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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| The Region: Putting the impossible first |
| 2007-03-19 |
| By Barry Rubin Whether or not the Middle East is beyond redemption, it certainly seems to be beyond satire. The attempt to turn radicals into moderates, terrorism into resistance, serial political murderers into negotiating partners, and situations of total anarchy into great opportunities for diplomatic progress never ends. But here is one of my favorites in this genre, quoted from Newsweek, where it was published without any hint of irony: "'The Supreme Leader [of Iran, Sayyid Ali Khamenei] was deeply suspicious of the American government,' says a Khameini aide whose position does not allow him to be named. 'But [he] was repulsed by these terrorist acts [of September 11] and was truly sad about the loss of the civilian lives in America. For two weeks, worshipers at Friday prayers even stopped chanting 'Death to America.'" Two whole weeks! Is that holding out the hand of friendship, or what? |
| Posted by:gromgoru |
| #2 Thanks, Zen |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-03-19 23:33 |
| #1 Great catch, gromgoru. Suddenly, at the worst possible moment in history for success, resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become the top priority for many governments. How is it that the West cannot bring itself to notice this? The entire MME (Muslim Middle East) will milk Palestinian misery and suffering like the last cow on the farm until we grow a brain and task fellow Arab nations with peaceably solving the problem themselves. What do all these things have in common? Not looking at how the interests and ideas of extremists direct them; wishful thinking that concessions and empathy can resolve real conflicts, and so on. It is this that makes me continue speculating how Bush's own fundamentalism blinds him to any comprehension of how Islamic fundamentalists are playing the West |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-03-19 23:15 |