From: Dehede011@aol.com
Date: Fri Apr 18 2003 - 08:51:14 MDT
In a message dated 4/17/2003 6:02:14 PM Central Standard Time,
lcorbin@tsoft.com writes: It is neither Islam nor even poverty itself that
directly engenders support for terrorists whose ferocity and ingenuity are
unprecedented in human history [sic]; it is, rather the crushing humiliation
that has infected the third-world countries.
Lee,
I think this misses the vital part of the analysis. I not only read
the middle eastern papers, lurk on one of their lists, and listen to middle
eastern friends that like living in our country, I have also stood and had my
country cussed out as the great Satan by middle easterners living in our
country -- I wanted to know what they were thinking, in detail. It was
painful but I listened.
There is no doubting that some or them (or even the majority) most
sincerely hate us with a passion that is murderous. The question is why? Is
that hatred rational in the sense that we have done something to provoke
their response? If we have provoked their response, what was it that we did?
My answer is that sufficient information is available in the form of
English language editions of middle eastern newspapers for us to understand
what is going on if we only seek out the papers and read thoughtfully.
They let slip their opposition to allowing Iraq to live out from under
the sanctions. Why would they want sanctions to stay in place a fellow
Moslem nation? They let slip that they predict that if the sanctions are
lifted it will cost middle eastern countries one trillion dollars in oil
revenues over the next few years. They reveal that the Iraqis hated the
middle eastern fighters that came to help Sadaam so much that they shot those
fighters in the back on enough occasions to make the same fighters antsy as
could be.
The last piece of the puzzle takes a judgment. If you read their
papers you will see a constant unrelenting drive to slant every news article
into an anti American rant.
Lee, of all the middle eastern countries I am told not one is a
democracy but instead every one of those countries has a totalitarian
government of one kind or another. It is plain to see that the conduct of
the US is dangerous to the continued existence of their dictatorships at
least in their eyes. It is also plain that the governments are whipping up
the man in the street to hate the Americans. But, to find that out you have
to go read their papers and hear their story at the level at which they talk
to the man in their streets. Amara, not withstanding, this can be done
easily.
If we don't go observe then we are caught in an incestuous debate
among ourselves. Every exchange referring only to a previous exchange
between members of our group.
Earlier I asked a couple of questions. Have we provoked their
response and if so in what way? After study I have to conclude that by
simply being who we are we have seriously threatened the continuance of the
dictatorships. And, the dictators have retaliated and are continuing to
retaliate. We have also failed to communicate with the man in their streets
except through Hollywood's export and the imitation product of their home
grown entertainment industry. We are not getting our story told.
Ron h.
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