Letters to the Editor, November 30, 2004

Photos of protests during the APEC conference in Chile

http://memoriamir.cl/fotografias/mov_pedrorosas/imagepages/image3.html

Palestine: A History of Occupation and Resistance

Fact Sheet November 21, 2004 posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online http://rwor.org

Liz Burbank

Comparing Palestinian and Israeli Textbooks

"In September 2000, for the first time in Palestinian history, 29 Palestinian texts for grades one and six were introduced into schools.."

... we believe it is important to compare the Israeli and Palestinian textbooks to each other, rather than to look at only one set by itself, in order to get a complete picture of the role they play in peace education or the opposite.

By Ruth Firer and Sami Adwan

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=20041124063804894

Not Poison Gas

Amir Butler writes (Editorials, 21 Nov 04) "Winston Churchill, Minister of the Colonies, ordered the use of poison-gas and fierce aerial bombardment to stop the uprising. Thousands of men, women and children were killed, whilst Churchill charged his critics as men who 'don¹t think clearly' and that he had no issue 'using poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes.'"

This canard is widely heard but has no basis in fact and relies on a selective misquotation. Churchill's COMPLETE memorandum, on 12 May 1919, reads as follows:

³I do not understand this squeamishness about the use of gas. We have definitely adopted the position at the Peace Conference of arguing in favour of the retention of gas as a permanent method of warfare. It is sheer affectation to lacerate a man with the poisonous fragment of a bursting shell and to boggle at making his eyes water by means of lachrymatory gas.

³I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes. The moral effect should be so good that the loss of life should be reduced to a minimum. It is not necessary to use only the most deadly gasses: gasses can be used which cause great inconvenience and would spread a lively terror and yet would leave no serious permanent effects on most of those affected.²

No doubt Mr. Butler never bothered to look up the original, and to realize that what Churchill recommended here was tear gas. (Churchill Papers 16/16, 12 May 1919). He should spend a little time on www.winstonchurchill.org a website he will profit by.

Respectfully

Richard M. Langworth

Editor, The Churchill Centre www.winstonchurchill.org

Mark Whitney: Ukrainian Crossroads

Everything Mr. Lewychy said was correct (November 28 letters).

Yushencho is not only the clear winner of the election, but also, the people's favorite. The outpouring of support for him has been nothing less than astonishing.I hope that he is elected and that the will of the people is realised. (peacefully) However, this should not stop us from making critical judgments on the involvement of the US in the process. I find the involvment of the Bush administration in the exit polls and the post-election procedures extremely suspect. By now, we should all be familiar with Bush's "grand plan" to establish a massive military presence throughout the Middle east and central Asia to guarantee access to the world's crucial energy resources.

This scheme makes Ukraine essential in their long-range projections. When US military instalations begin to appear in Ukraine, many will reconsider the real meaning of this election. When the IMF initiates its structural adjustment programs (as it has wherever US supported clients are elected) people will grasp the sinister powers that were at work behind the scenes. Russia has now been successfully boxed into a corner, as strategists in the US anticipated. This is neither a good situation for Russia nor people who want peace. It signals the resumption of the cold war mentality, East pitting itself against West. I hope that the people of Ukraine are able to challenge the election results and get the leader who was legitimately elected, (probably Yushencho) but I fear that Ukraine's problems are just beginning.

There's a good chance that Ukraine will become a staging-ground for a protracted conflict between the US and Russia.

Sincerely,

Mike Whitney