Mahler's Prodigal Son

Lawrence Davidson is a retired professor of history from West Chester University in West Chester PA.    In an op-piece on Information Clearing House he makes out a compelling case for why the USA has, in effect, let the Saudis off the hook both in relation to its involvement in 9/11 and other terror-related actions. "On 27 November 2002 a bipartisan commission was established by Congress to investigate the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. By the time the commission was created, President George W. Bush had characterized the attacks as “acts of war,” adding that “freedom and democracy are under attack.” It was therefore to be expected that anyone who was actually, or even imagined to be, involved in these attacks was going to be labeled as an enemy. However, when on 22 July 2004, after two years of investigation, the 9/11 Commission’s report was released, something was missing. Twenty-eight pages had been withheld from publication. Thes...

Gideon Levy writes op-ed pieces for Israel's Haaretz newspaper.   He takes no prisoners in his trenchant criticism of Israeli politicians and the country's policies, notably towards Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. In one of his latest columns he is no less severe in his criticism of his own country.    It is evil, he declares.   He concludes: "A great many of the decisions of the occupation regime that decides the fates of individuals, families, communities, villages and cities cannot be explained without evil. The list is as long as the occupation. The extortion of sick people from Gaza to enlist them as collaborators, the blockades on cities and towns for weeks, the Gaza blockade, the demolition of homes – all evil. Banal or not, its existence must be acknowledged and it must be recognized as one of the most influential values in Israel. Yes, there is an evil regime at work in Israel, and therefore it is an evil state."...

Credited to Nick Anderson