Israel

Dear Barack,
It's been awhile since I had a chance to write. I've been stranded in town by flooding of the area that I live in. Fortunately, I have not suffered any loss as a result.

I'm glad to see that you are taking a harder line with the Israelis over their treatment of the Palestinians than previous administrations have.I understand that they are the US's main ally in the region, but to ignore their inhumane policies would be to fall in the old trap that the US has been falling into for decades, namely supporting tyranny because the tyrants are "friendly" to the US.We know how those situations have turned out. If the US wants to be seen as having some sort of moral high ground, you have to try to reign in their excesses.
The Palestinians of course do not make things easy. Firing rockets into civilian areas continues to inflame the nationalistic sentiments of the more extreme of the Israelis,but we have to cut them some slack, after all they have been dispossessed of their lands and homes, and continue to be harassed and mistreated by not only the extreme Zionists, but also the government of Israel.One must also take into account the power imbalance between the two parties.
It amazes me that the Jewish people, after the treatment they had inflicted on them by the Nazis, and their constant referencing to those events, now find themselves treating the Palestinians in similar, though admittedly not as extreme, ways. I guess they are driven by a "never again shall we allow this to happen to us" attitude, which is somewhat understandable, though to then oppress another people shows no gain in empathy or understanding.They condemn the monsters of the past whilst becoming monsters themselves.
I agree that probably the only hope of peace is a " two state" solution. It's a pity that so far the Israelis have not agreed to this idea. You need to insist, perhaps even withdraw some support and aid, to help them come to a realisation that they are becoming that which they fear. It is an easy thing to do, and we are all at risk of this happening to us, but we have to find the courage and the empathy to move beyond our fears, as individuals and as nations.

Keep up the good work, Ed

Afghanistan

Dear Barack,

Tonight I'm going to look at the situation in Afghanistan.

I understand the reasons why the US and others invaded Afghanistan. The Taliban seems to be a bunch of violent thugs that use Islam as an excuse to oppress the general population. We are also lead to believe that they harbour and train terrorists, Osama Bin Laden being the most famous of these psychotics. It's a pity that your predecessor felt it necessary to lie to the world about Iraq and it's non existent weapons and links to the attack on the World Trade Center, and then invade Iraq, thus taking the main thrust away from actually achieving what was the ostensible reason for all the military action.

So Osama Bin Laden has still not been found, the Taliban is now becoming stronger in Afghanistan and on the verge of destabilising Pakistan.Iraq is a mess and thousands of innocent civilians have been killed, both by the Western coalition and the internal power struggles unleashed by the removal of the original power structures. (however odious we may have found them).And our soldiers are dying for little gain.

Why have the local populations not embraced the Democracy that we have imposed on them?
Are the new leaders real democrats or just another lot of thugs taking advantage of the US's desire to have the situation appear to be democratic?

I think that the main reason that we have not won over the population is the use of air strikes on villages to kill suspected fighters. Do you think killing innocent women and children and other noncombatants wins over the people? These are tribal warriors that have codes of honour. I would imagine that these attacks look like the work of cowards and not much different in effect than what the Russians did. If you want to earn the respect of the people then you'll have to do it the hard way. Security on the ground. Only attacking fighters. Real improvement in infrastructure that the people want. And even then we are still foreign invaders. Ask yourself how Americans would feel if the Taliban invaded America "for your own good"?

The only way to achieve peace with warfare is genocide. I can't think of any invader that achieved peace in the invaded country without destruction of the indigenous culture, can you?

I know that you didn't start any of this, and you are pulling the troops out of Iraq and I hope that diplomacy will work and hold the country together. But I have my doubts. I think Saddam was all that held it together. We shall see.

I think that in Afghanistan you won't achieve peace with force. The people are the key, it's their country, they will have to make the choice to throw off the Taliban. Did we learn nothing from Vietnam, the cold war, Northern Ireland etc, etc.

I understand that you need to safeguard the US from terrorist attack, which seems to be going well as there hasn't been any of late, so use intelligence and if absolutely necessary tightly targeted action, but invasion only stirs up the hornets.

It must be the hardest part of being President, especially for someone that has such an humane view, I don't envy you this.

Good luck with it all, and search your heart for the right path,

Ed