(Where Two Rivers Meet, Japan) Who, God Reporter?
(Le reporter pour le Dieu)
SECTION I: Google Web Search
I simply typed “God Reporter of Japan” in a search-key field of Google Web Search.
Then, “EEE Reporter” was returned at the second position among 505,000 candidate Web sites.
The first one is, as you can verify easily, the following:
“Amazon.com: God Has Ninety-Nine Names: A Reporter's Journey Through a..”
SECTION II: “God Has Ninety-Nine Names”
I have not bought or read this book: “God Has Ninety-Nine Names: A Reporter's Journey Through a Militant Middle East” (Hardcover) by Ms. Judith Miller.
But, as it looks like having been published in 1996, it seems to have its value as a report on the Middle East before the era from the Death of Princess Diana with an Egyptian through AlQaeda’s Terror to the present-day situations in the Islamic World.
But, most importantly, one comment on this book was posted on September 5, 2001, just a week before the 9/11 Terror on New York and Washington D.C.
Therefore I felt like paying a special attention to this comment on the book.
SECTION III: “Flawed but still good”
The reader of the book “God Has Ninety-Nine Names” wrote:
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I do not share the British author's severity of judgement. "God has ninety-nine names" is, before anything, a series of photographs in words. The reader will not get the depth that a profound analysis of the region should have, but we are trading the scholarly insights of a historian (and Miller is not a historian) for the immediacy of a reporter.
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http://www.amazon.com/God-Has-Ninety-Nine-Names-Reporters/dp/0684809737
That is nice. You should not respect words of British colonists anyway. Rather, we can evaluate the level of commonsense of the writer and the reader in the following context:
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The Middle East then appears as a dangerous place where secular and not-so-secular governments, some allied to the West, some its declared enemies, fight mostly vicious little wars against the religious militants who want to overthrow them and impose Shari'a throughout the Islamic world.
The level of nastiness seems to have gone down, curiously, in Iran, where Shari'a is supposed to be working since the Shah left.
Miller writes chapters on ten countries, including Sudan, Egypt, Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. That the only country in the region where fundamentalists can participate politically as opposition, elect mayors, and run their show mostly as they see fit, is Israel, should not surprise anyone.
That as soon as they acquire power (as in Sudan and Iran) fundamentalists make it practically impossible for others to be critical, except in open rebellion, should not be a surprise, either.
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That is also nice to confirm the meaning of the lack of democracy in this modern era if in the Islamic regions.
But, a week after the reader posted his comment, the four US commercial jet planes were hijacked by AlQaeda and the 9/11 Terror was conducted in the sky over the East.
SECTION IV: Mike’s Blog
US Congressman Mr. Mike Pence recently reported on his inspection tour to Iraq and Afghanistan:
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…We arrived at the remote mountain compound of the president of the Kurdish Region of Northern Iraq.
I told President Barzani of my longstanding admiration for his people, given how difficult a trial they endured under Saddam Hussein. The president seemed most moved when I mentioned our nation's enduring sadness at the tragedy visited upon his people in the chemical attack on the city of Halabja by Saddam Hussein in 1988…
His eyes narrowed and he nodded slowly as I spoke of the justice that will be served on Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as "Chemical Ali". Hours before we arrived, it was announced that the man who organized that attack on defenseless Kurds would be executed before the end of the month.
When I asked him why Iraqi Kurdistan had been almost entirely free of insurgent or Al Qaeda violence, he responded, "the culture is the difference.” He alluded to a long tradition among Kurdish people of respecting religious and ethnic differences…
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http://penceblog.rcsinteractive.com/2008/03/pence-blog-return-to-iraq-and.html
It showed a typical exchange of words between an American with power and a local leader under hegemony of the U.S. military.
An enemy of another enemy might be a quasi-friend. But, it is not a true friend to tell any truth to.
A US Congressman should have rather frankly said: “We have rescued your tribe by suppressing, driving out, and defeating your longtime enemies, Arabs with weapons including AlQaeda. How much are you thankful to us?”
Then, a Kurdish leader might piously say, “Great is Allah!”
But, Mr. Mike Pence presented interesting information, too:
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As we overflew Baghdad, I was again struck by the sheer dimensions of this city of 6 million. Despite its immense population, Baghdad contains very few buildings taller than 10 stories. The streets below us were teeming with everyday life, foot traffic and cars. This weekend, Baghdad plays host to a soccer tournament. Despite the ravages of decades of repression and war, thanks to the sacrifices of American and Iraqi soldiers, this city is coming back…
Our morning began in Kabul, Afghanistan, with a military briefing on the state of the conflict in Afghanistan. The terrorist groups, Taliban and Al Qaeda, have been attempting a comeback in Afghanistan and this spring could prove to be some of the toughest fighting in this country in some time. But our military will not be caught off guard. The majority of terrorist activity in Afghanistan is taking place in roughly ten percent of the country. Our military and our NATO allies are aware of this and are already focusing resources and tactics in these areas…
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Now, you know the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan are yet to recover to the ones in the best days before the Iran-Iraq War and the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan around 1980.
And, none seems to believe that they can arrest Mr. Osama bin Laden in any future.
Or, no unarmed American tourists are yet expected to stroll along the Mesopotamia ruins to enjoy seeing relics of the birthplace of Abraham.
Anyway, a nice report, Mr. Congressman.
(I don’t think it is a good idea, “President Hillary” and “Vice President Obama,” either.
But, I support the idea, “President Hillary” and “Vice President Caroline Kennedy.”
And, you can also introduce a Temporary US King for Mr. Ralph Nader.
In addition, you can establish the Department of Media for Mr. Michael Moore.
But, please do not invite Mrs. Margaret Thatcher from England for any new post such as US Ambassador to Paris…)
“WARNINGS AGAINST IDOLS”
(Ein warnendes Beispiel)