RE: [Futurework] Riots in Riyadh?

[Karen Watters Cole]

Yes, absolutely, and here is just another indication of how it divides and why we must pursue a peaceful resolution:   Poll controversy as Israel and US labelled biggest threats to World peace - 30.10.2003 - 17:41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The European Commission is coming under fire for publishing selective poll results while failing to release results which revealed the extent of the mistrust of Israel and the United States in Europe.   Article >> http://euobs.com/?aid=13324&rk=1   Before we can get beyond this, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to be resolved, annoying as it may be....   Lawry Yes, everything is really about a small country 4,000 years ago in the middle of a desert.    Can't we get beyond this?    There are other ways and we can learn from each other.    REH In my more gloomy moments it seems that the  Biblical prohecies seem to  be unfolding inexorably.  Armageddon. ... arthur US policy is being used for a narrow set of interests: the Christian evangelicals seem determined to create a clash of religions -- Christianity vs Islam.  Oddly, a branch of them, the Christian-Zionists, have added to the portfolio an Israel-first agenda. Given the Christian-Zionist belief that all non-Christians will be destroyed, it seems strange that some elements in Israel have embraced an alliance with these Christian-Zionists, but then the Israelis probably don't think that God has that in store for them, so don't much care for the beliefs and values that lie behind Christian-Zionism, happy to settle for the political support the Christian-Zionists offer Israel.  In case any of you missed it, by Christian-Zionist I am referring to people like Tom DeLay -- see the very interesting speech he gave to the Israeli Knesset recently.  Right now, the Christian evangelical and Christian-Zionist agenda is powerfully placed within the Administration: Rove, DeLay, Feith, Perle, Bolton, Reed...et al.  US policy toward the rest of the world generally and the Arabs and Muslims specifically has been hijacked by these folks, and is now working against the interests of the country. Sometimes these US policies are justified by the 'war on terrorism' -- one of the inventions of the Christian evangelicals -- but the sad fact is that the 'war on terrorism' is actually aggravating the terror threat, not diminishing it. This is a pedantic way of saying that Americans will die thanks to these Christian evangelicals.  As the rest of the world reacts to what they see as a US out of control, we will see a broadband resistance to the US take shape. Not only will there be further terror attacks on US interests, but trade relations will suffer, and cultural ones. I don't know if you ever had a desire to take your art overseas, but the chances of that happening have taken a nose-dive in the last two years.  Then, also, we have the trillions of dollars that this 'war on terror is costing us, or rather costing future generations. And the impact on US civil liberties, e.g. the 'sneak and peek' and unlimited uncharged detention policies pushed by Ashcroft and the President.  The Christian evangelicals simply do not care about these costs to the US and our interests: they give their religious goals precedence over US interests.  The American public is gullible. How many Americans have ever traveled to the Muslim or Arab worlds (other than in a tank)? How many Americans even know Arabs or Muslims who live in this country, as their neighbors?  Hell, how many people even on this list???  Americans are patriotic. Combined with their gullibility, this leaves them open to being exploited, to being conned into giving their support, if only a passive support, for policies that would readily appear inimical to a populace that was more knowledgeable, thoughtful, and skeptical.