1 - 7 November 2001
Issue No.558
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 1 - 7 November 2001 Issue No.558 |
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The carrot's roots
The West treats the Arabs the way some parents (mis)treat their children, calming them with honeyed words and waving potential rewards to gain control of their behaviour. Once the West achieves its desired aims, however, promises and rewards instantly evaporate. And the fine talk of humanitarian principles and universal values prove equally evanescent. The West can always justify its attitude toward the Arabs. Stranger is that the Arabs seem to have become accustomed to this tendency, for they could alter their response, but repeatedly fail to do so.
Following the events of 11 September and the beginning of the war on terrorism (aka Bin Laden), the West leapt to repeat its promises of intervention in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and announce its support for a secure Palestinian state. This was to guarantee Arab and Muslim support for a shameful war against a small, destitute country.
Israel, however, did not give the Arabs time to test the validity of Western promises or even to toy with a moment of hope. It took it upon itself to kill more Palestinians, reoccupy cities, assassinate leaders and demolish houses -- as if the Israelis knew the truth about the West's promises: knew that they are mere words intended as sedatives, nothing more. Nobody moved to stop Israeli aggression, as if its targets, unlike the victims of 11 September, were not members of the human race. And for those who have not yet lost their memory, this fact, however dreadful, cannot have come as a surprise. The West pays attention not to principles but only to its own interests, and the Arabs have had more than enough experience of Western promises to realise their true nature.
*This week's Soapbox speaker is assistant director of the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
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