Although this may seem to be getting off topic, of great concern is what is happening in Israel, the United States and the world, in combating terrorism.
Here are some reference sources:
Let me say that I would love to see Arabs, Muslims and the rest of humankind in a love-in of peace, freedom and tolerance. I do not think this is going to happen until Arab nations are free, egalitarian and recognize the equal rights of all people.
The United States and its most loyal ally Israel are defending the West, democracy and our way of life from militant, Islamic intolerance. Israel is on the front lines of this war, and has been for the last 50+ years. In a way, this makes sense. Israel is where our Western values come from.
It is not just the West that suffers, but the whole world, from the Sudan to the Phillipines. The people, particularly the women, of the Islamic world, suffer the most as they have to live under oppressive, tyrannical regimes.
Tonight on Hardball, Chris Matthews asked a Republican leader who is a strong supporter of Israel, "If Israel should keep the West Bank, and isn't that what this conflict is about?"
As the Republican leader stated, this conflict is about Israel's right to exist. The problem is not Islam or Arabs per se, but rather totalitarian governments. The Enemies of Israel (for lack of a better term), which pretty much include the 22 Arab nations and Iran, refuse to allow Israel to live in peace. Since they have been unable to destroy Israel through military campaigns, they are running a campaign of terror.
If you think this is a war just on Israel, you are forgetting September 11th. The militant Islamic world calls Israel the "little Satan" and the Unite States the "big Satan".
I support President Bush in the war on terrorism and mostly satisfied with his response to the terror from Afghanistan. Applaud his statement "you are either with us or you are with the terrorists", but diasppointed he does not apply that principle where Israel is concerned.
Would like to see a much stronger stance and no appeasement of totalitarian Arab nations. Appeasement only encourages totalitarian governments that their strategy of hate and terror is working. Would like to see a zero-tolerance terror policy and a zero-tolerance hate policy.
Many people do not realize how small Israel is and how big the Arab territories are.
Israel is 30 miles wide, at its widest, and about 150 miles long, about the size of New Jersey. The disputed territories are about the size of Delaware. So, when people talk about making a Palestinian state out of the territiories, they are talking about making a state the size of Delaware, inside a state the size of New Jersey. This will leave Israel 10 miles wide.
North Africa is huge. Most maps do not display the dimensions properly because of the curvarture of the Earth. The Arab countries are bigger than the United States and Europe combined.
To give you an idea of how huge the difference in size is, imagine flying in a jet airplane over the Arab territiories. You would fly for 10 to 12 hours, and as far as your eye could see, all you would see is Arab lands. After about 6 to 8 hours, Israel would pass below you for 3 minutes.
See the sources mentioned above for supporting material. See Binyamin Netanyahu's speech to the United States Senate on April 10, 2002. Or go to google.com and search.
To be free, we must be strong, we must be vigilant, we must be tireless.