pass through my checkpoints or those of my

puppet on the back road. I have heavy tanks pointed at your house and
well armed soldiers, helicopter gunships and bombers

hovering above. If I tell you that I withdrew, would you believe me?

You also posted an article dealing with the Israeli army's dropping of
leaflets warning and urging residents to leave because

they intended to bomb. This is the epitome of cynical cruelty! Where
would they go? Let me paint another analogy. If God

forbid, Gambia and Nigeria were at war and the Nigerian army surrounds
all but but one exit out of Banjul but has a puppet on

the "tan" side of Banjul to ensure that nobody escapes through that
border. Let's assume that 500,000 live in Banjul and the

city is densely populated. The Nigerian army has already created a
humanitarian catastrophe in Banjul. It then drops leaflets

urging Soldier Town residents to flee because it is going to bomb three
or so targets. It then urges Half Die residents to

flee because it plans to bomb two or three targets. Then it warns
Tobacco Road residents that it is going to bomb two targets

and urges them to flee. It then bombs and hundreds are killed. The
Nigerian Army tries to show how compassionate it was and

it blames Banjulians for the high death toll because it had warned them
to flee and they failed to do so. You see how

ridiculous it is? If the Nigerian Army controls the Gambia High to
Radio Syd road area, the sea from Radio Syd to Ports with

the Nigerian Navy, the Muslim High area roads and all other roads out
of Banjul except the "tan" one where the puppet shoots

all who try to escape, where would the Banjulians run to? The
Palestinians are cut of by design from the rest of the world.

It does not matter how many warnings they receive. They have nowhere to
run to. In all other conflicts, civilians have the

ability to run and escape fighting. It is only in Gaza, densely
populated where it is by design that even under the most

intensive bombing from the fourth strongest army in the world, women,
children and other civilians are trapped and denied the

right to flee.

I find the following statement of yours during your debate with Pa Musa
incredible.

"I would like to see a peace treaty of some sorts but if the Israelis
withdraw again and Hamas or Hezbollah continue to rain

down missiles on them, then they should bring the pain again."

As a fair-minded person, I am sure you would not want a peace treaty of
"some sorts". This sounds like what a Zionist

propaganda chief might say. These peace treaties of "some sorts" are
what have been forced on the Palestinians for decades

but they did not address the fundamental issues that matter. I am sure
you would like to see a just peace treaty that not

only addresses Israel's concerns but that of the Palestinians, a peace
treaty that ensures security for both the Palestinians

and Israel, a peace treaty that is enforced and not unilaterally
violated at will without repercussions. In short, a

workable, just settlement.

The second part of your statement presupposes that the Palestinians are
going yo break the truce. The guilty party in the

breaking of the peace process that resulted in this massacre is Israel
and not the Palestinians. What if there is a peace

treaty that includes the lifting of the illegal sanctions and Israel
continues it, what would you suggest for Israel?

The last part of your statement is troubling to say the least. This
pain that you are legitimising for Israel is not a

"nyopati" here, a slap there. This kind of pain comes in the form of
the most sophisticated weaponry, in 1 ton bombs, shells

from gunships, a new type of highly explosive bombs and plutonium-
tipped bombs (as reported by Norwegian doctors operating in

Gaza) that would affect the residents of Gaza who survive the current
onslaught for decades. The doctors have raised the

alarm that there will be a tremendous increase in cancer and leukemia
cases in the next few years. This pain resulted in the

deaths of 19 very young children between last Thursday and Friday. This
pain has resulted in the deaths of close to 300

civilians who have nothing to do with the firing of rockets. I know you
would not wish this kind of pain on the people of The

Gambia because I remember how upset you were when 14 school children
were killed in The Gambia that fateful day in April. I

know you would not wish this kind of pain on your immediate family.
This kind of pain you are legitimising for Israel will

not happen in a vacuum. It will take the lives of hundreds of someone's
countrymen and wipe out entire families.

Thank you and have a good evening.
Buharry.

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