Hassan Osman Dahab (Copenhagen, Denmark), 28 December 2006

Open Letter to George W. Bush

Mr. President,

You are the president of the world. You are the president of the most powerful country in the present time. We owe your country great debts in almost all aspects of life. Your country has contributed enormously to the world civilization. It is the United States of America that has made our world an easier place to live. It has made countless contributions to modern history.

When I was young, I dreamed of the United States as a land of milk and honey, a paradise of opportunities; as the song says: "If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere." That was the attitude of many young men of my generation. Now, I am asking myself: "What happened to that land of my dreams? Why did the American soldiers, who were supposed to defend world democracy and human rights, become enemy number one to the world nations in general and to the Islamic one in particular?"

Something must have gone wrong. Since I have unbounded respect for your nation, I found it necessary to write to you, expressing my feelings and expectations for your respected country and wishing that the United States will become our Mecca again.

Most Arab intellectuals believe that United States supported the most brutal dictators in our modern history and such support has something to do with its economic interest in the Arab world. My question is: "Were there not other means of protecting the United States interest than supporting these dictators?" That will definitely save us the hardships we undergo! The United States had supported democracy in all Eastern Europe countries that were ruled by the communist dictatorships. We have the right as human beings to dream of freedom and liberation form our oppressive regimes.

We hoped that our turn for democracy had come when the Berlin wall fell and that the light of freedom would shine in the near future, but the dictators are still there, practicing their oppression, and on top of that we have the extremists who want to turn the clock back to the Middle Ages, to the dark periods of human history.

Being in Iraq, you have created another monster, and that is Iran. You have managed to oust the worst dictator in the world: Saddam Hussein; but we are now facing a stronger fanatic nation which could pose a serious threat to world peace and security. My question is: "Has not it been possible to eliminate Saddam's regime by using other means than force?" Iraq has been completely destroyed and hundred of thousands of people have been killed for no reason at all. "Is not there another means of solving this catastrophic situation", I ask.

We believe that the Palestinian question is the cornerstone of the struggle in the Middle East. Your country has adopted an unfair, subjective policy whereby you extend blind support to Israel. There is more than one Arab initiative which gives the right to Israel to exist and to normalize the diplomatic and economic ties but you have turned your back to them.

There are other means of sharing wealth. As we all know, few countries cannot own and spend all the oil of the world; we want to share it with other nations, including the United States, in return for peace and prosperity for our people. Now we are facing hate and a desire to burn oil and exhaust the most important source of energy in our world. Hate creates war, destruction and pollution; as a result many young innocent people die with no reason. It is your responsibility to save their lives.

We expect that reason will reign and that a fair solution will be worked out. The United States could lead the world to peace and prosperity. Then fanaticism would have no place to subsist; it would eventually disappear.

We believe that there is a dignified way for the United States to withdraw its forces from Iraq and, as a great nation, it would courageously confess that the war in Iraq was a mistake. The whole world would appreciate such stand and would never look down or downplay its role as leader of the world.

Hassan Osman Dahab, PhD
dahab1947@yahoo.com