Irina Malenko: Following in dictators’ footsteps

President Bush has appeared with a festive speech to Muslim nations connected with Ramadan. It is good, of course, that Mr W finally got to know the Taliban not to be a pop-group and that there are other festivals in the world besides Fourth of July, Merry Christmas and Thanksgiving Day. Though today’s speech does not have a smell of some New Year’s appeals of Leonid Brezhnev: the USSR leader did not bombed the people he congratulated on holidays… Let us imagine in the place of the congratulated: for example you are preparing to celebrate Easter or the Seventh November (depending on your world view). This time, a foreign power is bombing you, while its leader congratulates you on the holiday, declaring the bombardments will not be ceased for the festive time and laying stress on “humanitarian efforts” of his country… People in the world are no more surprised that Americans spit upon other nations’ sanctuaries. Let us remember for example bombardments of Belgrade during Easter days, two years ago. At least, at that time, Bill Clinton did not dare to congratulate “all Orthodox nations of the world” on “the bright holiday”…. Here are some quotations from Mr Bush to help our readers to evaluate the speech. It would be enough to imagine oneself in the place of people to whom these words are addressed, and these bombs, too. “We are sending our heart wishes of health, prosperity and happiness on Ramadan and for the whole coming year (Bush probably does not know that Muslim calendar does not correspond with the European one – I.M.) to Muslims in America and in the whole world.” “America is proud of its leading role in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan through its dropping provisions packages from air and through trucks with food, medicine and other things that are so necessary.” And what about cassette bombs? Say it to fathers and mothers of babies killed by you and to Afghan children who became orphans, Mr president!

Irina Malenko PRAVDA.Ru

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2001/11/17/33931.html