I suspect I should thank you for nothing, as the saying goes, or, more apt, keeping me occupied with those lovely, nutty Hanson posts.
There is a clear divergence between the US attitudes, which have remained pro-Israel, and the European attitudes, which have grown steadily more pro-Palestinian.
I think both might be better explained by mass media and government views, assuming you mean by "attitudes" in that sentence, public opinion. You already know I think the US media including CNN, MSNBC, and, obviously, Fox are either militantly pro-Israeli (Fox) or implicitly so (with rare exceptions (CNN and MSNBC). And it's clear, at least to the prescient among us (obviously, me (g)) that Bush's momentarily high public opinion polls contributes to his pro-Sharon stance. That has a big affect, at least for the moment. Won't last.
As for the Said point, I meant simply that he uses the first portion of that long essay that I think Kevin posted, to vent his anger, then turns in the last half to propose ways forward which I thought meshed well with the Israeli reservists recent petitions.
John |
