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

To: aladin who wrote (114368)	9/10/2003 1:12:06 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

<Islamic insanity today is not justified by Christian insanity 1000 years ago or even Jewish insanity 60 years ago. The real question is - given todays situation - where do we go from here.> If we had learned the lessons from past mistakes, then you'd be right. If we were no longer thinking and doing the same ancient insanities, you'd be right. But, unfortunately, we have forgotten our history, and are repeating the crimes of the past. If Israelis had decided in 1950 that Begin was a terrorist just like Arafat, and tried him for war crimes, then the Irgun's terrorism would be just history, irrelevant to current events. But that's not what happened. Instead, Begin was elected Prime Minister, his ideas became part of mainstream Israeli politics, and Sharon continues with the same ideas, the same methods, right up to today. When I read "ancient" history, about how Washington equated Indians with wolves: "Both being beast of prey, tho' they differ in shape", and how this justified his campaigns of ethnic cleansing against the Seneca, I am powerfully reminded of the way Arabs are portrayed on CNN today. And the way the Israelis are remorselessly pushing the Palestinians off their land. And the way the lives of Iraqis are so trivial to us, we don't even count them, as we kill them by the thousands, in 1991 (100,000 dead Iraqi soldiers, plus or minus 50,000, is our official count) and again in 2003. Same idea (de-humanizing the Other), same methods (massive government-organized violence against the Other tribes), same deadly results (heaps of Others killed, with the victors crowing in triumph, feeling wonderful about their butchery). You ask, where do we go from here? We continue with current methods, repeating past insanities. Nuclear weapons spread steadily, to every nation and disgruntled sub-national group. The weapons are used, repeatedly, by Us and Them. When enough have died, the survivors will organize the world on the principles set down by Jesus (But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you) and Gandhi (all men are brothers). Or else: I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. Albert Einstein