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| 15 rules for understanding the Middle East |
| 2007-01-07 |
| For a long time, I let my hopes for a decent outcome in Iraq triumph over what I had learned reporting from Lebanon during its civil war. Those hopes vanished last summer. So, I'd like to offer President Bush my updated rules of Middle East reporting, which also apply to diplomacy, in hopes they'll help him figure out what to do next in Iraq. Rule 1: What people tell you in private in the Middle East is irrelevant. All that matters is what they will defend in public in their own language. Anything said to you in English, in private, doesn't count... |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #4 FREEREPUBLIC/OTHER POSTERS > Islamists = Jihadists, etal Camel-kazes are Proxies for Commies = Russia-China. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-01-07 23:46 |
| #3 The secular West surrenders a little, every time we allow Saudi or Iranian financing of a mosque in our territories. A mosque is a forward camp for jihad terror. |
| Posted by: Sneaze Shaiting3550 2007-01-07 15:38 |
| #2 Rule 11: The most underestimated emotion in Arab politics is humiliation. The Israeli-Arab conflict, for instance, is not just about borders. Israel's mere existence is a daily humiliation to Muslims, who can't understand how, if they have the superior religion, Israel can be so powerful. Al Jazeera's editor, Ahmed Sheikh, said it best when he recently told the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche: "It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego. The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this." rule #16 - you don't deserve to rule because your 350 million are infected with congenital stupidity from the 7th century: Islam. If you put on black-out glasses, don't expect to win a footrace |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-01-07 15:20 |
| #1 Two more rules: 1) We don't understand the muzzie/tribal minds of ME 2) If we did, we'd know we don't give a shit if we erase them all. |
| Posted by: SpecOp35 2007-01-07 14:55 |