Posted on 08/22/2009 6:04:13 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
My friends tell me that I'm the Jewish Forrest Gump, a man who unexpectedly finds himself in strange and surprising situations. But the place I find myself in now surprises even me. I've just discovered that Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi is going to be my neighbor. Quite literally. In about a month. In New Jersey.
I knew when I moved into our home ten years ago that the property adjoining ours was the residence of the Libyan ambassador to the United Nations. But for many years the large estate was derelict and neglected. Overgrown with grass and shrubbery, it was difficult to even stroll past it on the sidewalk. I endeavored to walk next door and greet my Muslim brothers who purportedly lived there, but we almost never saw any people. It seemed as if the property had been virtually abandoned. I had also heard from city officials that the property was millions of dollars in arrears in property taxes, with the Libyan government claiming immunity from local taxation, even though the same claim was being made on a property in New York and an exemption is provided for only one residence.
Then about three months ago, the property suddenly sprung to life with a massive construction project featuring a small army of workers laboring at a frenzied pace. I guessed that such a huge investment of millions of dollars into what had been a hovel could only mean one thing: a visit by Gaddafi. He had just appeared at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, was greeted by US President Barack Obama, and there was speculation that he would appear at the opening of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Then, I awoke one morning to discover that my fence which separates the two properties - as well as many of the trees on the property boundary - had been cut down and removed. I walked next door and complained both to the city officials who were present as well as the Arab contractor in charge that if trees were being removed for security purposes, with the resulting intrusion into the privacy of my residence, I deserved to know. The contractor turned out to be a well-mannered gentleman. We talked some about the Middle East and established a rapport. I was assured that the damage would be fixed, the trees replanted.
Then, an article in Newsweek confirmed that Gaddafi would be travelling to New York to address the UN General Assembly. "The arrival of Gaddafi is already creating problems for New York security officials," the article said. "He travels with a massive, heated Beduin tent." The Libyans had applied to have the tent pitched in Central Park but had been turned down and Gaddafi would, in all probability therefore, being pitching his tent at his "New Jersey property."
So there it was, Gaddafi as my neighbor, the Libyan leader moving into one of America's premiere modern-orthodox communities, a community with strong political and philanthropic influence. How would he be received?
On the one hand, he deserves considerable credit for dismantling his WMD program, which included apparatus for building nuclear weapons. Whether this was due to a fear of the Bush administration in the wake of the invasion of Iraq or an effort to normalize relations with the West makes little difference to the important outcome.
It was also significant that Gaddafi agreed to pay $2.7 billion in restitution to the families of the savage Pan Am 103 terror attack of December 21, 1988, a day forever etched in my memory since my wife and I left that day to spend many years in Oxford, England. It was also significant that Gaddafi penned an Op-ed in The New York Times in January 2009 suggesting that Israelis and Palestinians move beyond their conflict and look to a unified future. In all these measures, Gaddafi appeared to be an Arab leader making serious overtures to America and the West.
But there is another side. Gaddafi continues to be a autocrat who has ruled his people for four decades. Amid his payment of restitution to the families of the Pan Am 103 attack, The Times of London just reported that Gaddafi was sending his personal Airbus 340 to transfer Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the terrorist who planted the bomb and who was being released due a terminal illness, back to Libya. As far as his Op-ed is concerned, Gaddafi was arguing for a single state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which would effectively mean the end of the Jewish State of Israel.
In light of this extremely mixed legacy, the Obama administration should insist on certain parameters before welcoming Gaddafi to the United States.
(Source also: Baristanet)
I'd investigate home owner’s insurance discounts above and beyond the discount he receives for a monitored home security system. A penny saved is a penny earned.
Simple remedy. Move down the shore. The muslims there account for a large percentage of the tax revenue, let them finance the basic services of your mansions. They have nicer mansions than Englewood anyway. :)
(I didn't say that did I?)
But I did (sarcasm) write this earler: "Mayo Clinic researchers have had success in experimental treatment completely curing two patients whose prostate cancers were so far advanced they were considered inoperable. Now, the well funded terrorist will get the care he needs from supporters ( call the 1-800-NJ Rabi and Democrats who trafficked in body parts) where money is no object!! 3 months to live..yeah right."
Khadaffi wears a pin of Africa on is jacket in case he gets lost or forgets where he lives and then someone can send him back to where he belongs.
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