ON THE WALLABY- 26th July 2006

"I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society where all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunity. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die” – Nelson Mandela at his trial for treason and as a terrorist, South Africa 1961

MY OTW ON TERRORISM GAINS MANY RESPONSES

My last OTW certainly had my email box filling and I thank those who took the time and effort to write to me. There were a number for and a number against what I had written and I have taken the liberty of posting one below, along with my reply.

My belief is that whilst ever "we", as the ordinary folk of the world, can talk about issues and put them there for people to see and discuss openly, then we are taking some of the powers from politicians, of all persuasions, who wish us to believe that their view is "the one".

Arni wrote:-

"Tony,

The difference is that 'terrorists' use terror in the ordinary populace to attempt to achieve their aims, and 'freedom fighters' don't, although there are many grey areas where the two types overlap in their everyday actions.

You could take it further to identify the official policies of the particular organisation and here there areless grey areas. The ANC never, to my knowledge, ever officially recommended random killing of whites, nor did the American Nationalists, nor did the Haggenah, nor did the French resistance in WWII.

However, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Quaida, the IRA,The Basque Fighters and others I could name officially and actually do recommend indiscriminate killing of innocents, including children and actually deliberately target them.

That's the difference between terrorists and freedom fighters, although the latter often by accident or callously do carry out such killings. The PLO pretty much invented the phenomena and it is more common amongst Islamic groups, although not exclusive to them, because they have plenty of Mullahs who can give them a religious excuse and promise them that they are not really committing a crime against humanity, rather they are doing God's work.

How the IRA and the Basques justify their actions to themselves is harder to say.

So don't rationalise these monsters as just 'freedom fighters'. There is a world of difference and we give them strength by treating them with any consideration. This world is full of grey areas, and the resulting compromises we have to make, but some things are clearly black, not grey, and the deliberate killing of innocents is one of them, whoever does it.”

I then wrote back:-

“G'day Arni,

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write back on my OTW and it's content.

I agree with you- the point I was trying to make was that the word "terrorist" may not always, in the light of history, have the connotation later that it did at the time and it seems to me that Western leaders use the term with a great degree of abandonment and will to promote fear.

I am a great believer of the old British axiom of "speak quietly but carry a big stick" and whilst their time as world leader certainly had it's darker side, the fact that over 90 nations across the world, in all continents except South America (excluding the Falkland Islands), still belong to the British Commonwealth of Nations attests to the fact that domination can still lead to a friendly "after life".

When America's time as the super power is overtaken by China and/or India, I doubt if any nations will show the same feelings towards them that the Commonwealth shows towards Britain.

I think history will show that, through the ineptitude and gung-ho attitude of Bush and others, what was an essential operation in Afghanistan to deal with terrorism, and which had a good chance of succeeding, has instead become, through involvement in Iraq and tacitly in Lebanon, manna from heaven for Bin Laden et al.

Lebanon is an example of where an action will come back to bite us on the bum for all it has created I am sure is a whole heap of people across the world who may well have been ambivalent before but now have swung into an anti-western stance.

You can't simply level a country and expect, as much as Bush seems to think, that the world, and that country, will take it on the chin.

Israel may well put a real bend into Hezbollah but as the British Foreign Secretary said, this is also a political as well as warfare happening and as an outsider taking bets, I think the spirit of those in Hezbollah, and the people that Israel's actions will have driven to their cause, will see it continue.

I do not pretend in any way to be an expert on the Middle East. However, through 43 years of auctioneering around the world I have met many people from many backgrounds in differing circumstances and one thing I have learnt is that there is always a way, difficult as it may be at the time, and provided there is a willingness to talk, to do a deal that gives a result.

Those who disagree with my above concept will no doubt fling up WW2 with the belting given Japan and Germany before peace was made but in that case, the whole world was involved and formal war had been declared.

As I said in that OTW, where are the people with the stature and humanity of Nelson Mandela now? The world sorely needs them before this plague of fundamentalism from Christians, Jews and Muslims tears our globe apart!

Name me one Western politician, Mandela excluded, who can write and say what he did at his 1961 treason trial (and which I have reproduced again at the header of this OTW) and be believed?

Thanks again for taking the time to write, I do very much appreciate it.

Tony”

Carpe diem

Tony

Tony Fountain

Professional Speaker, auctioneer and author

Sydney NSW Australia

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