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Until it Feels Good
Hat tip Tim Blair"Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of â56 Professor Legitimates and Supports the Murder of Coalition Troops in Iraq." This is what last Thursdayâs Cornell Daily Sun headline should have read. But alas, the most important and relevant Cornell-related news of the week was ignored by The Sun and the media at large. Just last Wednesday, Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of â56 Professor John Pilger told Australian Broadcasting Corporation interviewer Tony Jones that he hopes for a U.S. defeat in Iraq, because heâs afraid that a victory in Iraq would prompt similar U.S. invasions of other countries, such as Iran, North Korea, and even China. So basically, Pilger would like the Iraqi people -- a majority of whom state that things are better now than before the war -- to get screwed because a U.S. victory wouldnât suit his own political agenda. But it gets worse: Tony Jones: Can you approve ... the killing of American ... or Australian troops who are in the occupying forces? John Pilger: Well yes, theyâre legitimate targets. Theyâre illegally occupying a country. And I would have thought from an Iraqiâs point of view they are legitimate targets, theyâd have to be, sure. Tony Jones: So Australian troops you would regard in Iraq as legitimate targets? John Pilger: Iâve just said that any foreign occupier of a country, military occupier, be they Germans in France, Americans in Vietnam ... wherever ... I would have thought, from the point of view of the local people ... if Australia had been invaded and occupied by the Japanese, then the occupying forces, from the point of view of the people of that country, are legitimate targets. Pilger presents two ideas: the occupation of Iraq is illegal and all foreign occupiers are legitimate targets of the local populace. Deeming the occupation of Iraq "illegal" is most interesting. Indeed, even the U.N. has sanctioned the occupation, so I have no choice but to conclude that Pilger is either using the term "illegal" as a synonym for "I donât like it," or he is merely espousing the legal theories of the Taliban Sharia Council. As for his charge that all foreign occupiers are legitimate targets, Pilger has the grace to admit that Saddam Hussein committed human rights abuses of gross proportions. But he states that the brutal dictator should have been deposed by the Iraqi people, despite the fact that the Iraqi people had been unable to do so for decades prior to the coalitionâs removal of Saddam. Similar logic holds that the victims of the Holocaust were responsible for deposing Hitler and that liberation troops were legitimate targets of the local Germans. Pilgerâs sick moral relativism knows no bounds, going so far as to compare the occupation of Iraq -- whose aim is to establish a functioning society -- with a hypothetical Japanese occupation of Australia during World War II. Sadly, Pilger is not the only poor excuse for a visiting professor we have on campus this year. Last semester, I lamented the choice of Cynthia McKinney, failed Atlanta Congresswoman and Sept. 11 conspiracy theorist, as another one of this yearâs appointees. In her visit last semester, McKinney denied that genocide occurred in Iraq, expressed support for Robert Mugabeâs racist regime in Zimbabwe and even failed to directly condemn anti-Semitic comments made by her father. Yet the Cornell administration has declined to intervene by terminating their professorships. While both Pilger and McKinney have the Constitutional right to freedom of speech, Cornell is under no onus to provide a home for two wholly meritless individuals. When will the madness stop? I must again note that the only method to which the University will respond is a significant drop in donations accompanied by an influx of complaints. Instead of reporting on Pilgerâs interview last week, The Sun ran a cheery article about how great it is to give money to Cornell. Cornell Trustee John Alexander â74 called on graduating seniors, many of whom have no jobs and huge loan payments, to "give until it feels good." But before making any donations, Cornell seniors and alumni should take a moment and reflect on where their dollars are headed. There is no shame in saying that you would like to donate to the school, but simply cannot support an institution that provides a home for someone who legitimates the murder of American servicepeople in Iraq. Consider the statements of John Pilger for yourself -- they can be found at www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2004/s1063309.htm. Then decide whether giving anything at all to Cornell would make you feel good. Elliott Marc Davis is a senior in the College of Engineering. He can be reached at emd27@cornell.edu Reality Daytrips usually appears alternate Thursdays. Posted by: tipper 2004-03-17 |
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