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From: bottom@katadn.DEC
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: American hostages
Message-ID: <101@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 23-Aug-85 06:58:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.101
Posted: Fri Aug 23 06:58:43 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Aug-85 23:49:51 EDT
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Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
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What hostages are we talking about? If memory serves me correctly they 
were not vouluntarily entering a war zone but traveling through a "neutral"
country at which time they were abducted by force and then taken to a war zone.
As far as I know we are not at war with Iran or the PLO, however we have
for the past 20 years or so given military aid to the Israelies which means
that we have back the aggressive expansionist force in the middle east. Not
to say that the PLO is right, but they have a point. Did "we" get what we
deserved? No, a young man was shot because of his job ( I say JOB not 
profession as most young men who join the military don't stay in after
their first hitch). Maybe we should shoot all systems analyists since my
computerised credit accounts are screwed up. Then we could say it was their
fault for working with computers.

The thing that disturbs me is that many people seem to feel that this young
marine was at fault when he got shot. Or he was the scapegoat for Reagan or 
something. Reagan did not start our involvement in the middle east, if 
I remember correctly we have been involved there since Truman & Eisenhower's
time as president. Both "peace loving" democrats such as Johnson and Kennedy
(who incidently was the only president to ever threaten a nuclear war with
the Soviets; a truly "great man" pahh!. Gee if he had followed through he 
could have written a new chapter for profiles in courage "The END" and been
famous for killing everyone instead of catching a bullet in Texas) and war
mongers such as Nixon, Reagan, Ford  etc. Our military involvement in the
middle east has been steady thoughout the years and is not an invention
of the Republican party or Ronald Reagan. Even peace loving congressmen
have been all in favor of continued support of Israel. (substitute hi-
tek weapons for support) What's my point? We blew it in the first place
but that does not justify attacks apon our citizenry at home or abroad.

During this last hostage crisis (probably not the "last") a friend of mine
was vacationing in Greece. Since he was concerned he contacted the American
Embassy. They told him that since he was an American his life was in danger
overseas and they (the embassy ie the US) could do nothing to help protect him.
This does not sound like something that he deserved, he's just an engineer
not a pro Israelie war monger. Luckily one hostage crisis at once is enough
to satisfy the arabs who go in for such stuff.

But wait, lets find another way to justify a group of social children's
sensless violence, and if possible let's find a way to make it the victim's
fault. (maybe they wore brown socks and that enrages arabs)


Dave Bottom
DEC Augusta Maine
!dec-rhea!dec-katadn!bottom

"Lets be clever."