THE DANGER OF LABELLING
On Sunday March 18th, The New York Times published a Nicholas Kristoff column, which essentially suggested that the United States needed to take a more balanced approach to the Middle East. His piece is entitled "Talking About Israel". 
Kristoff’s main point is– that in The United States– "There is no serious political debate among either Democrats or Republicans about our policy toward Israelis and Palestinians. And that silence harms America, Middle East peace prospects and Israel itself."
Reader response to his column can be found on his blog.
It’s quite astounding for a Canadian to read the comments in response this rather tame and uncontroversial column. A great many readers called it courageous and brave. Many of them thanked Kristoff for "speaking out". In fact the column is quite mild and while it calls for "balance", it’s solidly pro-Israel.
The response by readers is a measure of just how starved the American public really is for good information and balanced opinion about the Middle East. It also shows how much they long for a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The pendulum swings, but oh so slowly. Here’s what I wrote more than 3 years ago on the CBC website.
Those who defend and extol Israel in a blindly uncritical and unquestioning way, are in fact the very ones who stimulate the resentment and anger that leads to the worst kind of anti-Semitism. In the Book of Proverbs it says something to the effect that "pride goeth before a fall".
But over-weening Pride, false Pride, Hubris…"my country right or wrong" has led to a level of anti-americanism that is unprecedented in world history.
And now, the same appears to be happening to Israel. According to a recent BBC poll Israel and Iran are viewed in a highly negative light. More than 50% of respondents see those two theocratic nations as failing to make a positive contribution to the world.
Israel’s best friends are those who point out just how disastrous is that country’s present course.
By that measure, the Bush administration would appear to be Israel’s enemy.
Jim
Always look on the sunny side…..from the Washington Post:
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked last month by a House panel whether he was comfortable with the preparedness of Army units in the United States. He stated simply: “No . . . I am not comfortable.”
“You take a lap around the globe — you could start any place: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Venezuela, Colombia, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, North Korea, back around to Pakistan, and I probably missed a few. There’s no dearth of challenges out there for our armed forces,” Pace warned in his testimony. He said the nation faces increased risk because of shortfalls in troops, equipment and training.
A small dose of good news…with the US quagmired and bagged-out in Iraq, at least we’ll know where they are in the foreseeable future. They can’t be kicking down doors in all these other countries, can they.
General Pace’s comfort-level doesn’t include
taking a hard look at how USA has abandoned its unfortunate victims of Katrina, he’s a military guy. But that’s where the resources should be going.
I know, I’ve just been there.
…… and isn’t it funny that the General mentioned Pakistan in his “possibles” for US military intervention/invasion… but not Israel or Palestine, where everything is hunky-dory, it would seem.