By William Chamberlin
The Guardsman

Osama bin Laden released a new tape March 24 promising that the day the United States makes a decision to kill Khalid “Hero Warrior” Sheik Mohammed is the day bin Laden will order the execution of all American hostages.

Bin Laden often starts his messages in the name of Allah and peace, then proceeds to proclaim his will is that of the righteous, and that the U.S. is a vile oppressor unjustly tyrannizing his people with its support of Israel. He delivers them in a soft and confident tone, reassuring the listener that he deeply believes what he speaks.

In a tape released earlier this year, addressed to President Barack Obama, bin Laden begins by saying blessed are the followers of peace. The followers of peace?

Bin Laden holds no regard for human life. He professes godliness while subscribing to racism in the same sentence. He feels that U.S. support of Israel’s Palestinian occupation offers him spiritual immunity on all grounds. In his mind he is acting in the name of what is right.

He has followers who definitely believe in him. The temptation to be called apart from the rest of humanity — to have a greater purpose in life — is tantalizing. The promise of this purpose appeals to core elements of human nature: to be a part of a coalition, to have brothers in arms, and to make the world a better place.

But the reasoning behind threatening to kill all American hostages if a man who organized the death of thousands of innocent people is brought to justice, is so skewed it verges on madness. Bin Laden believes he can do no wrong.

What should have taken place is a prompt response upon delivery of the Fűhrer’s newest mandate: that every single American hostage be released and we will just give Mohammed life in prison (period). Let Mohammed rot in a cell instead of killing him, if it saves the lives of our families and loved ones.

Bin Laden has complained we mistreat his soldiers. To that, we can respond that his people wouldn’t have ever been in our custody had he not taken it upon himself to escalate this war in the Middle East by bringing it into the daily lives of U.S. citizens.

The situation with bin Laden is that he hates the West. That’s it. He’s got a blame-thrower and a bad case of trigger-finger. There is no reasoning with this man who, in his eyes, lives a righteous life.

The best response to this newest bin Laden tape is to capture him and hold him accountable for his crimes at all costs. Bin Laden is good at tying all these separate issues together and rallying the troops for a war. He’d probably be an amazing used car salesman. Perhaps another radical leader — one who opposes violence and hatred — could pick apart bin Laden’s reasoning for bringing more bloodshed to this planet.

Maybe there is no way to end this global issue aside from taking down the organizers of this war. In that line of reasoning we would need to hold Mohammed accountable in the most severe manner. We need to understand that submitting to bin Laden’s demands ensures that he keeps making them. It is time to make a serious counter offer: release the captives and Mohammed’s life will be spared.

Let’s put the ball in his court.

Editor,
Thank you for publishing Robert Romano’s story “Peace between Palestine and Israel is possible.” This is an excellent article and one which I’ve forwarded to many friends and contacts.
Keep up the good work and journalism.

Steve Sosebee

Dear Mr. Romano,
Thank you VERY MUCH for writing the piece “Peace between Palestine and Israel is possible.” More than ever, we need people to bring to light the truth and the tragedy of Palestine and the Palestinian people.

With respect,
Rima El-Kawa

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Dear Editor —

Ahmed Alkhaub, who was interviewed in the 1/16/09 issue of The Guardsman, certainly has a lot to be concerned about.

With Hamas, the current ruling organization in Gaza, shelling into Israel on a daily basis and bringing in weapons through tunnels, Israel had no choice but to respond. The position that Hammas takes is that Israel has no right to exist and it should be destroyed.

With the help of money from foreign hostile countries such as Iran, and others, Hamas is the instigator of the recent clash. Hamas uses its civilians as human shields by setting explosives in homes and structures of Gaza’s own civilian population. Most Palestinians are not terrorists but in the recent clash with Israel, Hamas has made the Palestinian people in Gaza victims of Hamas’s terrorist actions.

Certainly those who are demonstrating against Israel should look at the current actions of Hamas and educate themselves about both sides of what is really happening in that region.

— Lynn Levy, ESL Instructor

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Dear Editor —

I would just like to say that CCSF has students who protested in support of Israel during the most recent conflict. Here is one way to end Israel’s retaliation: Have the Hamas stop firing rockets into Israel, which drew Israel back into Gaza after leaving in 2005.

— Jonathan Segev

Letters to the Editor

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By Natalie Coreas
Arts & Entertainment Editor

City College students, along with other concerned individuals, participated in protests around San Francisco concerning the attacks by Israel on Palestinian Gaza to educate other students about the situation.

During the past 10 days Ahmed Alkhatib, 18, a sophomore at City College, has peacefully participated in all but one of the marches against the war. Most of them have embarked from Market Street, stopping traffic in the busy downtown area and went to City Hall, the Israeli Consulate or the Federal Building. He holds a picket sign with the slogan “Stop the Genocide in Gaza”, which displays dozens of images of wounded Palestinian civilians.

Alkhatib came to San Francisco from Gaza City in 2005 as a foreign exchange high-school student and was supposed to return to his family in Gaza after a year. He was detained in Egypt for three months and then sent back to the U.S. because war had erupted in Lebanon. Upon returning to the U.S., he applied for political asylum, which was granted in October 2008.

His mom, dad, brother and sister still live in Gaza City. “It is really bad. Things have been really difficult over there,” Alkhatib said. “My family has been imprisoned in their own home, they have been without electricity for 7 days.” His family, he says, is preparing him for the worst. “They take no violent actions, yet they still continue to suffer,” he said. To him the situation is a “nightmare” and all of it could be easily stopped by Israel.

Alkhatib volunteers for the Western Regional Advocacy Project (W.R.A.P), which assists with legal advocacy for the homeless and fights civil rights injustices. He is also involved with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (A.R.O.C), which organizes the Arab community in the Bay Area.

Alkhatib hopes to work with City College’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) to help spread the word and inform students at City College of the incidents in Gaza and the use of U.S. tax dollars to supply Israeli troops. “I do not necessarily want to do protests, but public relations, [about] who we are as Muslims and as Arabs,” Alkhatib said.

“I want to bring in educational material. I want to connect the dots,” Alkhatib said and added he wants “to teach that we [Palestinians] are not terrorists.”

Simon Perez, left, a reporter for CBS 5 interviews 18-year-old City College student Ahmed Alkhatib during the Jan. 5 protest in San Francisco of the conflict currently occurring in the Gaza Strip. ALEX LUTHI / THE GUARDSMAN

MSA member Sana Benharchache, 19, originally from Algeria, also participated in one of the marches. “After my eyes had seen enough and cried themselves dry, I felt a compelling urge to do something,”  Benharchache said. “I attended the protest in front of the Israeli consulate and realized I was not alone. Angry crowds rushed to the streets, trying to find a way to express the anger inside them and I joined. But then I realized that I had to do more.”

As a MSA member, Benharchache hopes the association will participate in raising awareness on campus about the war in Gaza. She hopes to shed light on what, she believes, is not just a religious or ethnic problem, but rather a world problem.

She believes that change can only come from educating the public with a voice different from the American media. It will give the public a different perspective of the conflict in Gaza.

“They will then understand why we are willing to fight and die for a free Palestine,” Benharchache said. With the protests and the help of the MSA on campus, Benharache hopes that “They [the student body] will finally understand the famous Arabic chant “With our soul, with our blood, we will redeem you, oh Palestine”.