I said "extricate ourselves from this vicious circle", not cause a change
of heart in Hamas or Al Qaeda.  Making good faith efforts to resolve the
Palestinian crisis has little or nothing to do with the mindset of these
terrorist groups but very much to do with gaining broad international
support for U.S. policy and action in the Middle East, including the
support of the Arab world.  If Middle Eastern lands are going to get carved
up again, it would be better if the peoples at risk in the region were
given better protections this time around.
Tim Romano

At 02:27 PM 2/12/03, Daniel Pearlman wrote:
>If you believe that Hamas, Al Qaeda, etc., are truly interested in
>RESOLVING the Palestinian crisis, you're dreaming.
>==DP
>
>At 02:15 PM 02/12/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>>In the Middle East this past century has seen
>>
>>... exploitation of the peoples of Middle East first by Britain and then by
>>the US mainly for their oil reserves
>>
>>...establishment of puppets favorable to the superpowers
>>
>>...suppression by the superpowers of rebellions
>>
>>...support by the superpowers for oppressive regimes favorably disposed to
>>the west
>>
>>...sacrifice of the peoples of the Middle East as pawns in the Cold War
>>
>>We've had more than 50 years in which to liberate the Middle East. Why
>>should anyone in the Middle East or anywhere else believe that the US
>>intends to liberate anyone, given its less than democratic history there?
>>The treatment of the peoples of the Middle East by the superpowers has
>>produced the very terrorists who hate us fanatically and fearlessly.
>>
>>How do we extricate ourselves from this vicious circle? Meaningful steps to
>>resolve the Palestinian crisis might *begin* to right things.
>>
>>Tim Romano
>>
>>At 12:39 PM 2/12/03, Brennen Lukas wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I submit: The United States did not go looking for war. The war came looking
>>>for us and the enemy found us vulnerable.
>>>
>>>Brennen Lukas
>>>http://members.cox.net/blukas/frames_index.html
>>
>>=====================================================
>>Dan Pearlman's home page:
>>http://pages.zdnet.com/danpearl/danpearlman/
>>
>>My new fiction collection, THE BEST-KNOWN MAN IN THE WORLD AND OTHER
>>MISFITS, may be ordered online at http://www.aardwolfpress.com/
>>"Perfectly-crafted gems": Jack Dann, Nebula & World Fantasy Award winner
>>
>>Director, Council for the Literature of the Fantastic:
>>http://www.uri.edu/artsci/english/clf/
>>
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