At 01:40 AM 7/10/2002 -0400, Bob Taylor wrote: >David, at risk of turning this into a political discussion, I suppose you >prefer the Palestinian murderers and prehistoric mentality and civilized >behavior that they choose to demonstrate, right? Why does one side have to be right just because one side is partly wrong? >Perhaps when Westminster Abbey winds up next door in the House of Commons >thanks to the actions of a civilized, peace-loving Al-Queda warrior, you >will wake up. I pray that day never happens. Actually, that democratic, freedom loving country has its own home-grown terrorist problem. At least the UK has stopped trying to overwhelm northern Ireland with force and has been working for years now on a political solution with more determination and consistency than Israel seems to bring to the Oslo process. (To be fair, Irish Catholics also seem more interested in a political solution than many of the Palestinians seem.) Also, the threat of an al Qaeda attack doesn't make Israel look better. Even the threat of a Hamas attack against the West doesn't make Israel look better. This weird "My enemy's enemy must be my friend," mentality is what made the US an ally of Iraq for a while (and even a sponsor of bin Laden), and look how smart that was! If we choose to befriend Israel, it should be because of Israel's merits, not its enemies' faults. Israel is probably fundamentally decent at its core. The USA is probably fundamentally decent at its core. The UK seems to be fundamentally decent at its core. But none of these countries should be immune to criticism; each has very real problems that can be addressed. Shouting, "But they're worse," and sticking one's head in the sand isn't constructive; it just encourages the opponents to sound "We're not worse, they are," and stick their heads in the sand as well. >Bob Taylor >Prescott, AZ Nick Laflamme PS - I'm going off-line in a few hours for a long weekend. Silence does not imply agreement, nor acquiescence. :-)