Politics and Culture

Link: http://www.nelsonguirado.com/index.php/asymmetric/2006/12/15/we_have_feeling_too_interview_with_al_ja_1

Today is milblog day. This whole article is fascinating, but Winds of Change alerted me to this part first:

Who is responsible for the situation?
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most important reasons why these crises and problems continue to simmer. The day when Israel was founded created the basis for our problems. The West should finally come to understand this. Everything would be much calmer if the Palestinians were given their rights.

Do you mean to say that if Israel did not exist, there would suddenly be democracy in Egypt, that the schools in Morocco would be better, that the public clinics in Jordan would function better?

I think so.

Can you please explain to me what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to do with these problems?
The Palestinian cause is central for Arab thinking.

In the end, is it a matter of feelings of self-esteem?

Exactly. It's because we always lose to Israel. It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego. The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this.

Now, it seems to me that the questions upon which to make decisions is whether it's good for the people of the nation and whether it's fair or moral. The phychological effect of a policy may be interesting, but it should be down on the list of considerations. Unlike many who would just dump on this statement, however, I see how pride and honor can be important so I won't dismiss Sheikh's statements outright. Didn't you want to go into Somalia after they dragged our dead soldiers around the street?