Letters to the Editor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The United Nations and Haiti
In his article titled “Terrorists in Haiti and the American Presidential Election,” columnist Raymond A. Joseph states that the United Nations is withdrawing personnel from Haiti [Foreign, October 22, 2004].
On the contrary, while some U.N. agencies have withdrawn their non-essential staff, the numbers of U.N. peacekeepers are actually increasing.
Some 3,800 peacekeepers will be on the ground by November 1. By the end of that month, we anticipate that the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, or Minustah, will have 6,000 troops – from Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jordan, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Spain, and Sri Lanka.
Last week, a contingent of police from China arrived and additional formed police units from Nepal and Pakistan will arrive in the next several weeks.
Minustah is mandated, inter alia, in support of the Transitional Government of Haiti, to ensure a secure and stable environment, to assist the Transitional Government in monitoring, restructuring and reforming the Haitian National Police, and to monitor and report on the human rights situation.
Minustah is working closely with the Transitional Government of Haiti, and several joint operations have been undertaken to help stabilize the situation.
I should add that Secretary-General Annan has publicly commented that the Minustah Force Commander’s statement was inaccurate, and that the secretary-general’s view is that the problems the U.N. faces in Haiti have their roots in that country and nowhere else.
JEAN-MARIE GUEHENNO
United Nations Undersecretary-General For Peacekeeping Operations
Manhattan
‘Bollinger’s Blindness’
Regarding “Bollinger’s Blindness” and the strong pro-Palestinian bias of the Middle East professors, like Professor Massad, I suggest a course on how and why 800,000 Jewish citizens in nine Arab countries were ethnically cleansed between 1945 and 1970 [Editorial, October 22, 2004].
This is the story of the Forgotten Refugees. We were forced to leave everything behind: our friends, schools, bank accounts, homes and businesses. We did nothing wrong, did not commit any crimes and broke no laws. Yet, Arab leaders kicked us out simply because we were Jews. As a result, a 3,000 year old heritage and rich culture was nearly destroyed and a whole people was made irrelevant.
Israel’s population is over 55% Jews from Arab countries and from Ethiopia. The United Nations did not spend one penny to help us. Instead, it showered the Palestinians with billions of dollars since 1948, even though it was they and the Arab League who started a war of extermination in 1948.
JOSEPH ABDEL WAHED
Emeritus President
Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (Jimena)
www.Jimena-justice.org
Moraga, Calif.
The Elusive Mr. X
“Mr. X’s Anonymity” makes me wonder who the anonymous one really is: our “closeted” Republican friend or Nancy from Brooklyn [Nancy Joyce Jancourtz, Letters, October 26, 2004].
We may not know Mr. X by name, yet by his two columns in The New York Sun and the Letters page in response to that first column, “Living in a Closet” [September 8, 2004], we pretty much know what he is about.
We know his ideas, his opinions, and his “problems” with those who hate Republicans. Many Sun readers, no doubt, feel he’s one of us, as if we actually know Mr. X personally. We can only hope that someday he will reveal his identity so we can perhaps address him one to one and even meet him.
Nancy, though, we know her name. We even know her last name. But we don’t know where she is coming from, politically or personally. One can only wonder why she would call Mr. X’s choice of remaining anonymous “abhorrent” or a “ludicrous camouflage.” Pretty strong words for someone writing a semiserious/semi-tongue-in-cheek column.
Nancy from Brooklyn, eh? Why the anger? Is it really against Mr. X? Or is it President Bush? An attack on Mr. X and then a positive critique of one of his ideas. Very strange.
We may or may not find out the true identity of Mr. X and we do have the true identity of Nancy. Yet based on her letter, she is the one who is really anonymous. To that end, I know I want to meet Mr. X someday. As for Ms. Jancourtz….
EVAN EDWARDS
Manhattan
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