tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486692856642304444.post112738515882677952..comments2024-03-04T16:15:23.048-08:00Comments on Stop Islamic Conquest: Syrian-Israeli Peace Process?Yankee Doodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359740268842861707noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486692856642304444.post-46215253321098732722008-06-03T06:06:00.000-07:002008-06-03T06:06:00.000-07:00A great post, YD - you are beginning to sound like...A great post, YD - you are beginning to sound like Robert Fisk :)<BR/><BR/>Having a lifelong personal interest in the Middle East, as my mother's father was a [naturalised British] Christian Arab from what is now Lebanon, I was strongly opposed to the Iraq war before it was launched, not just on moral grounds but because it was obviously doomed to result in the ongoing bloody local chaos, and weakening of the West, that it has produced.<BR/><BR/>We urgently need politicians and officials in both our countries with a deeper understanding of the history and psychology of the Arab peoples. For them, face-saving and notions of honour - however mistaken sometimes - are very important. To snub and humiliate them is the gratest mistake we can make.<BR/><BR/>A typically foolish instance is the report on today's news that although Ahmadinejad is the only other head of state [besides Mugabage] attending the Rome food summit, he hasn't been invited to the official dinner. This is as stupid as it is rude and petty. As Churchill said, jaw-jaw is better than war-war, and this Rome event would be an excellent opportunity to make him feel welcome in the world community discussing a universal problem. Instead. our foolish 'leaders' insult him. It is really quite ridiculous.anticanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18135207107619114891noreply@blogger.com