http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-administration-denies-role-arming-syrian-rebels-232112058.html How can we ever believe the Obama Administration?! Please note that in the USA we consider the government to belong to the people. The present managers of the government are called the administration. I think this is true of Western European Democracy in general. For instance, the Queen of England is the Head of State and the Prime Minister is the manager of the government. However, the Obama administrators seem to think of themselves as being the government and the citizens as being the enemy. That is why the lie to us constantly, try to work around and not with the Congress and are persistent in undermining the foundations of our system of governing. Happily, more and more of the main stream media like the Washington Post, and the New York times are taking their journalism seriously and have stopped pandering and covering up for the first black president in US history. Now they are reporting the facts as they have always known them to be and the facts tell us a story of a government that consistently lies to its people. Jay Carney, the spokesperson for the Obama back room cronies, is constantly disingenuous and plays with words trying to tell us that gray is red and orange is really not a primary color, So what, Mr. Carney, aiding the rebels with …communications equipment that we know they will need when they have achieved the objectives we want and expect… is just a polite way of saying that we back the rebels against the government of Syria and that we are covertly Partisans in a covert operation to topple the Assad government. Are we really so self-righteous that we think we can aid and assist rebels to kill legal police, army and government officials of a sovereign nation and use bombs to cripple the Syrian national infrastructure, while claiming in public that we back UN peace plan? The legal government of Syria has every right to defend itself against outside provocateurs and instigators of internal violence in the same way that we defend against those we claim are terrorists. Would not the USA government attack those who tried by force to overthrow the Obama administration? Why does the United Nations condemn member governments that try to maintain stability within their internal boundaries? Why doesn’t the International Criminal Court in the Hague indict the USA for criminal aggression and crimes against humanity when it is our assistance that fosters, promotes and sustains criminally violent behavior? Strangely and surprisingly it is V. Putin and the government of Russia that stands as defender of the integrity and sovereignty of Syria while it is Obama and the USA that is attacking that nation with the intention of installing a puppet USA friendly government in Damascus. And as for War Hawk and Monger Mc Cain. I should think that he would abhor war since he is a victim of it. Instead, he seems to promote war and destruction at every opportunity. Shame on him.
Tag: America
Sarkozy Under Investigation?
http://news.yahoo.com/sarkozy-faces-slew-probes-immunity-ends-092003356.html As I read this news story, and it is news not commentary, I wonder about all the moral high ground and moral posturing by Sarkozy when he spearheaded the criminal aggression against Libya. Only a few months ago it was Sarkozy the Just against Gaddafi the Vile. Back then, it was the France of Joan of Arc, the Britain of Churchill, and the USA of George Washington against the dirty desert dictator from Tripoli. Back then the contrasts were so stark. It was the tent of Libya against the Versailles of Sarkozy’s France. But reading this article one’s eyesight focuses and the distinctions turn into desert sands which constantly morph into different shapes. This writer has been consistent and is still committed to a “Realpolitic” that holds the self-righteous to the same standards they set for others.
In the USA, which is my county, our leader and his party have denounced terror and terrorism. President Obama was quick to criticize the CIA for “waterboarding” which he called torture. There was constant posturing as the Democratic Congress people like Pelosi and Senator Reid smirked about the terrible George Bush. But today we witness President Obama willingly ordering political murder. I have lost count of the number of assassinations by aerial drone the USA has committed. We are told that the targets of these killings deserve what we deal to them. They are terrorists we are told. They are suspected of terrorism we are told. They must be executed where they are before they have a chance to send terrorists to us. Regularly, we are reading of another pinpoint assassination of some supposed terrorist or other as though the drone kills only the single human and leaves all others unharmed. But we know that a drone is an aerial bomb and the alleged terrorist is joined in his death by all those around him. Are none of the associates innocent or is anyone even standing in the vicinity of the drone’s target to be considered worthy of death?
Sarkozy, Cameron and Obama need to be investigated and also the United Nations and NATO should be called to the Bar, not only for political impropriety but also international criminal aggression.
Syria, a blockage in Obama’s Plan for a New World Order
http://news.yahoo.com/syria-holds-parliament-vote-opposition-boycotts-073812291.html The rebellion in Syria will continue because the rebels state clearly that they will accept nothing other than the fall of Assad. The article further states that the rebels regard the elections to Syria’s parliament as a sham and theat they will ignore anything that happens through the election process. It is obvious that the rebels are not cooperating in the cease-fire and they are not cooperating to bring peace and stability to Syria.
This writer agrees that the Western powers, especially NATO should not in any way get involved in Syria’s problems. I fear that the Obama administration will get very involved if Obama gets elected again. Why di I think that> It is because of Obama’s ideas concerning One World Government. It is because the President has been restrained only due to his re-election efforts. It is because of his remark to Mevedev that …tell Vladimir (Putin) that I will be unfettered after I am re-elected. This reference to being unfettered concerns Obama’s disdain and disrespect for the US Congress which he regards as an odious roadblock on his path to one world government. According to his ideas of a new world order, Obama sees the USA Congress as parochial and even meaningless. He wants the USA to be under to world order that allows the United Nations and the European Parliament to have direct influence and even legal standing in the conduct of government in the USA. Under such a one world government, the World Court in the Hague Netherlands would have subpoena power in USA, the United Nations would have legal standing so that the small arms treaty would be law here and Interpol could arrest and remove US citizens wanted by the Courts of Europe. So, I believe that in a second term President Obama work tirelessly to bring about USA subservience to International Courts, European Tribunals and United Nations mandates. In fact, he may even oversee the change of the world monetary system away from the dollar and toward a world currency denominated by the Chinese Yuan. This letter move would make the USA a Second world country fast on its way, due to Obama’s redistribution of wealth schemes, …well on its way to third world status.
But some ask, surely such a thing cannot happen in the USA. We have laws and a Constitution and an elected Congress. Yes, but our system is based on the good will and the integrity of our leaders to act according to the law and to accept with integrity the authority of legally elected officials over the central government. It is based on the concept that our Federal government officials love America, think of their job as, first and foremost, the protection of the freedoms, rights and privileges of the USA citizen and their intention, in every way to abide by the rule of law.
However, the Obama administration is evidence of a group of elected leaders who mesmerize the population with their political craft all the while undermining and fundamentally changing the way in which the government rules. The undermining was most obvious during the Obama Care process when Senators were bought and sold according to the dictates of the President. Congressmen were told that their districts would get special money if the Representative would sell their vote to the Obama people. Senators were promised as much as three hundred million dollars in federal grants to their States if the Senators would sell their votes to Obama. And all were told that what they were doing in the Senate was merely to allow the Obamacare bill to be put onto the floor of the Senate so that discussion could begin. What could be wrong with that? But as soon as the bill was on the docket all floor debate was immediately limited to a few hours and Harry Reid used his power to control procedures and the Bill was quickly rammed through. It was hard enough to shove the ObamaCare bill through using deceit, bribery and brazen power. Now try to get two thousand pages repealed! Noteworthy, is the swiftness of the federal bureaucracy to disburse the pertinent parts of the two thousand page Bill to the various federal agencies and then to implement as much as possible with lightning speed.
I deeply regret to state the obvious, but those are the methods of dictators like Hitler, Stalin, Chavez. Heretofore, the USA has not experienced such disregard for the will of the nation and its institutions. But if the Obama people are going to insure yjr implementation of their view of the world and the way they think that the USA should be in the future, he needs and will continue to need to work very fast to fundamentally change the USA. Hey, why do you think the Congress is balking? It is not about Obama the man. It is about Obama, his helpers and their plans to fundamentally transform the USA into a place where the Congress is disregarded, the Courts are circumvented, the Constitution is ignored and the New World Order instituted. But you say, not in America and not Obama! He has such a nice voice and such a pleasing smile!
I have written elsewhere on this blog concerning the deceit of the Obama administration regarding Libya. The lies were so plain that they were incredible. That is what Josef Goebbels called audacity. That Nazi leader’s creed was to tell the people a lie often enough and they will believe it. As NATO bombed (over two thousand bombs dropped on Libya) and used missiles, (over 220 cruise missiles shot into Libya) the USA administration told us that all the destruction was needed to protect Libya civilians. And then as we assisted the rebel militias with advisors and used our European surrogate to arm the rebels, we hunted Gaddafi until we murdered him. Now we are using the International Courts to ferret out all remains of the former legal Libyan government so we can try them in Netherlands for so-called “Crimes against Humanity.” But, you say, those are the bad guys and they deserved to die! Is the USA the Chicago Mafia and is Obama the Don? And are our USA Armed Forces the hit men? And our arsenal of drones the murder weapons? Are we using our SEALS as a hit squad? Is the US Air Force the weapon of political assassination? It is a frightful thing when the President of the USA can order the murder of a suspected terrorist or someone implicated in attacks against America by sending a drone to kill them. Effecient? Yes. Effective? Yes. And you say that our leaders will never use such weapons against ordinary people and surely not against the citizens of the Nation. I hated Alawaki and he hated the USA and we “took him out” with a drone. That’s called political murder.
As an American I find myself shivering to write that in the current events of today I look to Russia and to China as bulwarks against an unfettered Obama regime. Although communists, these nations were awakened from their slumber by the audacious lie which was NATO’s Agression against Libya. I believe that Putin saw the danger of unbridaled American Imperialism and along with his Communist Chinese friends decided never again to fall for the NATO and UN lie as evidenced in resolution 1973.
To be continued….
Roman Catholic Nuns May Not Want Jesus but They Want to Stay Roman Catholic !
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/may/04/tensions-building-between-liberal-nuns-vatican/?partner=yahoo_feeds The article cited here is the most recent indication of a societal opinion that does not make sense. The key paragraphs in the article are the following:
A pivotal moment came in 2007, when Dominican Sister Laurie Brink delivered the keynote address at a national LCWR assembly stating that it was time for some religious orders to enter an era of “sojourning” that would require “moving beyond the church, even beyond Jesus.”
With the emergence of the women’s movement and related forms of spirituality, many sisters would see “the divine within nature” and embrace an “emerging new cosmology” that would feed their souls, said Brink. For these sisters, the “Jesus narrative is not the only or the most important narrative. … Jesus is not the only son of God.”
A year later, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith opened its investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
My understanding the word “sojourn” is that it means the same as to journey or to travel. So Sister Brink is saying that a person can be a Roman Catholic Nun but without the Roman Catholic Church and she can also be a Christian without believing that Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity and the Savior promised to the world by the Holy Bible.
The problem with this position is that it is non sensical. If sister Brink wants to say that an individual can regard themselves to be Christian but without Jesus that’s fine but that is not what she says nor wants. She wants the individual to be able to declare themselves an official Nun of the Roman Catholic Church without the Church or its approval. To cut the argument short, I ask, can someone declare themselves to be my child but without biological birth from my wife and myself? Well, they can declare themselves to be that but just declaring it does not make it true or factual. A person may feel within themselves that are one of my progeny but they cannot therefore move into my house, eat my food, take my money or represent themselves in legal proceedings as being my child.
I seem to remember this type of case happening before in the case of Father Hans Kung of Germany. He held the official chair of Roman Catholic theology at a German university. However, his teaching were not in consonance with the official teaching of that Church. When Pope John Paul removed him from his teaching position there was an outcry. Academics condemned Rome for suppressing freedom of speech. However, the Vatican was very clear. It said that Father Kung remained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church based upon the doctrine of “Character indelible” (A doctrine that declares when a priest is ordained he is ontologically differentiated and that differentiation cannot be undone by human action.) The Holy See also declared that Father Kung was allowed to write, speak and teach whatever he wanted, to whomever would listen and at any time and place. However, he was no longer regarded as a theologian of the Roman Catholic Church and his teaching should not be regarded as representing the official Roman Catholic theological position. Essentially this is analogous to President Obama dismissing his Press Secretary and saying that his views no longer represent the views of the Obama administration.
I will not labor the point of faith versus the Faith, except to declare that personal faith in “the divine within nature” and embracing an “emerging new cosmology” is most likely shared by thousands of Roman Catholic Christians, however such personally individual faith is not the same as the Faith and should not be deemed representative of Roman Catholic theology. Which is to say that persons can embrace such thinking, (whatever it means since it is very vague) but even as a lay catechist they cannot teach such. This is especially true in the light of the final quote in this report, namely, the “Jesus narrative is not the only or the most important narrative. … Jesus is not the only son of God.”
Why, because Christianity is essentially about Jesus. The three great ecumenical creeds clearly affirm Jesus as the “only begotten of the Father” and “In Jesus His (God’s) only Son our Lord. conceived by the Hoy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.”
The Vatican is not declaring that the nuns are not people. It is not saying that their dedication to social work and community building is unworthy. It is not declaring that the personal private opinions of these woman is condemned. What the Vatican is saying is that if they want to be considered official representatives of the Roman Catholic Church then they are required to adhere to the teachings structures and procedures of that Church and that if they have issues with such items they can petition for redress of their complaints. However, they cannot unilaterally present their personal opinions, prejudices or stereotypes as being officially Roman Catholic. At least for this writer it is a no brainer.
How do you see the central issue? Are there other societal examples declaring something to be true which is obviously not true? What is the result when we accept that merely declaring something to be true makes it true? Has anyone read Animal Farm by George Orwell? Do the pigs practice “truth by definition?”. What does the horse think of it?
The reports never mention the opposition forces that seek the overthrow of Assad. Like with Libya, the Nato nations want to interfere and force the government to fall. However, if a group of anarchists, or any other political group sought to overthrow the Obama government by force, it would be deemed treason and it would be suppressed by force and the perpetrators would be liable to execution. So why is it different with Syria? Obviously, the Obama government is already involved in the overthrow of the legal government of Libya by outside force. In former days, the crime against Libya would have been condemned as criminal aggression and under Nuremberg rules it should be treated as a crime against humanity.
In the case of Libya, the Russian and Chinese were promised that UN resolution 1973 was merely to use NATO military force to protect so-called innocent civilians. Once approved by UN, the British and French attacked the legal armed forces of the Legal Libyan government. The excuse was that the army of the government “obviously” must be attacked in order to protect civilians. After the 212 cruise missile strikes and the first two hundred jet fighter attacks against military installations inside of Libya, Vladimir Putin objected. However, it was too late. The drum beats of war had begun and the French and Brits would never accept that they were acting illegally. So they increased their attacks with assistance from USA and the government of Belgium. (It is very noteworthy that all three governments have a dirty colonial history of racial imperialism and genocide. (Belgium in Central Africa under King Leopold) However, the Academic community and the mass audience to Internet and TV reporting allowed themselves to condone criminal and wonton aggression because the “horrible” Gaddafi bombed a civilian aircraft over Lockerbie. (Noteworthy here is that the Brits accepted the actual perpetrator of that crime to gain asylum in Europe.!)
Again Putin objected but to no avail and the military organization known as NATO ferociously attacked the Libyan government . And the world, its response was silence or cheering. Silence because no one really cared about the Libyan people and cheering because of hatred for Gaddafi. By the way, NATO was originally meant to protect against Russian aggression. Amazing double standard that now they are open, obvious and arrogant aggressors.
All of this brings us to the current impasse with Syria. The Russians and Chinese were betrayed with UN resolution 1973 and so far they have vowed not to let that happen again. The NATO nations spent billions to wage war against Libya. They have no taste for that kind of expense again. They have expended their war budgets. And the USA? Carney’s admission of “defeat” is precursor to the coming proposal that the world community again take up war in the region. And don’t forget the Iranians.
Obama is right not to arm the rebels. Our own civil war dealt with the problem of outside forces as the British tried to interfere on the side of the South. However, Carney does not mention if the Brits, French and Belgians are also refraining from funding, and arming the rebel insurrectionists. In the light of NATO’s duplicity in the case of Libya, this writer thinks that they are secretly arming, advising and funding the insurrectionists.
When President Kennedy got involved with the war in Vietnam he decided to back the insurrection against President Diem. The result was the murder of the President of South Vietnam in the back of a truck. Kennedy, a co religionist with Diem, (both were Roman Catholic) intensely regretted the regicide of Diem. Sadly, he was himself assassinated by those who have no respect for law or morality. So far, the Obama government is content with political assassination by drone. And although the Obama government is guilty of complicity to murder Gaddafi, they have not committed to regicide by drone against Syrian President Assad. If they did, the morality would dictate that political assassination of government leaders is righteous and therefore permissible, for anyone who thought the other guy was a so-called dictator and therefore illegitimate. In these times when we express our politics forcefully and opening, I am sure that many individuals regard the government with suspicion. Yet, we do not advocate violent overthrow. What is moral for us should be our guide in dealing with others.
Dick Morris . Com
“The info about the number of fundraisers is interesting. It is also interesting in terms of misuse of power since he rode in Air Force one for all of them. He should not be allowed to pass that off because the SS (Secret Service) insisted. The SEALS took out Osama not Obama. So why is Obama taking credit for Osama? As a former CIA person said on the news yesterday, it is startling to note that the Obama administration thinks that waterboarding live prisonerss is inferior to killing them outright. I guess the reasoning is that intentional murder is preferred to intentional torture! I write a lot about this on my WordPress blog, Progressivepolitics.com”
I wrote the foregoing in answer to Dick Morris’ video concerning the deal between President Obama and former President Clinton. I wholeheartedly agree that the deal is dirty, but for a difference reason. I believe that former President Clinton has never been able to adjust to life away from the center of power. That is why he stays around Washington and is actively engaged in politics. He liked the position of power and the perks that went with the Presidency. He thought he owned the White House when he lived there and has never gotten over the fact that President Bush had it for eight and now President Obama four years. I believe he yearns for those days when he was the main man at the big house. I also think he realizes how foolish he was to squander those days by an affair with Monica L. As for Hilary, she settled for Secretary of State for the same reasons. She missed the White House, and the tremendous array of personal services offered to the First lady by obsequious political functionaries. A Senator? In that position she never approached the luxury and power afforded her as wife of the President. Sad to see her guzzling down a beer at the bar in South America! So, we have the persons who formerly were fielders of power cutting a deal with the currently powerful in order thereby to win an election that presents them with continued power and access to personal services that would make a king blush. Maybe it is better to have a five-year Presidency with no opportunity for re-election. Ford went home, as did Carter. Bush 41 and Bush 43 also relinquished the reins of government with ‘Elan. But it looks from here like the Clinton’s and the Obama’s want to hold on so bad that they will put up with each other to achieve it. Elect Romney and let the new broom sweep the house clean.
Romney being helped by the Voters
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/mitt-romney-gets-personal-campaign-trail-hopes-connecting-113125981.html I really like this story and I appreciate the reporting skills of the reporter. I also appreciate the editors who allowed this wonderful story to be published. The key ingredient for me was that the voters are helping Romney. I served in the US Army for thirty years and we had a slogan which I think was the best. It said, “Be All that You Can Be!” The essence of the slogan was that a person had personal traits that distinguished them from others. These were the traits of the individual’s personal success. The Army was not going to give these traits to the soldier. He or she already had the traits. The Army would release them, nurture them, and focus them so that the individual could “Be All that They Could Be.” In this article about Governor Romney, we see that the voters see within the man unique character traits that they want him to release. Therefore, the people in the audiences are happy when he allows himself to be himself. Reading the article, I too, found this side of Governor Romney delightful. However, I am in favor of Romney not because of his likeability, we had that with candidate Obama and we elected a likeable ideologue who seeks to fundamentally change the USA. I am sure the supporters of Franco, Salazar, Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin all convinced themselves that their leaders were likeable. But we know them as tyrants. I am in favor of Romney because of his experience as a Governor, entrepreneur, and very successful businessman. The USA is a nation in need of a lover of the USA who wants to restore our great business system instead bashing it and the captains of its industry. For myself, I intuited that the man Romney was a man of faith, a husband to a sick wife, and a father to well-adjusted children. I thought it to be obvious and I was not surprised that candidate Romney was all business during business hours. Frankly, that is what I want in my President, a leader who knows how to work. I could care less about his basketball picks or his golfing skills. And to the latest jab that Romney built an elevator in his mansion. Good for him. He spent his own money, thereby helping the manufacturer, wholesaler, and installers plus all the ancillary producers of the expensive product. And Obama? He spends 179 thousand dollars of taxpayer money every time he takes the nation’s jet, US One, to his personal campaign fund-raising events. It is time for a change in Washington and it is this writers hope that Romney will choose Rep. Paul Ryan as his Vice President. Why? Because although the Presidency of the Senate is largely ceremonial, there is nonetheless, enough power in that position to allow Ryan’s economic genius to flourish as he gets significant financial and economic programs through a “dead on arrival” Harry Reid slaughterhouse.
17 Trillion Obamacare Costs Discovered
http://news.yahoo.com/another-17-trillion-surprise-found-obamacare-133210667.html Put simply, this insane spending bill must be repealed by the Congress and better and smaller bills passed. This 2700 page legislation brings disaster. If we elect a new Senate this Fall and the new Senators are committed to repealing Obama care entirely and then starting over to sanely approach our nation’s medical care needs, we will be better off as a country. The downfall of the USSR was because they could no longer afford the enormous expenses of the cold war, of a large standing military and the wasteful communist economic system. Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland, although much smaller countries suffered from over spending and without massive outside help would have destroyed their economies. There is no one, not even the Chinese, who will help the USA get out of the tens of trillions of spending under Obama care. So, add it all up and the end of USA is near, not in an apocalyptic earthquake but in an economic self-destruction. Since the gridlock in the USA is caused by a Senate leadership that refuses to allow the Republican House of Representative to pass a budget, and since the leader of the Senate has consistently declared all Republican sponsored solutions to the nation’s needs to be “dead on arrival,” we need to give the Republican party a majority in the Senate in order to get out of the do nothing state of affairs caused by a President who says that he wants to rule without the consent of Congress and a Senate that blocks all Republican attempts to solve our nation’s problems. By the way, the House of Representative defeated the Presidents proposed budget for the fourth time. The latest vote was 414 against. That says a lot about the foolishness of Obama’s proposal and the sincerity of the House of Representatives. The Senate also consistently turned down the Obama proposed Budgets. But the Senate also has consistently turned down House budgets. The bottleneck to progress seems to be the White House and the Senate.
Trayvon Martin Shooting was a True Tragedy.
Amid all the political shouting and the radical fundraising of Sharpton and Jackson, can we at least agree that the shooting of Trayvon Martin was a true tragedy? Very sadly, a young person lost his life. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can correct that event. My prayers, as a fellow human being, a father and a grandfather, are offered for the family. My prayers also extend to the shooter. Yes, he is accused. Yes, he is suspect. And yes, the situation at the moment of fire is unclear. Nonetheless, the whole event is out of a horror movie. There are no excuses here. I am not in any way trying to downplay the full dark tragedy of this moment in time. However, I do hope to use this event for growth, for healing and in order to advance beyond race, hate, and prejudice.
Frankly, I am not clear how this all works out. However, we have a 17 year old boy whose racial understanding maybe have been poison and an older hispanic man whose cultural understanding may have been equally poison.
What may have been the poison? May I suggest the poison of class and race? May I suggest the poison of the haves versus the have-nots? May I suggest the poison that comes from the top, namely, the President of the USA who accuses the Massachusetts police, who apologizes to the world concerning USA, and who likens Trayvon Martin to his own (would be) son.
Why is racism only a White to Black phenomenon? Can racism be Black toward White? Can it be Hispanic toward Black? Can it be immigrant toward citizen? (Although, we are really all immigrants!)
I am sad. I believe that you are sad. It is a sad day for America. Trayvon is dead. George Zimmerman lives but what is his life now?
Some take to the streets, and some, like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, don’t really care, as long as the funding letter goes out and the money rolls in. But the rest of us are sad. Why? Because this really does not need to happen. Because we can rise above petty disputes concerning money and property. Because we can see through the illusion of color and ethnicity. If we have the will.
Very, and I repeat, very sadly, our President has decided to throw his support in favor of a continuation of stereotypical racism and ethnic hatred. President Obama is not a solution to the problem. He is at least a symptom and at most a cause.
There probably will be a court room scene for this sad happening. A judge will preside and a jury will decide. But you and I, the greater society, must also decide. Can we at least agree that this was a true American tragedy? Can we grieve over this sad event as a caring society that sees George Zimmerman doing what he thinks is right and sees Trayvor Martin as doing what he thinks is right? Could George be defending his hard-won property while Trayvor is defending his right to gain the same?
Christians Helping Peace in Syria
» 03/16/2012 23:50 VATICAN – SYRIA Vatican Nunzio: For the Church in Syria it is time to go on the offensive and not stand and watch by Bernardo Cervellera In an interview with AsiaNews, Mgr. Mario Zenari, for the past three years nunzio in Damascus, described all the elements that make up the tangled skein of Syria. The deep division between Sunnis and Alawites (Shiites) and the growing hatred. The too fearful Christians must commit themselves to building a society where there is respect for man and his rights, equality for women, equality among all citizens, freedom of religion and of conscience. Being in Syria is a mission. At Homs a priest talks with the rebels and with the army to provide aid to the poor, to save the lives of the inhabitants, to bury the dead that nobody wants to touch. In a year of violence at least 800-900 children have been killed. The majority were shot in the streets by unknown snipers. Syria is changing and there’s no turning back.
Damascus (AsiaNews) – “This is the Christians’ hour”; there has begun “a new historical process in Syria” from which it will never turn back and “Christians cannot miss this rendezvous with history”: Msgr. Mario Zenari, for three years now the Vatican nuncio in Damascus, speaks almost excitedly as he recalls the Christians’ missionary efforts of Christians, which is to be “like sheep among wolves”, but with an identity and a task. Precisely because in Syria the gap between the different components of society is widening more and more, he sees an urgent need for Christians to come out into society and build bridges of reconciliation, defending the values typical of the Church’s social doctrine: human dignity, rejection of violence, equality between men and women, fundamental freedoms, freedom of conscience and religion, the separation between religion and state. “It is urgent”, he said, “to go out into the open, on the attack, and not to sit back and watch.” Mgr. Zenari, 66, tells stories of ordinary heroism of some priests who have remained in Homs during this months’ bombing and violence. While sharing in the mourning for the tragedy of the Belgian children killed in a car accident in Switzerland, he reminds us that in Syria 800-900 children have already been killed, mostly shot “in the head and the heart” by strangers: “Their murder is an atrocity” and it is necessary that the international community ensure “justice for these children.” Here is the full interview which Mgr. Zenari gave via telephone to AsiaNews.
Your Excellency, what is it like is to be in Syria at this moment?
My heart is sad. This is the fourth spring that I’ve lived in Damascus and this year I still haven’t seen spring arrive. They’re expecting the fruits of Kofi Annan’s mission, but there are fears that the parties will say “Yes, but …”, where the “but” is more important than the “yes”. Instead it is urgent that both parties make a tremendous effort. The distances between them have become huge and are widening every day. For this reason it’s necessary for both parties to jump through hoops to rebuild the dialogue. A reversal is necessary, a conversion… The climate is so deteriorated that a fair amount of heroism is needed, perhaps a bit more from one particular side. Hopefully the help of the international community will bear fruit, so it will make them make great gestures, but it’s a bit difficult.
Before, the international community accused only the regular army. Now Annan has called for an end to the violence from both sides; Britain hopes for a peaceful solution; France is doubtful about sending weapons to the rebels…
Yes, this is true. The request has to come from 360 degrees, from all sides. Maybe at the beginning the media exaggerated about only one of the sides. But both parties are called upon to make gestures of goodwill and put an end to violence. At first, perhaps driven by enthusiasm for the Arab spring in other regions, the riots were seen in a very idealistic manner; and then going forward, we saw many other aspects come into play. To date, Syria is a tangled skein, and there are many elements to watch.
Could you list these elements?
Initially there were demonstrations for more democracy, more respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, with peaceful demonstrations that were suppressed. But then so many factors were added: first, the fact that 75% of the society here is composed of Sunnis; then, that it is governed by 12% of the population who are the Alawites. This tension between Sunnis and Alawites today is decisive, without forgetting the other aspects. History will assess how the relationship between Sunnis and Shiites has gone (the Alawites are somehow linked to the Shiite world).
There is also an attempt to internationalize the conflict.
We are neighbors with Iraq, with Israel, with Lebanon; and we’re not far from Iran… and so in Syria ingredients come in from all sides and complicate the mess.
There is a risk that the international community use Syria as a chessboard for its interests: the West, Saudi Arabia and Qatar against Iran; Israel against Hezbollah; Turkey against Syria … But the needs of the Syrian people are forgotten.
There are various readings. There is the simplistic one of the regime which claims that a foreign conspiracy is present. It’s impossible to evaluate fully how much is true and how much is propaganda.
The Syrian Christians, 10% of the population, seem caught in the crossfire.
For me there is a place for Christians and they cannot afford to miss this appointment with this new historical process. There is no doubt that Syria is changing: a new process has begun and there’s no going back. Where should the Christians place themselves? I would answer based on the Psalms, a wisdom that is at least 2500 years old. And one Psalm says: Do not lean on a falling wall [Ps 61 (62), 4]. And neither should a man stand by, gazing out the window. Christians are in society and must roll up their sleeves. In the past there have been faithful who have made a glorious contribution in the field of culture, art, politics: one of the founders of the Baath Party was a Christian. Woe, therefore, if they miss this appointment. What’s more, Christians start off with an advantage. The Pope, a few months ago, at the Syrian ambassador’s presentation of credentials [June 9, 2011], pointed out that there are exemplary relations between Christians and Muslims. The Christians in Syria also have a good elite: cultural figures, academics, lawyers, presidents of hospitals… It’s time to live out our task and make our contribution, reclaiming our dignity and our identity, based on the Gospel and the social doctrine of the Church: human dignity, rejection of violence, equality between men and women, fundamental freedoms, freedom of conscience and religion, the separation between religion and state, etc… It is urgent to go out in the open, on the attack, and not to sit back and watch.
Three years ago I presented my credentials to President Assad. And I was impressed that for following 15 minutes during the personal interview, the president continued to speak of the importance that Christians have for Syrian society. He truly admired the Christian components in the country. In this phase of transformation, one cannot look back and think about some protection from the outside: we must work for a rule of law, in which all citizens are equal, have the same rights and duties.
Another thing I noticed is that at every level Christians serve as a bridge. In many mixed villages, Alawites and Christians live in peace, Sunnis and Christians the same, Druze and Christians live in harmony… In these times, with the conflict, sometimes there has been friction and confrontation, but until now, no church has ever suffered even a scratch. In any case, we Christians can have a function of reconciliation among all the groups living in the country. The idea is going around that the fate of Christians in Syria is likely to be similar to what happened in Iraq. But Syria is not Iraq, and it’s not even Egypt: it has its own characteristics, with a tradition of good tolerance.
The Gospel tells us: I send you out as sheep among wolves. And the wolves are not only in Damascus but also in Frankfurt, New York, London, Paris …. only somewhat more subtle and refined. Being in the midst of wolves is part of our mission and we need not fear. The Gospel also says: “Do not be afraid.”
I have continually before my eyes outstanding examples of this mission. In these days Homs is hell. Everyday I phone three priests who have remained there. As we speak, we hear gunfire because the Christian quarter is between in the crossfire. One of them is remarkable for what he is able to do: he talks to the rebels to halt the violence, asking them permission to let pass the trucks with food aid for the poor. On the other hand, from the other side, he asks the army not to shoot, in order not to hit the neighborhoods where there are still inhabitants, or sacred buildings. And he serves as a bridge, like a sheep among wolves. Several days ago there were the bodies of three soldiers in front of the cathedral. They had been there for 10 days. No one dared to recover them because there was the risk of being killed. So he went to the rebels and asked for clemency for these bodies. The rebels at first were angry, shouting: “What do we care for these pigs?” But he said: “No, after we are dead we are not pigs, we are all equal.” And he managed to get them to listen: they loaded the bodies onto a truck and dumped them onto a piece of road where it was easier for their fellow soldiers to recover them.
The Church can do a lot, on a practical, charitable level, and with our choices, focusing on the defense of the human person, above party lines. We must give attention to the hungry, the wounded, the dead… So many people have been killed and no one knows by whom. We must go out, denounce, give our testimony in favor of the human person.
These days the world has been impressed by the tragedy of that bus that crashed in a tunnel in Switzerland. 22 Belgian children died and the emotion that it aroused is understandable. Here in Syria, until 2 weeks ago, according to the UN there have been 7500 killed, but now we are up to 9500. Of these, at least 500 are children! This means that out of every 15 deaths, one was a child. Some of them died crushed by the rubble caused by bombs, but the majority died in the street and not because they stumbled or fell, no: they were shot in the heart or the head with bullets. I hope that the international community can do something to ensure justice for these children. It is good and fitting to be moved over 22 children, but here there are 800-900 who have died. It is urgent to denounce these crimes. Human life is sacred, that of those who wear the military uniform, like that of the rebels, but even more so that of children. Their murder is an atrocity.
The road Syria is on is long, difficult and painful, like that of a river: it may deviate, go right or left, but it reaches the sea. The Synod for the Middle East prompted the bishops and the faithful to witness to the faith and work together to build the city of man along with the others. The Church must speak its position, meet, comfort, clean up these disfigured faces. Being in this country is a mission.
What can we Catholics do in the rest of the world? The Custody of the Holy Land, for example, has launched a campaign to help the Christians of Syria…
We must begin by thanking you for your generosity and solidarity, which is much needed. I hope that with Caritas and other institutions we can alleviate all the suffering in the country. It is also necessary try to understand the situation of the Christians. It’s one thing is to reason at a table, and another thing to get carried away by sentiment. We must understand even the feelings and listen.
What worries me most is the growing hatred in society. For now it isn’t manifest, but it’s burning. The bullets that the two groups are exchanging are only the tip of the iceberg. We are walking on embers that can ignite at any time. For our part, we Christians witness to charity. It’s the Christians’ moment, we must act and go on the offensive in defense of the human person: it is important not to miss this historic moment.
Progressive Politics 