Guess Who's Planning to Shine Lasers on Pilots

Recently, Jay Beckman posted:

"Neil Gould" wrote in message
Recently, Jay Honeck posted:

There are other cold hard facts to consider here. We aren't dealing
with "a murderer". We're dealing with entire cultures who just
don't happen to appreciate our way of going about things.
[...]

Well, Neil, I hear you -- but I don't believe that our enemies
really care about how we "change our ways."
[...]

Well, they say they *do* care about many of the ways that we insert
ourselves in in their midst. The Palestinian issue; our general
disrespect for Islamic (not even radical) traditions, etc.


Neil,

I lived in Tehran, Iran back in 1976-1977 and therefore had a keen
interest in events that took place there not long after I returned to
the U.S.A. And I try to keep up with the reality as it exists today.

While living there, we were often reminded to respect both the
religious and cultural aspects of Iranian life. We knew when it
might not be safe to be on the streets (passions run high during
Ramadan...) and which parts of town to stay out of.

We learned early on that (at least in Iran) the Middle East is rife
with contradictions. What you see is rarely what you get. I'll
never forget the sight of an Iranian woman jumping over a puddle
while crossing the street and her "Chador" blew open revealing the
fact that she was wearing a very expensive, bright yellow business
suit and yellow 3" stilletto heels. And before anyone asks why she
wasn't stoned on the spot...at the time, the "Chador" was culteral in
nature and not required by any Islamic tennets. Unlike now where the
zealots want to drive Iran (and the rest of the Middle East) back to
the stone age.

After the Embassy was seized, while the TV cameras were focused on the
"mob", I was getting letters from Iranian friends bemoaning the loss
of friends, dollars, goods and all the other things that they came to
know and like about America. The American TV networks even
eventually reported this...of course, they waited until about day 400
of 444 to do so.

Iran and much of the Middle East went, quite litterally, from camels
to cars in a very short space of time. They tasted success and a
modicum of self determination (the Shah not withstanding...he and his
wife (especially) did do some good things in Iran) and I think, in
time, they are going to want it back.

I saw this article...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7103517/...week/?GT1=6305

...and I have to agree with the author. Frankly, the issues in the
Middle East (by and large...) have very little to do with America or
American policies and a whole lot more to do with their own internal
politics and pressures.

I think this is addressing a completely different issue, Jay. Cultures are
not monolithic; not there, not here. Indeed "... most politics (are)
local". The issue of terrorism is not one between the reasonable majority
of either culture. Religious zealots are a problem wherever they are,
there or here.

What motivates people to attack others, sacrificing their lives in the
process? Does that not seem like an act of ultimate desparation, borne out
of frustration and a sense that there is nothing more to lose? People from
all over the world are equally accessible to "them", so I doubt that we
are just a random target in that process. So, how can we simply deny that
there is any credibility to their claims about our role in their neck of
the woods?

Regards,

Neil