Yes, the US and Israel are of a higher status than other countries in the region. They are functioning democracies. No, they are not perfect-- but if you want to play the comparison game, we can.
There is no moral equivalence between almost all the countries in the region and the US or Israel.
As for the tired, blame America drill...read this. It's from another Arab paper.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=5915#
America reacts in pursuit of its interests, ideals
In Rami Khouri's June 26 commentary, "How the US and Israel misunderstand the Arab world" Americans once again hear an attempt to define us as either ignorant or culturally deaf in our relationship with a foreign people steeped in history, culture, wisdom and some other unique features. With all due respect to Khouri, it's a tired argument that misses some essential realities of America and its relationship with Israel. Forget the cultural differences argument; it's a red herring, a chimera used again and again to create some level of ethnic superiority.
The same philosophy has been used from places as close to home as Mexico, where the image is the dumb "Yankee-Gringo," to Europe with the wild cowboy, to the Japanese "Gai-jin." All cover the same territory, that Americans are hopeless outsiders, without the capacity to understand the fine nuances and wisdom of the local ancient culture and therefore, just don't get it, which is why we are too stupid to understand what the rest of the world understands.
Khouri adds further excuses for American ignorance and Arab ethnic superiority by stating we're biased and have provided our support to the "wrong type" of people whether it is Israel or Arab leaders. This is topped off with the old canard that the Arab people still nurse the wounds of old injustices, whether it is European colonialism, or the Middle Ages crusades. The America which misunderstands the Arab and Muslim mind is also the same nation which came to the aid of those in Bosnia, Kuwait and Lebanon.
This is the same America that has taken, not years, but decades in attempting to settle the differences between Arabs and Israelis in a peaceful arena. It is the same America that provided support for Turkey during the Cold War and Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion. And it is one that has accepted tens of thousands of students from Arab nations into its universities and schools of higher learning, and provided several million more the opportunity to call this nation home. The fact is America, more than any other country, has learned to adapt to the diversity found in the mosaic of ethnic groups that make up this nation. Americans understand the Arab world. We understand the rhetoric that comes from its leadership; we understand the voices of the "street;" and we understand the actions of its influential figures, both nation-state, and independent actors. What we have seen is a region awash in problems, but unable to muster the will to acknowledge them, let alone provide local pro-active peaceful solutions to them whether it is ethnic, political, or religious conflict.
These issues far transcend the Arab-Israeli conflict and recent invasion and occupation of Iraq. It is found in the schism between Sunni and Shiite, Kurd and Arab and Muslim and non-Muslim. America does not "misunderstand" the Middle East; it reacts to it in pursuit of our interests and ideals. We react to the harsh rhetoric put forth by the Iranians and their calls to destroy the great Satan when their rhetoric is coupled with the support of Hizbullah, fatwahs against individuals and a dictatorial regime against its own people. We react to the harsh rhetoric of Yasser Arafat, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, when it is coupled with suicide bombers. We react to Saudi imams when their sermons against the infidel are coupled with support for Al-Qaeda. And we react to the Arab League, Organization of the Islamic Conference and Arab states when their policies cannot overcome their own ethnic philosophies to create real space for compromise and coexistence. Do our actions serve our interests? Yes. Does it support our allies? Yes again.
This is not a lack of empathy, but looking at reality. The same people who complain of the US support for Arab dictators cheer Saddam Hussein's rhetoric and ignored his decades of domestic atrocities. After more than 50 years of independence, the Arab states and its people bear a large measure of responsibility for their own actions and strategies. Culture, politics and history are all important issues that create a filter of experience. But to use them as a crutch and means of ignoring one's own shortcomings is a useless exercise and does not serve either the Arab people or their interests.
There is no moral equivalence between almost all the countries in the region and the US or Israel.
As for the tired, blame America drill...read this. It's from another Arab paper.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=5915#
America reacts in pursuit of its interests, ideals
In Rami Khouri's June 26 commentary, "How the US and Israel misunderstand the Arab world" Americans once again hear an attempt to define us as either ignorant or culturally deaf in our relationship with a foreign people steeped in history, culture, wisdom and some other unique features. With all due respect to Khouri, it's a tired argument that misses some essential realities of America and its relationship with Israel. Forget the cultural differences argument; it's a red herring, a chimera used again and again to create some level of ethnic superiority.
The same philosophy has been used from places as close to home as Mexico, where the image is the dumb "Yankee-Gringo," to Europe with the wild cowboy, to the Japanese "Gai-jin." All cover the same territory, that Americans are hopeless outsiders, without the capacity to understand the fine nuances and wisdom of the local ancient culture and therefore, just don't get it, which is why we are too stupid to understand what the rest of the world understands.
Khouri adds further excuses for American ignorance and Arab ethnic superiority by stating we're biased and have provided our support to the "wrong type" of people whether it is Israel or Arab leaders. This is topped off with the old canard that the Arab people still nurse the wounds of old injustices, whether it is European colonialism, or the Middle Ages crusades. The America which misunderstands the Arab and Muslim mind is also the same nation which came to the aid of those in Bosnia, Kuwait and Lebanon.
This is the same America that has taken, not years, but decades in attempting to settle the differences between Arabs and Israelis in a peaceful arena. It is the same America that provided support for Turkey during the Cold War and Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion. And it is one that has accepted tens of thousands of students from Arab nations into its universities and schools of higher learning, and provided several million more the opportunity to call this nation home. The fact is America, more than any other country, has learned to adapt to the diversity found in the mosaic of ethnic groups that make up this nation. Americans understand the Arab world. We understand the rhetoric that comes from its leadership; we understand the voices of the "street;" and we understand the actions of its influential figures, both nation-state, and independent actors. What we have seen is a region awash in problems, but unable to muster the will to acknowledge them, let alone provide local pro-active peaceful solutions to them whether it is ethnic, political, or religious conflict.
These issues far transcend the Arab-Israeli conflict and recent invasion and occupation of Iraq. It is found in the schism between Sunni and Shiite, Kurd and Arab and Muslim and non-Muslim. America does not "misunderstand" the Middle East; it reacts to it in pursuit of our interests and ideals. We react to the harsh rhetoric put forth by the Iranians and their calls to destroy the great Satan when their rhetoric is coupled with the support of Hizbullah, fatwahs against individuals and a dictatorial regime against its own people. We react to the harsh rhetoric of Yasser Arafat, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, when it is coupled with suicide bombers. We react to Saudi imams when their sermons against the infidel are coupled with support for Al-Qaeda. And we react to the Arab League, Organization of the Islamic Conference and Arab states when their policies cannot overcome their own ethnic philosophies to create real space for compromise and coexistence. Do our actions serve our interests? Yes. Does it support our allies? Yes again.
This is not a lack of empathy, but looking at reality. The same people who complain of the US support for Arab dictators cheer Saddam Hussein's rhetoric and ignored his decades of domestic atrocities. After more than 50 years of independence, the Arab states and its people bear a large measure of responsibility for their own actions and strategies. Culture, politics and history are all important issues that create a filter of experience. But to use them as a crutch and means of ignoring one's own shortcomings is a useless exercise and does not serve either the Arab people or their interests.
