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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (46108)	5/13/2004 6:20:30 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Body snatchers and the price they demand keeps going higher. I agree ‘A value that has been distorted ‘ <Five Israel Defense Forces troops, one of them an officer, were killed in Gaza Wednesday night in an attack on the armored personnel carrier (APC) in which they were travelling. The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday night withdrew its forces from the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City after saying it located the remains of the six soldiers who were killed on Tuesday in an attack on an armored personnel carrier (APC). At Preventive Security headquarters in Gaza City early Thursday, Palestinian officials showed reporters a white medical container they said held all the remains, including the head.> A value that has been distorted As if Israel needed any more open fronts, it has over the past few years developed a strange weak point, vulnerable and debilitating, which in some respects even appears distorted: It has raised the price and value of what is routinely referred to as "bodies and body parts" of fighters who have fallen into the enemy's hands. The phenomenon began as a side issue in prisoner exchanges - in themselves controversial - that involved bringing home bodies of Israeli prisoners and fallen for burial in Israel. In later prisoner deals, the proportions began changing. As the authorities voluntarily gave in to "pressure from the families" and supported the warped pseudo-religious terms that became secularized and militarized, the price that Israel was ready to pay for bringing its dead "for burial in Israel" became higher and higher until it crossed the borders of rationality.It gradually transpired that Israel was willing to pay an extremely high price even for body parts - a fact that was exploited to the hilt by Hezbollah in the last prisoner exchange. Indeed, the enemy learned the lesson swiftly: from Israel's point of view, there is no difference between prisoners who are alive or dead, and even not between bodies and body parts. They almost all have equal weight - they must be "brought home," and "at any price." Thus the terrorist organizations can conclude that they are better off killing soldiers than taking them prisoner, and that they can mutilate corpses in order to double and treble the "price."It would seem that even the language has been distorted in an attempt to catch up with the warped values. Has the difference between respect for the dead and the sanctity of life become blurred to such an extent? Is the phrase "to bring the fighters home at any cost" an expression of "the sanctity of life" - or is it perhaps an expression of contempt for life?Millions of the Jewish people were lost and have no grave or tombstone, but this in no way detracts from their memory or dignity; this same nation has turned the concern with the burial of bodies and body parts into some strange fetish that overshadows common sense as well as simple security considerations.The state of Israel was established for the living. Bringing Jews to burial in Israel is not its supreme value. Even the Talmudic sages ruled, with regard to redemption of living captives - which in the eyes of Jewish tradition is the supreme religious precept - that they should not be redeemed "for more than their worth" out of societal considerations (tikkun olam). In other words, not to pay exorbitant ransoms that would provide incentives for the enemy, even though this is so hard on individuals, because it is dangerous to a society that must ensure its survival.The late Batya Arad, mother of missing navigator Ron Arad, displayed the required spiritual fortitude, despite her grief, when she announced that she was opposed to any deal for her son's body if he were no longer alive.Following Tuesday's attack on the armored personnel carrier in the Gaza Strip, the IDF troops in the area made the utmost efforts to recover remains of the bodies of the six soldiers killed by a roadside bomb. Now, despite our deep outrage at the atrocious spectacle of the body snatchers, the government must announce that it will not agree to give anything in return for the remains - and abide by this unconditionally. haaretz.com

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (46108)	5/18/2004 6:51:34 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Sonia Gandhi, expected to be sworn in as India's prime minister Wednesday, announced Tuesday that she did not want the job. Gandhi made the statement following discussions with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Tuesday, Sify News online reported. The president reportedly had asked her to return Wednesday with letters from coalition partners, to prove she had enough support to form a government. Intensive efforts were being made within the party to convince Gandhi to change her mind, the report said. Allies from other parties were also said to be in touch with her over the issue. If Gandhi refuses the post, veteran Congress leader Manmohan Singh looks likely to become prime minister. Message 20124265 Thursday, May 13, 2004 5:42 AM <India's PM to resign after Congress wins vote. If Sonia declines than Manmohan Singh, India's finance minister could be the compromise candidate for Congress and its allies.Manmohan Singh, was India's finance minister in the early 1990s and steered the country’s first wave of economic liberalisation.> >