Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Frankly, I don't think it would do much to drain the swamps. The fury at Israel stems from the humiliation of a proud Arab warrior culture losing war after war to Israel. Israel today can fend off conventional invasion from the Arab world without the help of the U.S. or anyone else.
And of course there are targets of terrorism that have nothing to with Israel or the Palestinians. Do you think the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists were murdered because they supported Israel? Charlie Hebdo were withering critics of Israel. No, the cartoonists were killed out of religious fanaticism. That's difficult for us to come to grips with, accustomed as we are to rational material concerns driving politics. But it's a reality we need to recognize, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us.
Then there's the Islamicist terrorism elsewhere in the world that has nothing to do with Israel. The attacks on Mumbai and elsewhere in India. Bali. Boko Haram. This recent bombing in Pakistan. Local politics provide the kindling. A violent brand of fundamentalist religion is the gasoline on the fire.
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I think Israel acts as a constant stick for the extremists to beat the moderates with, every couple of weeks the IDF does something stupid, effectively in our name, like shooting a wounded attacker in the head.
And I know and accept that the Palestinians have constantly done stupid violent things themselves but they are supposed to be terrorists, we are the ones claiming to be the good guys, asking the moderates to trust and help us.