Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (23964)	4/8/2002 6:38:10 PM
From: skinowski	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

<<<The idea of jihad against Israel has extraordinary appeal even to secularized Muslims, who can feel the shame of Islam's long slide from glory and superiority over the West as acutely as any practicing Muslim. Since 1947, Hindus in India have killed thousands of Muslims; Israel in its wars against the Arabs has killed relatively few. Yet it is Israel, a Western nation, that more easily makes Muslim blood boil.>>> Absolutely. I always thought that if Israel would be a strict Theocracy, the Arabs would have made peace with them long ago. It is Israel’s Western secularism that makes them unacceptable… mostly. In fact, I’m told, observant Muslims in New York like to live in religious Jewish neighborhoods.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (23964)	4/9/2002 5:54:23 AM
From: frankw1900	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Secretary of State Colin Powell's upcoming trip to the Middle East is bound to fail embarrassingly, as did his first sojourn into the peace process in 2001, because the mission makes no sense. His "engagement" is premised on a political culture among the Palestinians which simply does not exist. So what will work? Again an Iranian parallel is illuminating. By late 1987, the carnage of the Iran-Iraq war had burned out the martyrdom syndrome among young Iranian men. Boys who'd once believed with seemingly invincible conviction jang jang ta piruzi ("War! War until Victory!") were left lost and shell-shocked. Within a short time, they loathed the leaders who'd once so inspired them. Yup. Repulsive, but correct overall. The generalization that a palestinian political culture open to real negotiation does not exist is incorrect insofar as there are some palestinians who have such culture. But their voices are are not heard and if they speak out things go hard for them. The Israelis are involved in ideological warfare against islamism. I do not think the war can be won just inside Israel. An ideological war is won by demonstrating the ideology's weakness (the ultimate futility of its endeavour is convincingly demonstrated)* and there is too much support for it outside Israel which is not being attacked, so far. If I may bloviate: ideologies always have dirty hands. It is easier to defeat them if one's own hands aren't too dirty (you don't have to kill as many of the adherents). Israel is handicapping itself with the settlements, which are an expression of an unfortunate ideology found among some Israelis and majority would do well to put an end to settlements. __________________________________ *(I think just this possibility accounts for so much of the middle east fury at present Israeli activity).