> > KH > Even now, is it too much to > hope that the US State Department could start to think about peaceful > incursions into those countries by making offers, such as funding for > schools and medical centres, that even the most reactionary politicians > could not refuse? > > > AC > > What's "in it" for the reactionary politicians? They most fear losing > control. Any change might be a change for the worst. So they are > presumably satisfied with the way things are going. > > arthur >
What we mustn't forget is that many of the people who participate in terrorist organizations in Islamic states already feel that the US has too strong a presence in their countries, and that the US presence supports oppressive and unprogressive regimes because that suits its own hegemonic purposes. It was not the poor and dispossessed who flew the planes on September 11th, but relatively well-educated young men who could have found jobs and established careers in the west, if they had wanted to. I firmly belief that a greater transfer of wealth from the rich world to the poor is necessary for long term global peace and stability. Perhaps in the long run it would solve the problem of global terror, but I doubt very much that it would have an immediate impact. Would Al Qaeda accept American funded schools? I hardly think so. Ed Weick
