Guest Commentary | Some people try to forgive, but they never forget

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator


Some people try to forgive but they never forget.

The people of Israel will never forget the October 7th massacre by Hamas which barbarically took the lives of over 1400 people. The goal of Israel now is to eliminate Hamas by whatever means it takes.

In the process of Israel now avenging their rage, innocent civilian Palestinians are being killed by Israel’s aggression. Thousands are being killed. What is this doing to the minds of the Palestinians? Palestinians who survive Israel’s aggression will forever have an internal malice and hate toward Israel that will never be forgotten. Most likely many if not all of the Palestinians already hated Israel. If there were any Palestinians who had any love for Israel, they don’t have it any longer.

For years and ages to come there will be Palestinians who will hate Israel more than ever before. How many of these will act out their hate in terroristic ways? Israel will never forget, nor will the Palestinians. This is a lousy way for neighbors to get along with each other. The goal of Israel is to eliminate Hamas. Their goal is not to kill the Palestinians. Unfortunately, thousands of Palestinians are being killed.

Have you ever been to Pearl Harbor? Take the tour out to the USS Arizona where 1171 of our soldiers are buried there in a watery grave. Around Pearl Harbor there are other sunken ships and the remains of buried Americans. Even today it will invoke serious feelings of ill will toward the Japanese and what they did to us on December 7, 1941. We will never forget. Can you imagine how the Japanese feel about Americans? We obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing as many as 226,000 innocent civilians with our two atomic bombs on August 6 and 9, 1945. Do you think they will ever forget? Never. Our country and Japan have made great strides in international relations. However, nobody has forgotten what took place on both sides of the Pacific.

I often see shirt tags that say made in Vietnam. I have a hard time using anything made in Vietnam because of the thousands of American lives that were wasted in that country. It’s in the past but how do ever forget such a senseless war?

How do they people of Afghanistan and Iraq feel about America? They hate us Regardless of any good that we might have done they see us as a bunch of murderous thugs who don’t mind our own business.

Ukraine will forever hate Russia. Do you think Jewish people have feelings of love for the Germans and what happened to them during the holocaust?

We live in a world of an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth and it isn’t changing or going anywhere. You can talk about forgiveness and loving your enemies until you are blue in the face but the world doesn’t operate this way. It’s wonderful if you have truly forgiven someone who has wronged or hurt you. When you allow that deep internal malice to dominate your mind it’s only eroding your well-being and life. Hate doesn’t hurt the other person unless you allow that hate to manifest itself in a violent way toward that person.

Hamas has demonstrated their hatred for Jewish people.

The Palestinians will hate Israel for ages to come. Israel cannot coexist with unrelenting evil whose mission is to torture and kill Jewish people. The result is an ongoing mess that will never go away.

This is not working for our planet. A world that is able to take care of billions of people is going to be destroyed. Our only hope is to put away our bombs and live in peace and love. As long as there is evil in this world then unfortunately for us all, it’s not going to happen.


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He is the author of 13 books including UUncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Guest Commentary | We must pray Israel roots out and eliminates Hamas

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator


What would happen if several thousand members of ISIS or a group similar to Hamas invaded our Southern border? What if a group of 5,000 terrorists with semi-automatic weapons stormed our border? What would it look like? It might look like the Southern border of Israel – horrific.

We were totally caught off guard on September 11, 2001. That was a horrific day for America and the world. The terrorist group who attacked us brought about much death and suffering for our nation. Israel, totally caught off guard, will forever be scarred by the recent surprise attack led by Hamas that resulted in the horrific slaughter of families.

We must wake up in America. We do not have a secure border. Hundreds of thousands are coming every month into our nation. How many of these people are members of ISIS? How many of them are members of hate-filled terrorist groups? Their only mission is do whatever it takes to bring about mass casualties and to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible.

They have proven to us that they will bide their time. They are patient. Hamas reportedly has been planning this attack on Israel for two years. How many people are already in the United States who are waiting for a command from someone to go into action?

We must fortify our border and stop the siege of our nation. We must secure our border and allow only an orderly, legal entrance into our nation.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Hamas, ISIS. We have seen what ISIS is all about. They want to cut people’s heads off and broadcast it on social media and world-wide television. They want to mutilate women and children and burn people alive. We must be committed in America to doing whatever it takes to keep our freedom. There is a satanic mentality in the world that is like a slithering poisonous serpent waiting to strike our country just as Hamas has struck Israel.

Any form of religious expression that binds or enslaves people is evil. There is nothing good about any religion that oppresses people. Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32. The true heart of God is love and freedom in Christ. It does not seek to bring about enslavement, torture or pain. This is the work of Satan.

There are innocent civilians in Gaza. Let’s hope that they find a way to escape. Let us pray that as few lives as possible are killed in this Israel, Gaza war. By the time you read this there may not be much of Gaza left as Israel will not play patty cake with Hamas. We pray for the innocent to escape and the hostages to survive and be freed. We must surely also pray for the success of Israel to root out and eliminate Hamas. The only cure for such evil is for it to be eliminated.


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He is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Sign up for the Sentinel

Guest Commentary: What the Biden Administration should do in Taliban peace talks

by Ahmad Shah Mohibi


After weeks of increased violence, uncertainty, and a stalemate between the negotiating parties, talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban resumed earlier this week in Doha, amid a looming deadline for US troops to fully withdraw from the country by May of this year. Despite the flurry of historic developments that have taken place in Afghanistan over the past year, the next couple of months will be a critical test for both the momentum of the peace process and the patience of the major players involved.

International Policy For the Biden Administration, the outcome of the dialogue in Doha will be the first major foreign policy challenge, one that will either culminate in a historic agreement or continued entrenchment for what has already been America’s longest war. Public opinion polls conducted amongst a diverse group of American voters suggest that while most have experienced fatigue with the conflict, very few support a complete withdrawal of US troops, even when accounting for partisan differences.

Nevertheless, a full drawdown would likely strengthen the Taliban’s position, and encourage a repeat of the chaos that ensued in the aftermath of the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, and the cessation of Soviet foreign aid in 1991, which quickly brought down the government of Mohammad Najibullah a year later.

The Taliban’s current fighting force (estimated between 40,000-60,000 fighters) would take complete control of Afghan territory, highly unlikely. However, a potential breakdown of the current unity government, buttressed by the Taliban’s enduring connection to both Al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan Province (ISIL-Khorasan), would whet the Taliban’s risk appetite for sustained engagement with the Afghan armed forces as seen in the past months.

Given the fragility of the Ghani government, and waning enthusiasm from the American side, the Biden Administration’s best option is to pursue a compromise that would postpone their scheduled withdrawal in May and buy more time for the negotiators. The US exit from Afghanistan should be condition-based on peace in Afghanistan. The Americans should make it clear to the Taliban that if they don’t want peace, they will stay in Afghanistan.

The most important country for the Taliban in Pakistan, and when Pakistan is under American pressure, it will help the peace process.
At present, US policy toward Afghanistan remains vague, and although President Biden’s approach is expected to be a marked departure from that of his predecessor, it appears unlikely that he will undo either of two signature moves made by the Trump Administration, including the existing withdrawal agreement, and the recent drawdown of American troop levels to their present level of 2,500. Key personnel tied to the current deliberations, most notably US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, are also expected to be retained in the Biden Administration’s foreign policy team.

Presently, Taliban have the upper hand at negotiations, not because of the US-Taliban deal, but because they can simply walk away from the talks and go back fighting. The Doha agreement has defined the US troops withdrawal condition-based so there is no pressure on Taliban at the moment.

The Taliban has also benefited from the successful release of imprisoned fighters, and the international legitimacy that the US peace deal conferred to its organization and its external relations with foreign powers. The recent recess in peace talks saw the Taliban appeal to Iran, Russia, and Turkey in a bid to cultivate support and obstruct US efforts to put pressure on regional actors.

In the event that calls for an interim government (one that would presumably replace Ghani) go unheeded, the opportunity would be ripe for the Taliban to exploit factionalism between Ghani’s supporters and political rivals.

In order to reach the ideal scenario of a postponed withdrawal, the United States will likely have to lean on its existing relationship with state actors in lieu of a direct appeal to the Taliban. While generating strong buy-in from the likes of Russia, Iran, and Turkey is unlikely in the next 2 months, the Biden Administration does possess leverage over the Taliban’s main source of financial support (member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council) and political support (Pakistan). The most important country for the Taliban in Pakistan, and when Pakistan is under American pressure, it will help the peace process. By wielding the threat of sanctions, the United States could fulfill Pakistan’s long-standing demand to be removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s “grey list”, which would provide relief for Pakistan’s access to global capital markets and encourage foreign direct investment.

The economic argument for peace in Afghanistan has only grown stronger given the presence of lucrative natural resources, particularly mineral wealth, and the favorable location that could help the country generate transit fees from energy projects and improved infrastructure to facilitate trade between East and West Asia. The economic case could be compelling to win support from regional players like Russia, China, Pakistan, and Iran. Afghanistan is a rich country, but the economics only works if everyone is included. The recent commodity boom bodes well for the resources found in Afghanistan, with technology-critical elements like Lithium and Rare Earth Elements in a large abundance.

With little more than 60 days remaining before US troops are scheduled to withdraw, the next set of developments will be a harbinger for the trajectory of the peace process. Sustaining the momentum of the milestones achieved in the past year will require difficult political compromises from a long list of state and non-state actors.



Ahmad Shah Mohibi is the founder of Rise to Peace and also serves as the director of Counter-Terrorism programs. In this role, he conducts research and analyzes policy issues related to terrorism, violent extremism, international security, and peace peacebuilding efforts to help inform the policy practitioners, analysts, the private sector, international and non-governmental organizations. Prior to that, he served as an Advisor to the Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in Afghanistan, where he helped coordinate, implement, and monitor interconnected projects, including the $10 million initiative to build the Justice Center in Parwan.

Guns, knives, trucks and airplanes can all kill


Viewpoints
Terrorists proved on September 11, 2001 that guns are not necessary to kill 2,753 people.

Timothy McVeigh proved that a truck load of explosives can kill 168 people and injure 680 more as well as destroy one-third of building and damaging many others in Oklahoma City.

A man with a knife killed four people and wounded two others in Los Angeles last week.

A weapon of mass destruction can be a plane, an automobile, a knife, a gun or whatever an evil person chooses to utilize at a certain moment.

By and large the weapon of choice has been an automatic weapon capable of holding a high-capacity magazine.

Whether it was Las Vegas, Columbine, Charleston, El Paso, Dayton or sadly too many other locations to name, the weapon of choice has been an automatic rifle with high-capacity bullet magazines.

A truck can kill people but normally you can hear and see a truck coming. A knife can kill people but not as many as a rifle with a magazine clip holding 70 or more bullets.

An evil person can walk into a church, theatre, Walmart or school and immediately have a couple of hundred people huddled together as a target. He doesn’t have to aim. He just points the weapon and pulls the trigger. The gun acts like a sprayer of bullets hitting people so fast that running or dodging is almost impossible.

The shooter looks for scenarios where people are trapped with limited escape door opportunities. Thus a shooter with a bullet clip of 50, 70 or more has a potential of killing many people in just a minute or less.

This is why Congress must enact background checks, strict licensing for high-powered rifles and limit the number of bullets a clip can hold at one time.

However, here is the problem: What is the magic number? My ordinary pistols hold six shells and my automatic ones hold more, so what is the magic number of bullets that Americans will be limited to in one clip?

Will it be 10 or 15 or 20? Honestly, there is no right number because a skilled marksman will still be able to kill.

The hope is that maybe the ending of one clip or emptying of one pistol would give someone a chance to tackle the monster if anyone is still alive. Hopefully, someone in the room will have a gun and be able to stop the shooter.

I’m for limiting magazine capacity but it won’t eliminate terrorism and mass shootings. It’s a Hail Mary and our Congress has to do something but we have to do more.

Hollywood and network television has to change.

Universal Studios/NBC television is the biggest hypocrite of all. They constantly bark gun control and are negative toward the National Rifle Association yet coming out with a movie titled "The Hunt", which is supposedly about liberals hunting deplorables and killing them. This kind of junk is a huge part of the problem.

Hollywood, the music industry and video games makers must dramatically change their tone. Barney Fife in the Andy Griffith show carried a gun but he never made any of us want to kill anyone or hate people.

Guns, knives, trucks and airplanes can all kill. There are many other weapons that will kill massive numbers of people. We can’t eliminate them all. Our greatest need is a culture change.

Dr. Glenn Mollette



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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.
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