Forum Post: **My Letter To The Editor**

Instigating Terrorism

I am writing in response to Sheffield Township's Councilman, Mr Joseph Salerno's letter which appeared in your paper in December 2014. In his letter, he seems hell-bent on linking the terror attacks in the West with strikes in Israel, and the need for us to buddy-up with them. He like so many other people seems to want us to adapt a strategy which undoubtedly will mean that we will be mired down in endless war.

Rarely if ever does the simple question get asked: Why are these people so enraged? Is there any reason? Like most people, politicians in particular, Mr Salerno ignores the despair, and the root causes of the anger that is so prevalent in much of the Middle East. The implication is clear: We are innocent and they are not, hence we must give Israel our carte blanche support, and continue our terror-inducing bombing campaign, which is responsible for untold death and human misery to an overwhelming high percentage of innocents. Is there any wonder that we are experiencing blowback?

I have to wonder if Mr Salerno would be a bit up-set if [he] and his loved ones had undergone generations of oppression brought on by despotic leaders that the US supported. Would he be angry if his kids were afraid to go to school, or to go to a friend's wedding ceremony because they feared a drone attack? Would it be OK with him if his family were forced to live in horrendous, bombed-out, overcrowded refugee camps, while his oppressors limited their calorie intake, embargoed even humanitarian assistance, and continued to steal their land? What if they had to endure endless air strikes while all 100 of our Senators voted to give our unalloyed support to Israel. Few politicians have the courage to go up against the wishes of the powerful lobbying group, AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee), or their campaign benefactors in the military industry because they know that would most likely mean political suicide. Fortunately though, courageous people are speaking out against this genocide. And some of them have joined the BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) campaign.

"You never know a man until you understand things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." ....Harper Lee in her book, To Kill A Mockingbird.

I wonder if Mr Salerno really thinks that we are in the Middle East to bring about Peace, "Truth, Justice and the American Way" there, like Superman wanted to do here. lol The goals of encouraging a more just society are noble, but that is never the real reason for maintaining or expanding Empire. It wasn't true during Colonialism, and it is not true in today's Neocolonialism, or with our Imperial aspirations.

Many people in Mr Salerno's generation (mine too) still swallow the slant of what passes for good journalism that they hear and see in the corporate owned, mainstream news media, and then form their opinions. But that is far less the case with the younger generations, and the growing number of older people who have undergone an epiphany in realizing that we have been manipulated.

For starters, I urge Mr Salerno to google "The Empire's Ship Is Sinking," and listen to Colonel Wilkerson give his 25 minute interview. He was a former Army Ranger, a National Security Advisor to the Reagan administration, and assistant to Secretary of State Colin Powell. He had an awakening, albeit late in life, so too should Mr Salerno.

Kudos to Colonel Wilkerson, and everyone who seeks the truth, and who wants a more just and peaceful World.