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

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (114229)	9/9/2003 1:14:23 PM
From: Sultan	Respond to of 281500

OT In the troubled times in which we live, it is important to remember, and honour, a vision of a pluralistic society. Tolerance, openness and understanding towards other peoples' cultures, social structures, values and faiths are now essential to the very survival of an interdependent world. Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development, it is vital to our existence. Never perhaps more so than at the present time, must we renew with vigour our creative engagement in revitalising shared heritage through collaborative ventures such as the project we are inaugurating today. akdn.org

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (114229)	9/9/2003 4:43:06 PM
From: frankw1900	Respond to of 281500

"If you want to marginalize the Saudis, cut them off and turn your back on them, you are simply inviting another Taliban type of regime," says Ambassador Jordan. What is he smoking? It is another Taliban type regime. Just more orderly, and equally thoroughly corrupt. These guys were almost certainly being fitted out to take the blame for some Saudi official's behaviour: nationalpost.com God only knows what the locals go through. With regard to the Saudi sponsored activity in the Balkans, you might look at Yossef Bodansky, Bin Laden, The man who declared war on America. You can probably get it off a remainder table. It's the best work I've seen on the subject. The US is fooling itself if it isn't pursuing the matter of Wahabbist overseas funding as a high priority foreign affairs matter, especially with regard to places where the inroads are not very great yet, as in parts of Africa: "We get our funds from Yemen and Saudi Arabia," says Mohammed Madi, a fundamentalist activist. "Officially the money is used to buy medicine, but in reality the money is given to us to support our work and buy guns." It's not a matter of religion, but of ideological conflict and in this respect is not much different from the conflict with the Soviets in the decade after WW2. I fnd it interesting that where the Kurds were protected from Hussein, they didn't go the fundamentalist route but the democratic route. In doing this they got a lot of support and mentoring from the US State Department. The US sucess in the North of Iraq came from direct miltary protection from Baathist depredation, adequate funding via the UN Oil for Food program, and direct political/social involvement by US agents. This is, unfortunately, the successful model for combatting the islamofascists who turn up with money, guns and axe handles. If protection is not given the local modernist elements the Wahabbists and their ilk will drive them away, cowe them to silence, or kill them. So, protection, financing and mentoring are the three elemnets. The hardest part is in getting the protection right without playing into the hands of old time corrupt governments already in place. Got to go out. I should think about this more.