I just want to get a couple of things straight about what went on before start of war. First of all, nutcases like myself from all around this nation and world were screaming that Iraq did not possess WMD. We repeatedly asked question of how a country with such debilitating sanctions imposed against it by world community to point of causing death to untold numbers of people could create sophisticated weapons programs. We asked why inspectors on ground were continually unable to find any shred of evidence pointing to Iraq building up its weapons programs. We asked why Hans Blix was so adamant about non-existence of WMD in Iraq and why George Bush was so impatient with inspections that were successfully proceeding. We asked how a country that we walked all over in 1991, who wasn't a threat to us when it was at full strength could ever be a threat to us after sanctions. We questioned reasoning behind attacking a country that had absolutely no connection to 9/11 or American directed terrorism.

So please don't tell me that it is with hindsight that I am now aware of these things. I said it then, I say it now and I said it all along. We all said it. Me and billions of my closest friends.

If we go back far enough, we discover near Middle East was settled by descendants of Canaan, thus region was referred to as "The Land of Canaan." Abraham was not of line of Canaan. How was it then, that Abraham was given Everlasting Covenant of Land?

Who was Abraham? Was he an Arab, or was he a Jew? Actually, neither! Abraham arose from ethnic background of Chaldeans, arising out of ancient Sumer, descendants of Shem.

The Arab nations arose through lines of: Abraham's nephew Lot, Abraham's son Ishmael, and through Esau twin brother of Jacob. The Jews descended from Abraham, through line of his promised son, Isaac, who fathered Jacob. In other words, both Jews and Arabs are able to trace their ethnic roots through Abraham back to Shemite Chaldeans, descendants of Shem.

Abraham, who brought along his nephew Lot, entered Land of Canaan, in obedience to L_RD who brought them out of Ur of Chaldees, to Land of Promise. However, Abraham did not claim this Covenant Land during his own lifetime. Both Lot and Abraham sojourned as foreigners among Canaanites. The same was true for Isaac and Ishmael, neither of whom lay direct claim to Canaan during their lifetimes. In fact, neither did Esau or Jacob lay claim Land in its entirety. All sojourned as strangers in The Land. It was not until forty years following Exodus from Egypt, that under leadership of Joshua, Covenant Land was initially conquered and settled by descendants of Jacob. Up to that juncture, Canaanite tribes occupied Canaan, and L_RD told them to drive out all inhabitants of Land. The Philistines were not direct descendants of either Abraham or Lot, nor of Ishmael or Esau, but were from tribes surrounding Mediterranean. They were therefore not Shemite. In fact, Philistines were from Caphtor, an Island in Mediterranean, so were more closely related to Phoenicians and Minoans, and had connections with those who settled Tyre and Zidon - Lebanon link. The Philistines occupied much of Gaza region of Land, and at time of conquering of Land by Children of Israel, were never completely driven out, even under King David, although he managed to encorporate Gaza as part of region called Judah. This failure to drive Philistines totally out of Land was in violation of Word of L_RD to Israel. Therefore, L_RD had to deal with Philistines Himself. Jeremiah 47:4. "Because of day that cometh to spoil all Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for LORD will spoil Philistines, remnant of country of Caphtor." This Scripture is a prophecy, and therefore will yet again come to fruition in dealing with Palestinians.

But, are Palestinians, Philistines? No! But, they are considered like Philistines in that they are using Gaza as their terrorist stronghold, and they use gorilla-type terrorist tactics. However, Palestinians have definite Arab ethnic roots, and themselves claim to be Arabs, making them Shemite in ethnic origin. Arafat claimed to be a Philistine (his tactics,) but he also claimed Arab ethnicity, but was born in Egypt.

However, there is an Arab-Canaanite connection through Esau, which Palestinians now are claiming gives them Land-rights, because Canaanites did inhabit Land before Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob arrived. Genesis 26: 24-25 states: " And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith daughter of Beeri Hittite, and Bashemath daughter of Elon Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah."

So, it is true that Abrahamic ethnic background of Esau's descendants was blurred through Esau's marriage to two Canaanite wives. But, does this intermarriage qualify his descendants to take over Jacob's blessing bestowed upon him by Isaac, which was passing down of official inheritance of Divine Abrahamic Covenant? Does fact that Esau's children can claim ancestoral connection through Esau's wives who first occupied Canaan, give any qualification for them to inherit Land?

Keep in mind, Esau intermarried with Hittite wives before Isaac bequeathed Abrahamic heritage blessing. This was a great grief to his parents. That is why, with Rebekah's help, Jacob tricked Isaac into blessing him, rather than Esau. However, Esau, in eyes of L_RD, had already disqualified himself by marrying outside of Abrahamic Covenant line. So even though deceptive trickery was involved, G_d honoured blessing bestowed upon Jacob, who up to that juncture was not yet married, and Isaac and Rebekah saw to it that Jacob chose wives from within appropriate Shemitic Abrahamic line, thus preserving right of his descendants to inherit Abrahamic Covenant.

Such marriage restrictions remained stringent down through generations. The Jews were exhorted by L_RD, through Mosaic Law, not to intermarry with nations occupying Canaan, or with nations surrounding them. They were to wipe-out Canaanites in Land; not to intermingle with, or to marry them! Intermarriage with any Canaanite, or other people-group, even if of an Abrahamic line not of line of Promise, would obviously disqualify their descendants from participating in blessings of Abrahamic Covenant. Any time there were Jews who intermarried, L_RD commanded them to put away their foreign wives and their children, from among them. Only descendants of Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob, were to qualify.