Why Write Investigative Articles, Why Write at All?

Writing any kind of articles was never an ambition of mine. I would much rather be doing engineering work in the areas of thermodynamic, clean energy, and sail design for sailboats.

Whatever I have written could have been written between December of 2001 and June of 2002. Some material needed an extraordinary amount of research before it could be written, material dealing with the bin Laden tape, while other material relied on my life experience.

Because of the resources needed, I tried to bring the issue to the attention of the media but could not get anyone to pay any attention; 9/11 had overwhelmed many. By the end of 2004, I came to the realization that no matter what the anti-war movement does, nothing could be done to stop the Bush regime.

It is then that I decided to bite the bullet, tackle the task on my own, and start writing in the hope of making a difference.

I only write about matters that no one seems to pay much attention to or from a perspective that was missed by both mainstream and alternative media. There is no need to repeat what others have examined properly.

When it came to the material regarding bin Laden and Powell's UN speech prior to the Iraq war, it is my engineering background and my work in Research and Development that allowed me to use a scientific approach and  provided me with the patience to parse through all the information and distill the proper conclusions for the reader.

As difficult as it was, doing the research and writing the first article, which took close to a year and a cost of close to $30,000, it was more difficult to publish. I have to thank www.counterpunch.org for publishing the first piece. Still, as important as counterpunch is as an alternative news outlet, the information needed to reach a wider audience. I have been trying to get mainstream to pay attention and will still try.

Since the material uncovered crimes committed by the Bush administration, I contacted all entities that have jurisdiction and informed them of the crime. I contacted the Judiciary Committees in House and Senate, the Department of Justice, certain senators and congressmen, and a variety of courts and law enforcement agencies. I am simply amazed that no one has done anything.

So, why write. I write because the alternative is very ugly. I write because I believe in democracy and believe that the constitution in the U.S. will prevail. I write because my son is born here and many kids his age will be facing serious choices in a couple of years. I write because it is not only Bush that is pushing us to more wars but also the democratic leadership. I write because there is no hope that a party change in 2008 would result in any change in direction.

I am writing now because the alternative is not pretty but it might come to that point where the alternative is the only path we could embrace.

© 2005 Maher Osseiran