Despite Carol Abaya’s numerous references to her past experiences in her guest column (News Transcript, Feb. 20), her overly simplistic generalizations and flaws in logic betray her attempt to establish herself as a political pundit.
First of all, even if we accept her statements that she correctly predicted the past events in India and Indonesia, that establishes absolutely nothing when it comes to predicting future events in the Middle East.
Secondly, if she is "100 percent certain" that Hussein will attack Israel with "missiles or biological agents," isn’t she assuming that Hussein actually is in possession of weapons of mass destruction? Isn’t that the whole reason why we are trying to disarm him?
If Hussein currently has the power to kill "millions … from biological agents," then that fact alone would justify a unified U.N. response.
Her other attempts to discredit United States world policy with sweeping and factually unsupportable statements are equally faulty.
Is the arrogance of the United States really responsible for the suffering of millions around the world? She suggests that Liberia would be politically stable and economically vibrant but for United States intervention and arrogance.
Really? Liberia (and 90 percent of the nations in Africa) has been politically unstable for decades and it would be a gross oversimplification of geopolitical factors to even suggest that the United States’ backing of one regime over another is the sole responsible agent for strife in Liberia.
Was the United States’ support for Nelson Mandela and the changing of the guard in South Africa responsible for the current economic conditions in South Africa? Why don’t you also blame the United States for causing the AIDS crisis in Africa?
She also states that the current situation in Israel "can be directly attributable to the United States giving Yasir Arafat credibility and power."
The United States is responsible for the Intifada? The conflict in the Middle East was unsettled prior to any attempts by the United States to broker a peace settlement and current tension is more likely attributable to deeply ingrained hatred and animosity between Israelis and Palestin-ians.
She also suggests that the misery in Cuba and Iran are due to "our arrogant actions?" Perhaps the "mass suffering for millions" is due to Fidel Castro himself and the Iranian political system (or lack thereof).
The United States may have initially supported Castro, but that does not mean we are responsible for Cuba’s suffering today. By that logic, the United States is responsible for all of the economic instability and suffering in all of South America.
And finally, just what is she suggesting that the United States should have done in Kosovo? Allow genocide to occur on a state-sponsored level? She asks, "Where is reason?" Is she saying that the U.N. should have done nothing? The economy in Serbia was barely functioning prior to any U.N. action (let’s be clear about this — the United States was not the only country intervening in Kosovo) and hatred between ethnic groups was inflamed to the point of no return prior to that.
Why do you think there was mass genocide to begin with? Because of hatred between ethnic groups that was inflamed to the point of no return, not because of United States actions.
I do not know what will happen if the United States invades Iraq. I don’t even know if I support it yet. What I do know is that far too many people are willing to jump on the United States-bashing bandwagon and foment anti-United States sentiment just because the United States is adopting a non-isolationist position.
I, too, hope that saner heads will prevail in the current situation. I am certain Ms. Abaya’s is not one of them.
Rocky Pan
Manalapan