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| Middle East Arms Sales Will Fuel Religion-Based Terrorism Posted by Luke Setzer on 8/24, 7:00am | ||
| This press release bears some resemblance to some of the critiques of foreign policy I have seen from Objectivist organizations but some differences as well. I wanted to share it for discussion here. [Adobe Acrobat file is at: http://home.comcast.net/~lmunding/pr.html ] ================================ AMERICAN ATHEISTS, INC. http://www.atheists.org http://www.americanatheist.org For more information, please contact: Ellen Johnson, President (908) 276-7300 Dave Silverman, Communications Director (732) 648-9333 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 24, 2007 ATHEISTS WARN: BUSH PLAN TO FURTHER MILITARIZE MIDDLE EAST FUELS RELIGIOUS TERRORISM AMERICAN ATHEISTS cautioned today that President Bush's plan to sell $20 billion of advanced military hardware to Saudi Arabia and five other Persian Gulf states, and provide more aid to Israel threatens to further destabilize the region and fuel religion-based terrorism. The New York Times last month described Bush's maneuver: "(T)o contain the growing power of Iran in the region and demonstrate that, no matter what happens in Iraq, Washington remains committed to its longtime Arab allies." Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, said that further military assistance "can only add to the instability of this already volatile region," and called for an international arms embargo. Johnson added that the U.S. needs to pay less attention to preparing the Arab countries for war, and instead join an international effort to develop the area and create economic prosperity, and "grow" secular institutions. "Creating jobs and economic opportunity, securing full rights for the region's women, encouraging an authentic civil society with personal rights -- all of this is needed to challenge the rampant clerical terrorism that plagues the Middle East." Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists, said that western aid is fueling the growth of religious chauvinism throughout the area. "In Saudi Arabia, the religious police, ('Committee to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice') drive new American jeeps, and King Abdullah declared last year that he supports the Koran as his nation's constitution and Islam as the state religion." "This type of military aid is propping up dictatorial, theocratic regimes. These weapons can easily fall into the hands of religion-based terrorists who are even more ruthless in their desire to play the role of being 'God's warriors,' " added Mr. Silverman. AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy. American Atheists, Inc. P. O. Box 5733 Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733 Tel.: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402 | ||
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