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

To: Ilaine who wrote (91141)	4/8/2003 9:13:29 AM
From: Sun Tzu	Respond to of 281500

But this IS irrational. I'd say it is desperate. you're saying that men who have been educated in the West and understand modern techology and science nevertheless reject using it now because they want the West to leave them alone, but plan on using it later. That's absurd. Firstly that is exactly what has happened. You cannot deny it. But I think the source of confusion is that they did not want things to turn out quite this way either. CIA is not the only one who backs movements that end up biting it in the rear. Once it gets started and there is sufficient pressure from outside, the movement gets a life of its own. Polarization takes further effect and the only ones who survive are the most extreme. To see this at work (albeit at a smaller scale) read the interview with Cook (UK's former House Leader and Foreign Affairs Sec.) He said that the result of recent pressures on Iran and including it in axis of evil was to increase power in the hands of the hardliners. You can't use technology in the modern world without being part of the modern world, unless you plan on redeveloping it from the tiniest nail, and the simplest screw driver and hammer and wire and light bulb. Every time you communicate with a Western country to import a light bulb or a nail, you're importing more Western culture. Ah! At last we are in agreement. That is the crux of what I was saying when we were discussing the technology and culture. The point of contention is the level that culture has to be tied to technology. Inasmuch as using technology requires making modifications to the their own culture, most of them are willing to accept it. What started the battle for many of them was what Al Ahmad called "Westruckness" i.e. the fascination with all things Western whether they fit in there or not. What you are seeing is that battle taken to extreme after many boxing rounds. I hope we are in the clear now? ST PS Mao tried to do the other obvious solution from your statement i.e. "plan on redeveloping it from the tiniest nail" But I don't want to discuss that now.