It is repeating a lesson in history that after every war there comes peace. We, beyond having confidence in the repetition, are 'the hadith' (words and deeds of Prophet Mohammad) recognizers, who believe there is a 'zone of promised peace.' There is a war currently and believers of course give a single-hearted support to the Iraqis and Palestinians. However, there is a need for some who will be architects of the peace that will be established in the future. It is wrong to break bridges totally, to harden hearts totally and to consider this war as a piece of ever-lasting struggle. And it is important to say this word today. Even though Turkey cutting relations with Israel and liding more towards the European axis rather than the American axis, would provide a temporary and emotional satisfaction to the Arab world of today, it would be a betrayal committed against the peace generation of tomorrow.
In analyzing the current situation, the comparison of 'a guide crow' (this is part of a Turkish expression: one who takes the crow as a guide will not be able to keep his nose away from dirt) with American-Israeli relations fits the portrayal of Israel's indifference and the situation America is facing; however, it does not fit the loftiness of the one who makes the comparison. A writer like Ali Bulac, who knows of the West and East well, must see the relation between the attitudes of American troops in the torture chambers and the attitude of bombs being showered on a wedding house. It is not important whether Iraq is a new Vietnam or a new Palestine for America. The important thing is the reality of Americans behaving with an enormous amount of fear.This fear is not the fear Americans adopted in Iraq. They packed and carried this fear from their own homeland to Iraq. The American soldiers, who were attacking their own comrades-in-arms with grenades and committing suicides even before the war started, are behaving with the common fear of their friends who have lay bare their humanity in Abu Ghraib. This is not a joyful ascertainment. Just a presentiment pointing to the fact that the aggressiveness will increase.
Let's repeat a part of a writing written months earlier: The question,'What happened so that these things are happening?' is wholly inadequate. It is also required to look for the answer to the question, 'What will happen so that these things happen?' It is also wholly inadequate to look for the answer by only analyzing the incidents in Iraq and Palestine. Understanding the transformation going on today in the Arab world is essential in shaping the future world. However, also as much as that, it is necessary to understand the transformation experienced in the West as well. Today, the basic impulsive transformation force experienced in the West is fear itself.
May 24, 2004
