مدونة د. منصور عمر الكيخيا * Dr. Mansour Omar El-Kikhia Blog

I received 400-plus e-mails responding to my column last week, "Arabs shouldn’t have to apologize."

I do, however, need to apologize to all the readers who took the time to send feedback for my inability to respond to each of them individually.

Sadly, it hasn’t been fun reading many of the messages. The content betrays unimaginable racism, hatred and ignorance. I never thought I would have such an experience in a society claiming to be civilized.

In addition to the e-mails, I was contacted by a number of radio stations within and outside the United States. I was also invited to appear on a popular show on one of the networks. I declined because I am willing to fight the devil anywhere except in hell.

Some individuals wanted to convert me, while others wanted me to pack up and leave. Some threatened physical harm to me and all Muslims and Arabs. A reader took the opportunity to remind me "the dam is cracking" and the time of retribution is at hand.

Some of the readers were parroting a Washington Post column by Charles Krauthammer. His piece piqued my interest. Kraut-hammer, a psychiatrist-turned-columnist, advoca

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I am fed up with the ceaseless requests by columnists, religious personalities and other American public figures for Arabs and Muslims to apologize for terrorist acts committed by thugs and murderers in the name of Islam.

As far as I am concerned, the final straw came a couple of weeks ago when the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, paid for a national advertisement repudiating terrorism in the name of Islam.

As soon as the advertisement was broadcast on America’s media, I read a column by one of the nation’s most ardent Islam-phobic columnists, Cal Thomas, now also a FOX News personality, which plowed into CAIR’s reconciliation efforts. Long before 9-11, Thomas’ writings were full of venom for Arabs and Muslims. He represents a despicable and ignorant attitude that, unfortunately, a sizable segment of America has come to share. There is nothing American Muslims can do to satisfy this group short of packing up and leaving the United States.

I disagree with what CAIR did, and I also disagree with this groveling and begging for forgiveness, as though American Arabs and Muslims are responsible for those atrocities. CAIR knows better, and those running it know that Islam rejects all acts of violence outside self-defense. Arab and Muslim Americans are responsible for neither the twin towers nor the London subway bombings, and as Americans they should never accept respons

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Last week some readers’ responses to my previous column were rough. The Express-News provided me with copies of their letters. These, along with direct e-mail sent to me by furious readers answered a few important questions in my mind.

I also got a number of voice recordings on a friend’s machine whose wife was disturbed and frightened by what she heard. I have no idea how the messages got there, but the individuals who left them for me took the opportunity to degrade all Arabs, Mexicans and other Latinos.

According to these feeble-minded racists, we are beyond redemption and are the cause of all of America’s ills. I decided to keep the recordings and play them to my students to remind them that racism and intolerance although disguised are very much alive and are on the rise.

A couple of readers were elated their nastiness and lack of manners "got under my skin." Ill manners do get under my skin, and I have accumulated enough letters from such individuals to demonstrate the sheer, unadulterated hatred displayed by some toward me, Arabs and Muslims.

More worrisome to me are the e-mails I received from readers who are afraid to speak up. The prospect of having their homes "egged" or their lives threatened cows them into silence. Many feel ashamed and guilty for allowing themselv

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Condoleezza Rice calls it "Transformational Diplomacy," but what is it? It is the shiny new name of America’s foreign policy promoted by the Department of State.

No one really knows what it is or what it involves, but it does sound sophisticated and important. The mood in the State Department is still quite somber and a few Foreign Service Officers, or FSOs, are still lamenting the departure of Colin Powell. He was revered and his departure left a vacuum that neither Rice nor anyone in this administration can fill.

What the Bush administration is currently pursuing in the international arena is not transformational diplomacy, but transformational coercion and as a result it is experiencing one setback after another as countries and people resist the bullying.

The "War on Terror" card is still a powerful tool in the United States, but it is losing its potency in the international arena because, rightly or wrongly, the global consensus appears to be that the Bush administration has done more to promote global violence than any other regime in the world. But because the United States is the most powerful country in the world, no one can do much except grunt and bear it until reason returns to American politics.

In this climate of intolerance, it is difficult to say this without being accused of being a fifth column or anti-American, so let the facts speak for themselves.

F

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As soon as I heard of the terrorist bombs going off in London last week, I called a friend to make sure he was unharmed.

My friend owns a cafe on Edgeware Road, quite close to where one of the bombs went off. When I visit London I always go there to sample the variety of Middle Eastern foods or just sip Arabic coffee in one of the street’s many outdoor cafes.

Connecting was difficult, but I did get to talk to him. Although shaken, he was not injured. He confessed that his major fear was not from the bombs but from what was to come. Like many Arabs and Muslims living in Europe, my friend believes that the finger of blame would point to them.

I advised him to close shop and take a few days off until the British authorities ascertain the true identity of the terrorists who committed the atrocious act or until the hostility dissipates. On the Internet, a small, unknown group claiming to be an al-Qaida offshoot took responsibility for the crime. However, only time will tell who is responsible.

London is home to a large number of Muslims who found refuge from oppressive regimes in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Most have lived there for many years, peacefully and productively, within the bounds of British law and democracy. But since 9-11, terrorist incidents have sent shock waves through their communities, and no matter who committed them, they have become the

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Accountability is perhaps one of the most important factors distinguishing democratic from non-democratic societies.

Governments of democracies are legitimate because they are accountable to the people who put them in power. Dictators, however, refuse to account to the people they oppress.

For example, Moammar Gadhafi of Libya, whom I saw giving a speech a few days ago on how wonderful he is, treats the country and its people as though they are insignificant components of a personal fiefdom that his parents left him in their wills. He and his children use and abuse the country’s wealth, people and politics without regard for the nation’s well-being or political and economic future.

Gadhafi asked no one for input or permission before embroiling the country in four military conflicts that consumed its health and wealth. In addition to 35 years of ruinous idiosyncratic policies, he ordered the destruction of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. That act alone turned Libya into a global pariah and cost it billions of trade dollars, not to mention the $2.8 billion he paid as compensation to the families of the victims the Scottish court found his regime guilty of murdering.

To save his hide, he was willing to pay any amount, to lie, to cheat, to beg and even to grovel. In short, he was willing to do anything except apologize or explain himself to the people he wronged and robbed.

Unfortunately, Gadhafi’s cockiness, stubbornness and arrogance remind m

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The words of former Secretary of State Colin Powell have come back to haunt the president of the United States. President Bush should have paid closer attention to Powell’s warning about Iraq: "If you break it, you own it."

I watched Bush’s speech at Fort Bragg but wasn’t intrigued by what he said. I was more intrigued by the delivery of the speech. His body, lip movements and words were not synchronized. Indeed, watching the president reminded me of a dubbed Chinese movie. Most important, I found the whole atmosphere to be somewhat artificial and, hence, less convincing.

Having said that, let me state that I agree with the president. America cannot pull out of Iraq now, and he needs to make a better case. His administration went out of its way and against every sensible advice to invade and break Iraq. Now he needs to fix it.

However, this process must begin at home, and it begins by telling the truth to Americans. His speech omitted the most important information about this nasty affair.

First, it is shameful to keep on linking the events of 9-11 with Iraq. Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9-11, and someone needs to tell Bush that insisting on the link insults America’s intelligence. Beginning such an important speech with that assertion merely undermines his credibility.

Second, Americans need to know the insurgency in Iraq is homegrown. Tens of th

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The first Lebanese elections in 30 years free of direct Syrian influence have just ended.

The anti-Syrian forces emerged controlling 72 seats in the 128-seat parliament. However, anyone acquainted with Lebanon knows that numbers don’t matter much in Lebanese politics — and certainly not a majority of seven in a coalition victory.

Indeed, the anti-Syrian forces might have won the battle, but they are losing the war. Let me explain why I believe the pro-Syrian forces have an overwhelming majority in the Lebanese parliament despite the fact they lost the elections.

The anti-Syrian forces are a coalition of four major groups and a number of independent candidates united by the single issue of removing Syrian influence from Lebanese politics. Most prominent among them is the Future Movement, led by Saad Hariri, son of the late billionaire and former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, whose assassination provided the impetus for the United Nations to order Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon.

The second partner in the coalition is the Democratic Gathering, which is composed of the Progressive Socialist Party, headed by the Druse leader Walid Jumblatt, and the Lebanese Forces Movement, headed by imprisoned militia leader Samir Geagea.

Geagea is accused of murdering countless innocent Lebanese and also was implicated in the massacre of Palestinians at the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps. His crimes were deemed so serious by the Lebanese government that he was excluded from an amnesty granted to other Lebanese warlords.

The Qornet Shehwan Gathering is also par

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Last week’s global fracas over a Newsweek article claiming that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay flushed a copy of the Koran in the toilet set the Islamic world on fire.

Anti-U.S. demonstrations from Indonesia to Morocco are proving to be a major setback for the Bush administration’s efforts to reach an accommodation with Muslims.

I hate to say this, but I can’t help but wonder if the Bush administration is really interested in fighting terror. It seems to me that some elements in the government are working hard to promote it.

News travels fast, but bad news travels faster. Until the story broke, it was not difficult to see that much of the Islamic world had nothing but contempt for the Bush administration. Today, the contempt has turned to loathing and disrespect. It is evident in the written and electronic media emanating from the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Newsweek has retracted the story, but the damage is already done. Like many Arabs and Muslims, I believe the incident did take place. I read reports in Arab media of similar incidents long before Newsweek’s article came out. Indeed, Michael Isikoff, author of the Newsweek piece, must have first encountered the story in the Arabic media. He merely sought confirmation in his latest interviews with the unnamed sources.

I can’t speak for all Arab Americans, but I do find it difficult to believe the administration’s denials. It has a long track record of telling whoppers that would make Pinocchio’s nose longer than an elephant’s trunk.

This leadership fabricated stories to promote foreign military adventures as well as harass and imprison innocent people. It currentl

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I find the whole battle over the nomination and confirmation of John Bolton to head America’s delegation to the United Nations silly and quite fruitless. In my opinion, Bolton should be confirmed to the post without further ado.

This is the game of democracy. President Bush has been elected to lead the United States and, hence, he has the right to have his team approved by Congress. It is highly unlikely that Bolton will mess things up more than they already are or make the Bush administration more globally detested than it already is.

I don’t particularly like Bolton or agree with his philosophy, but I do feel sorry for him. He has been put in a position where he will lose even if he wins.

But as far as the requirements of this particular job are concerned, it doesn’t really matter if he wins or loses. His nomination has been burdened by partisan politics, as well as a lack of understanding of his mission and particular talents. Furthermore, should he be rejected by the Senate, someone else with similar traits will be nominated by the administration.

America’s ambassadors to the United Nations are its most visible diplomats, but they also are the least independent. They have to wait for instructions before casting a vote or embarking on any form of private or public diplomacy. Therefore, it is only logical to surmise that Bolton will not deviate from the parameters set for him by his superiors.

His detractors accuse him of being a nasty "kiss-up, kick-down" individual. Some of his former colleagues and a few subordinates also criticize him for being a bad diplomat and analyst. He is best known for his dislike of the United Nations.

Why should that be so strange when the Bush administration has publicly denounced the organization and pursued policies to weaken it and render it hel

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