First Attack on Amn Sovereign Soil Since Pearl Harbor

[BillLee]

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Posted by Bill Lee & John Karls

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Subject: Re: quiz
From: John Karls
Date: Sun, April 27, 2008 10:13 pm
To: Bill Lee
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Dear Bill,

Thank you for your note!!! Which, as usual, was very thoughtful!!!

I'm very sorry our paths haven't crossed recently - I sing in the Utah Symphony Chorus and we were performing Carmina Burana Fri & Sat with wall-to-wall rehearsals every evening all week.

Re the "American sovereign soil" question - you know me, always trying "to stir the pot"!!!

And you "put your finger" on the issue I was trying to raise vis-à-vis embassies. They are "sovereign soil" of the country whose embassy they are – and foreigners put a lot of symbolic emphasis on such things even if we Americans tend to laugh at the concept!!!

And you are right, I may be inaccurate!!! But I was thinking of the 1979 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The leader of the Iranian students who captured the embassy and held it for 444 days was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's current President.

Americans may laugh at what they consider to be such a piece of trivia. But foreigners in general and Iranians in particular are well aware of such things -- indeed, MA's role in the capture of the embassy and 1.25 year incarceration of the American diplomats probably played a major role in MA's political career including why Ayatollah Khomeini permitted MA to run for President (Ayatollah Khomeini determines who is permitted to run for President and who is permitted to run for Parliament) and why MA was elected President by the Iranian people.

Your point about whether the incidents you cite as examples qualify as "attacks on American sovereign soil" is interesting in at least two respects.

First, attacks on American assets or installations or war ships abroad do not (other than Embassies) involve "sovereign soil."

Second, your comment about whether an attack must be by a country rather than a group or movement such as Al Qaida may help to rescue my attempt to highlight the capture of the American Embassy in Tehran. The reason why the U.S. government (including its head, President Jimmy Carter) as well as the following year's Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan TREATED THE ACTION OF THE STUDENTS AS ACTION BY THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT is the outraged universal view of Carter and Reagan and every American/European political commentator that a failure for 1.25 years by the Iranian government to honor its obligations under international law to return the embassy and free the American diplomats WAS INDEED GOVERNMENTAL ACTION.

So I thank you very much for "protecting my flank" against contentions from history buffs that there were earlier attacks on "American sovereign soil" by, for example, Puerto Rican nationalists who bombed several times Mobil's worldwide headquarters in Manhattan in the early 1970's, as a result of which we at the Texaco worldwide headquarters across the street witnessed all of the body bags being removed and "thanked our lucky stars" that Texaco had never permitted the so-called "Chrysler Building" (into which Chrysler never moved, as a result of which it was the Texaco headquarters from the day it opened until 1979) to be named the "Texaco Building"!!!

I'll just respond, as if I had been intending to all along, that the attacks by such groups were NOT attacks by governments, but MA's attack on, and occupation of "American sovereign soil" for 1.25 years was viewed by everyone involved (including President Carter) as an attack by a government.

Thank you!!!

I hope you'll be available to join us on May 14th!!! And that all is well with you!!!

Your friend,

John K.


---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: quiz
From: Bill Lee
Date: Sun, April 27, 2008 11:16 am
To: John Karls
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John -

I didn't get to thinking hard about anything beyond the first question on your 2nd quiz. That one may need clarification however.

Your question refers to an "attack on American sovereign soil". Since you mention the first world trade center bombing I am assuming your question is asking about the first attack by foreign nationals. Neither trade center bombing was an attack by a foreign country and we have certainly had all sorts of domestic bombings from ROTC buildings in the 60's to Timothy McVey and the "Uni Bomber".

I guess we should decide what exactly constitutes an "attack on American sovereign soil" too because we have certainly had embassies attacked, for instance in Iran and Vietnam. The list could also include the ship off of Vietnam, barracks in Lebanon, Panama, Granada (spelling?), the U.S.S. Cole etc., etc..

Wonderful question which could inspire all sorts of discussion.

You missed a great Democratic County Convention. I thought I might see you there or at the DL Earth Day thing,

Bill