The genius of Washington is that it can always make a bad situation worse.
> The situation in Sudan is actually quite complex.
Precisely. I thought we all agreed by now that Bush cannot be trusted with anything "quite complex" -- from war to syntax.
On 5/3/06, Max B. Sawicky <sawicky at verizon.net> wrote:
> As Jo Ellen suggests re: 'overthinking,' you forget that sometimes the
> simplest explanation is the best.
Max, try to step out of your American shoes for one moment and try to see the situation from the POV of a foreigner -- especially a Muslim foreigner.
Here we are, into the third year in the Iraq War and the fourth year in the Afghan campaign, with rumors of Bush planning nuke strikes on Iran (whether or not they are just leaks intended for psychological warfare against Tehran or for pressures on Beijing and Moscow) circulating. What would that foreigner think of thousands of Americans rallying in DC demanding one more intervention in a predominantly Muslim country on top of all others, televised all over the place (unlike the anti-war rally in NYC the day before). She or he must think (if she or he hadn't thought already) that America has no limits to its appetite for war. The rally organizers' argument that it's just a natural response to genocide in Sudan won't convince her or him.
> The burden of any critique in my view is giving the participants the benefit
> of the doubt, and from that standpoint providing evidence and argument in
> criticism of the action. In this context dwelling on The Motives of Jews in
> the absence of evidence gives rise to the ickyness.
If some other unexpected group than establishment Jews had initiated and taken central leadership of a "Save Darfur" campaign, I would have dwelt upon that group.
And that Washington Post article that made me wonder did also make others wonder (yet others -- left-wing Jewish activists in particular whose discussion from Jewschool I cited before -- had been wondering even earlier).
<blockquote>CAIR Asks Why No Muslim Groups to Speak at Darfur Rally Sunday April 30, 10:33 am ET Lack of Muslim Speakers Calls Into Question Rally's 'True Agenda'
WASHINGTON, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today questioned why no representatives of major American Muslim groups are listed as speakers at the Save Darfur Coalition "Rally to Stop Genocide" this afternoon in Washington, D.C.
To view the list of speakers, go to:
http://www.savedarfur.org/rally/speakers
CAIR and other American Muslim groups, including the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, are members of the coalition. But no representative from these, or any Muslim coalition member, is listed on the latest rally program. (Several Muslims will speak, but they do not represent Islamic groups that are coalition members.)
The Washington Post reported that rally organizers "rushed this week to invite two Darfurians to address the rally after Sudanese immigrants objected that the original list of speakers included eight Western Christians, seven Jews, four politicians and assorted celebrities -- but no Muslims and no one from Darfur."
Earlier this month, after noticing the lack of Muslim speakers on the program, CAIR wrote to rally organizers asking to have a representative speak at the rally. The Save Darfur Coalition never replied to CAIR's letter, despite the fact that the Washington-based Islamic civil liberties group is an original signatory of the coalition's founding "Unity Statement."
"It is unfortunate that the Save Darfur Coalition chose not to list any mainstream American Muslim groups in the rally program," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. "This disturbing omission calls into question the coalition's true agenda at the rally." Awad said rally participants would have benefited from hearing American Muslim leaders offer support for those suffering in Darfur and in neighboring areas.
He added that CAIR recently renewed its call to end the violence and suffering in Darfur, and asked American Muslims to contact their elected representatives to urge government action.
Awad also said that all too often, the conflict in Darfur is portrayed in racial and religious terms, with "Arabs" killing "black Africans." He cited a recent article, "5 Truths About Darfur," in which the Washington Post's East Africa Bureau Chief Emily Wax pointed out that: "1 Nearly everyone is Muslim, 2 Everyone is black, 3 It's all about politics, 4 This conflict is international, and 5 The 'genocide' label made it worse."
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
CONTACT:
CAIR Communications Director
Ibrahim Hooper
202-744-7726,
E-Mail: ihooper at cair-net.org
CAIR Communications Coordinator
Rabiah Ahmed
202-439-1441
E-Mail: rahmed at cair-net.org
<http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060430/nysu010.html?.v=53&printer=1></blockquote>
I was wondering if CAIR wasn't invited because it would have objected to the rally going a lot further than the coalition's unity statement <http://www.savedarfur.org/about/unitystatement> and to arguing for a UN or NATO or US military intervention as rally speakers did.
-- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>