Saturday, December 11, 2004
Charles Johnson points to this Reuters story on the "Forum for the Future" in Morocco where the USA had to put up with the usual bull from the same old collection of despots and appeasers.
LGF: Colin Gets the Cold Shoulder:
Arabs and Europeans, however, prefer to continue blaming everything on Israel and the US.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, dismissing any ideas of “clashes of civilizations” between the Western and Arab worlds, said “the real bone of contention” was a perceived bias on the part of the United States toward Israel.
“It remains to be seen if for the first time we can be honest with each other and commit ourselves to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict,” he told delegates.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana agreed, but in different terms. “The problem of insecurity in Iraq and the peace process in the Middle East need to take momentum” to ensure ideas floated at the forum bear fruit, he told Reuters...
In my imaginary, perfect fantasy world, Colin Powell would seize the mic and say the following:
"OK, it's true. We do favor Israel over you, and I'm going to be very frank with you and tell you why.
We favor Israel over you because Israel is a democracy and you are not.
We favor Israel over you because Israel has a free press and you do not.
We favor Israel over you because Israel enshrines freedom of speech and expression and you do not.
We favor Israel over you because Israel practices freedom of religion and you do not.
We favor Israel over you because Israel does not persecute its homosexual citizens and you do.
We favor Israel over you because Israel has Nobel winners in the Sciences and Universities that foreigners consider attending. You have none of either.
We favor Israel over you because Israel's press, government and religious establishment do not incite hatred against us and yours do.
We favor Israel over you because you broadcast and publish statements that remind us of the Holocaust - an event we shed blood ending and built a museum to remember, and we know that Israel is the Jewish State.
We favor Israel over you because you have tried repeatedly to wipe Israel off the map while Israel has not tried to do the same to you.
We favor Israel over you because Israel supports our foreign policy efforts and you oppose them - in Iraq and elsewhere.
We favor Israel over you because Israel respects Women's Rights and you do not.
We favor Israel over you because Israel's economy is larger than all its immediate neighbors combined.
We favor Israel over you because Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin, has one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed, as well as the highest per-capita level of citizens with university degrees. You are all far, far behind.
We favor Israel over you because relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth - just like us...and unlike you.
I could go on, and on, and on, and on with all the reasons why it's natural and beneficial and obvious that we would be closer to Israel than to you, but I need to give the mic back at some point.
We welcome you to join us. My hand is out.
But it is up to you. Not us."
In my dreams.
[Note: A couple of those things came from a JAT mailing I got some time ago.]
Update: Hey, why didn't someone tell me The Diplomad was back after their brief break? Somewhat related to this post, take a look at Two More Reasons to Like Israel and The Diplomad.
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Solomonia has a great post fantasizing what Colin Powell should have said at a useless arab conference: Read More
Great post. I would add a point which is very important: We support Israel because the Palestinian Arabs have been our enemies for 100 years. The Palestinian Arabs sided with the Ottomons against the United Kingdom, France, Australia and the United States during World War I. The Palestinian Arabs sided with the Axis during World War II. They sided with the Soviets during the Cold War, Iraq during the Gulf War, and they sure as heck acted as though they supported Al Qaeda after September 11. Of course, they supported Saddam in the War for Iraqi Succession. The Palestinian Arabs have had many opportunities to support the United States, and had they seized those opportunities they might have a moral case to make that the United States should be "even handed" in its dealings in the region. But they didn't take the chances they had, and instead supported our enemies. Why should any American ever care about the Palestinian Arabs, except perhaps in the most cynical sense -- if we have to suck up to them as part of a broader strategy to coerce and cajole Arab states to help us in the war on Al Qaeda, fine, but let's not call it justice.
Thank you, and yes, that is an excellent point.
Yes, we're back. Good post. And don't forget that Sirhan Sirhan is Palestinian.
Thanks, I always forget that guy!