By Irina Malenko
 

A chara,

 President Bush has called yesterday terrorist attacks on US "attacks on freedom
 itself". The question is - whose freedom? Mr. Bush's freedom seems to be freedom
 for the US to dictate to the rest of the world how to live. Racists cannot even
 be named racists in this "free" world - if they are American friends, as we
 have witnessed at the UN conference on racism in South Africa last week.

 Yesterday's attack was far more an attack on American arrogance and on the New
 World Order US is trying to impose on the rest of the world. It is to be deeply
 regretted that the civilians have died - but it is an utter hypocrisy to hear
 Tony Blair speaking of a "new evil" - while just 2 years ago THE VERY SAME Tony Blair was ecstatic while bombing civilians in Yugoslavia. He had no words of
 condemnation for causing "collateral damage" then. There were many babies among
 those killed by UK/US aggression. I don't think there were THAT many babies in WTC or Pentagon yesterday....

 So, only Americans and British are counted in this world as human beings?

 Does he even think that this might be a payback time for all the evil that NATO
 under US/UK duo's leadership has done to the rest of the world in the last decennia?

 We remember smiling Bush telling us of yet another bombing of Iraq. Where is
 his smile now?

 I hope arrogant Americans who never lost at a single battle more than 2500 people
 - like in Pearl Harbour - will finally be able to feel something of other nations'
 pain. On many occasions caused by their own government!

 The ability to finally understand the horrors of war and mass destruction might
 prevent future acts of state terrorism by the so-called superpower. If this
 nation will open its eyes and realise that blood, fears and pain are not a
 new Hollywood movie, they are very real. If Western nations will be able to
 learn to say "no!" to similar acts perpetrated by their own leaders.
 

SECOND LETTER TO A FRIEND.

By Irina Malenko
 
 

A chara,

I couldn't keep 3 minutes of silence on Friday - because doing that would be
hypocritical and total disrespect for the innocent victims of the US
military machine in different countries whom nobody in the so-called "free"
world seems to care about. I felt sick to my stomach about Western
politicians abusing the latest human tragedy for their political purposes.

...They were not human beings, but just faceless numbers for the
Westerners, including the majority of the Irish people - thanks to so-called
"free" media who would never dare to publish on its pages or to show on its
screens what Western "fight for democracy" (read: thick wallets!) is doing
to the rest of the world.

Most of these people were killed "in the name of democracy" barely 2 years
ago. Nobody in the West even remembered about them this week. Nearly a half
of those killed by NATO in Yugoslavia were children. They all have lived in
fear for over 70 days - not just one day. Very few in the West cared: it is
much easier to believe what your government is telling you about "collateral
damage"!

Until you get "collateral damage" in your own backyard.... Until one of
those you love becomes "collateral damage". Then Tony Blair, the Real Mighty
Butcher of Balkans, is suddenly talking of "a new evil" - while this New
Evil is represented exactly by people like himself.

Look at these faces (or whatever is left of these men, women and children).
Look - and maybe then you will understand, even if just a little bit, the
reasons for what happened in America this week... And what does 3/4 of the
world (even though it is "not free world"- please do not try "to liberate"
us!) feel about the US regime.
 
 

Your opinion