To: Dennis O'Bell who wrote (118960 ) 11/8/2003 1:22:27 PM From: Nadine Carroll Respond to Not to mention its pertinence to the recent speech by Mahathir that generated so much bandwidth of commentary just recently. That speech fairly reeked of what this article talks about. it doesn't even exist as we know it . Because the basic act of compromise, of saying to your opponent, I'll give up my demand for X if you give up your demand for Y, that is a shameful act. A sign of weakness, to which the opponent will naturally respond by an attack, not a return compromise. (This btw, is why the naive faith of the Western leftists who just know that everything can be negotiated is so maddening. On the one hand they believe in respecting other cultures, on the other, they disbelieve that other cultures could actually differ so significantly from our own.)The Arab Mind talks about tradition forms of conflict resolution in Arab society. They always involved a mediator of high rank - a shiekh, a prince, a mullah - who stood between the opponents, heard both sides' arguments, and laid down the solution to both of them. It had to be someone of high enough status so that the opponents could accept the solution without shame.
