If Israel’s raid and destruction of Iraq’s nuclear facilities was not enough outrage, more outrageous was the reaction of the West. Those who are never tired of swearing by peace, were only short of clapping hands. The world community at large could also do nothing beyond condemnation in mild terms in wake of strong and unflinching support of Israel by the West at the U. N. Israel was thus given assurance that it could take similar steps in future whenever it thought it fit. While the nations of the world became oblivious of the fact that they were setting a fine precedent for themselves. Eastern Europe has permission now to bomb West on same or no pretext whenever it finds the balance of power tilted in its favour.

Then came Israel’s reckless attack on civilians in Lebanon. It was well-timed : Ramadhan. Scores of buildings, bridges and installations were destroyed and on one day alone some 300 civilians were counted dead. Israel showed that with the most sophisticated equipment and training it receives from West, it can be very heroic. Again Europe and America would do little to influence the murderers in Israel. The U.S. piously announced the withholding of supply of F-16sto Israel, as if, the delay of a few days or weeks did really matter. As if the world did not know that Israel will continue bombing, continue accepting truces, and continue bombing whenever it thinks fit! And, as if the world also didn’t know that the West will continue supplying war-material to be tested on Arabs, continue with holding and continue supplying as it suited it !!

But then, one may take shelter in the thought that after all this is how governments behave, whether of the East or West. Foreign policy of no government is based on justice. Machiavelli is going strong.’ But no I That shelter of refuge was demolished, more devastatingly than Iraq’s nuclear plants, by the reaction of the peoples of the West toward the raids by Israel. Following are two letters picked out as samples from a respectable magazine of world-wide circulation, Newsweek. Incidentally the weekly in this issue (July 20, 1981) carries a special feature on Col. Qaddafi of Libya whose portrait occupies the cover-page besides which is the bold inscription : “The Most Dangerous Man in the World?” This extremism and blunt show of hatred by a paper of such repute is no less abominable. However, the letters are as under.

“What does the signing of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty mean to the outlaw regime in Iraq? Nothing. Hasn’t the world learned that the Iraqi leaders and their cohorts don’t let treaties stand in their way? They make their own laws. Bravo Israel, and may you do it again, if threatened.”

J. L. Chalonge,
Lyons, France.

“Regardless of whether it was justified or not, in this age of boondoggles it was sheer pleasure to see something so beautifully planned and executed. Our military should enroll for training in Israel. “

Susanne E. Wade.
Orlando, Fla.

 

 The words ‘if threatened’ at the end of the first letter is designed to mislead those who believe that the attack was unjustified.  Iraq with such poor equipment as compared with what is supplied to Israel can never be a threat to it. Every child in West knows that. Nor was Iraq making bombs under French supervision. ‘The sheer pleasure’ of the second letter is obviously less on the beautiful execution than whom it was carried out against. Would it have been so much pleasure if Iraq had raided Israel?

 There were other kinds of responses too. Some sympathising with Iraq. But, by the attending phrases and conditional clauses, you know for sure where real sympathy lies.

Distressing as this kind of reaction to violence is from the enlightened people of the West, the following letter should come as a rude shock for those who are not aware at all how fast West has been decaying. It concerns the regime in South Africa. The white minority government there, as everyone knows, believes in aparthied. Schools, buses, colonies and churches are separated out for non-whites. They cannot enter those marked for whites. There are residential areas where non-whites are not allowed without permit cards and must
leave before nightfall. What other method can you conceive of to humiliate not the non-whites there but entire humanity ? And what should be the policy of West, the advanced West, the civilised West, the enlightened West ?

Well, as we all know, the government in South Africa enjoys their complete confidence and can bank on full moral, military and economic support Idi Ameen who was not half a racist as any white in the South African government (we are not defending Ameen by the way), was a butcher while the whites in South Africa are their close allies. What a grand criteria of the people of a grand civilization the color of skin is for choosing allies ? !

But, one may say again that this is how after all governments behave. What has it to do with the Western Civilization, grand which does remain ? We present then, the letter we mentioned earlier, taken from another respectable magazine, Time, which goes (along with the other weekly Newsweek) to every Senate member’s table in U.S. every week. This particular letter is itself from South Africa. But that makes no difference to our point. If you were to collect samples of public opinion in the West on this subject the results will be the same. Its only a negligible few there who will outright condemn the racists in South Africa. The representative letter is taken from the July 6, 1981 edition :

“The U. S. should be congratulated for its realistic attitude toward the Republic of South Africa  (June 15). Punishing a child indiscriminately will not bring about a constructive change in attitudes and behaviour. It will, instead, promote stubbornness and   rebelliousness as well as greater independence of thought and action.

Those of us who subscribe to the idea of orderly change toward a more just society in South Africa would like the Western World to be aware of this basic psychological principle.”

Chari Vorster
Pretoria

The change in tone and spirit, is too obvious to go unnoticed. One is filled with bitter hatred and the other with sweet logic. The truly childish Arabs who deposit billions of dollars in Western Banks and lend West Germany alone 3,000 million dollars in a single year, are outlaws. But the true outlaw regime in South Africa which insults entire humanity is a child. It is to be carefully handled lest it gets more spoilt.

How long, my friend, would you look to West for guidance and emancipation ?