Posted on 03/18/2003 11:21:13 AM PST by yankeedame
Oprah talks about the danger to the US because of war
Oprah talks about the danger to the US because of war Today's Oprah (which she said was being shot live) was about the consequences of going to war in Iraq.
Her guests were Fawaz Gerges, Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Sarah Lewis University and author of "America and Political Islam - Clash of Cultures or Clash of Interests" and Thomas Freidman, New York Times columnist, author of "Longitudes and Attitudes - Exploring the World After September 11th" and he has a new documentary, "Thomas L. Friedman Reporting: Searching for the Roots of 9/11" which will air on 3/26 at 10pm EST on the Discovery Chanel.
They talked about how an attack on Iraq will increase the hatred and rage in the Muslim world against the U.S. Professor Gerges listed the Islamic religious groups calling for Muslims to stand up to the US aggression.
They played a long clip from Mr. Friedman's documentary, including interviews with people from 5 countries around the world (didn't say which countries).
Friedman said the overwhelming message was that America should try not to boss the world around and that our double standards are the single most important problem with America.
In the documentary he asked students in Qtar what they thought 9/11 was all about and what they thought motivated the hijackers.
One young man said we (the US) think the blood of the people sitting in the offices ruling the world is expensive and the Arab blood is cheap like an animal's. The Palestinian blood is no cheaper than anyone else's. There is an Arab empire.
He never heard of a Jewish empire and America is only 300 years old. So how is the Arab world backward and what makes their blood cheap?
A young woman medical student said the only thing different about September 11th is that it happened in America. September 11th is taking place daily in Palestine and happened in Lebanon and other places in the Arab world.
Then Oprah and her guests talked at length about the double standards in American foreign policy and the huge disconnect between what America says and what America does.
Professor Gerges got into a bit of a rant about how the impending attack on Iraq will drive more and more Muslim men into the waiting arms of al Qaida and other jihad groups that are now actively preparing for the new recruits.
Thomas Friedman kept saying that if we want to survive the aftermath of this war "we have to do it right". He was on Oprah not long ago and he has been in favor of taking Sadam out of office, but through the UN, not in an essentially unilateral, unsanctioned war.
At the end of the show he said the Bush administration would have to have an attitude lobotomy in order to pull it off. He said one image of war is the
They played another clip from Friedman's documentary. Another young man was asked what he thought was the motivation behind 9/11 and the way many Arab people reacted to it.
He said it was because while they didn't cheer over the images of Americans jumping to their death, they cheered that America got a collective "punch in the nose".
He said Arab people feel that way because America has been kicking their butts for 50 years by supporting the bullies in the region, whether Israel or their own repressive governments.
He said by bombing innocent people, women and children, and calling it acceptable collateral damage we educated them to believe that. So, ok, the death of innocent American civilians is the fault of Bush and while regrettable, it is acceptable. So actually they are good students of the United States. They learned the American mentality.
Next Oprah played an excerpt from Michael Moore's film "Bowling for Columbine" of the dark side of American foreign policy.
It was during that clip that ABC News broke in for Tom Ridge's announcement that we are now in hyper-panic, but that we should go about our business as usual. How fitting.
Its not that I think Oprah told the whole story - nothing about PNAC that I heard for example. But with everything else on TV being a steady drumbeat to goose step to war, I think this deserves our attention. I also want to suggest that we send info to Oprah. You should have seen the look on her face. She is scared. I think she could be persuaded that this administration is evil and dangerous.
Her address is Harpo Studios, 1058 W. Washington, Chicago, IL 60607. Phone number: 312-633-0808. Email address: http://www.oprah.com/email/tows/email_tows_main.jhtml
In Chicago the show airs again at 11:05 pm (unless Nightline goes longer, then it comes on right after).
I respect Oprah for the success she has made of herself. I don't care what her political views are.
Who cares what she thinks?
How about a photo for her of the 'dangers' of hopelessly throwing yourself out a 95-story window to avoid burning to death, rationalizing that landing in pieces is far better than being grilled to death?
September 11, 2001.
How soon these FOOLS forget. Shame on them.
Must be blowing up their skyscrapers as fast as they are build, I have never seen one.
Bush is no fool.
And I just farted.
and nobody cares
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