Ecstasy-Laced Valium
June 27th, 2003 - 12:53 am
This David Ignatius column is the most depressingly upbeat thing I’ve read in ages:
…this week I wanted to shake my Arab writer friends and say: Come on, gang. Stop whining and get moving. If you don’t want America to shape your future, then take control of it yourselves.
That’s the kicker, but go on and read the whole thing.
“So a horrible conformism began to enshroud Arab political life. State-supported journalists painted a world in which their leadership was always right and Israel was always wrong. Self-criticism was seen almost as treasonous, implicitly aiding the enemy. And, let it be said, the Israelis kept the whole enterprise going by doing stupid things — engaging in provocative attacks or foot-dragging diplomacy that reinforced Arab stereotypes.”
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Ah, Steve, what’s so hot about that suck-up-to-the-great-but-temporarily-deluded-Arabs article?
Since “the Israelis kept the whole enterprise going by doing stupid things — engaging in provocative attacks or foot-dragging diplomacy that reinforced Arab stereotypes,” it’s certainly the Israelis primarily that have to change their errand ways.