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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch
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To: TigerPaw who wrote (48883)6/11/2004 11:26:43 AM
From: one_less  Read Replies (1) of 89467
 
"Sheikhs seem to hold the key to success in Iraq..."

Sheikh is a general term in the middle east that simply refers to a person of power, respect, authority, or influence. A scholar of Islam is a Sheikh, a political figure is a Sheikh, a keynote speaker is a Sheikh, and as in this case a tribal chieftan is a Sheikh. A man selling pencils across a counter in the market will not look at you except if you address him in this manner "Ya Sheikh" and offer him half the price for the inflated charges. Then you can yell at him and call him a theif and all kinds of stuff until he comes down to a fair price. After engaging in a heated argument over the price of a pencil you call each other brother and you continue in the market, while neither of you harbors any ill will or even considers the exchange anything other than a normal negotiation.

The head of the most powerful clan is definitely the key to gaining cooperation from the village. When you extrapolate that idea to the nation, then you find the head of the most powerful regime to garner the most credibility. It isn't just the Saddams that make the region like it is. The roots of tyranny run deep and saturate the culture. That's the old culture alright. Its much more complicated than that but if you study it much you become a complete skeptic about the chances to bring liberty and justice to the land. However that is all backward looking.

Fortunately people are people and no one likes the feeling of oppression even when it is at the hand of a favorite uncle. The majority of the people in Iraq will drop that system like a hot potato for the opportunity to thrive in a free and just society where their value is more closely associated with skills and abilities than what clan they were born under, and who kisses up to who.
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