Thread: Random quotes re: the Middle East...

I rediscovered a copy of the Christian Science Monitor dated 9/27/01. Among the articles were several quotes from various people, some Muslim, some not who were addressing their views on possible solutions to preventing future terrorist acts against the US:

"Americans are misinformed. Only one side is being portrayed to them."

"It is difficult to deny that there is a strong...pro-Israel lobby in the US which has a hand in decision forming and in the media...and in the disinformation served to the American public."

"We wish the American people could see what their Government is doing in the rest of the world."

"The US sends more than three billion dollars in military and economic aid to Israel every year."

"To Palestinians, America means F-16's, M-16's, Apache Helicoptors, the tools Israelis use to kill our children, assassinate our leaders and destroy our homes."

"The US spends billions of dollars a year on several Arab countries that support unpopular and repressive governments in order to shore up its interests in the strategically crucial, oil-rich region."

"Americans talk about their freedoms but they can't see that they are denying others their freedom."

"What disturbs Arab peoples is the distance between US rhetoric and the reality they perceive."

"The perception is that Israel can get away with murder, literally, and the US will turn a blind eye."

"When UN resolutions favor Israel the US always supports them, when they don't the US opposes."

"Washington should force Israel to abide by UN resolutions to withdraw from occupied territories."

"The US ostracizes the Muslim nation Sudan for oppressing its Christian minority but allows Russia to bomb its Muslim minority in Chechnya. It is this double standard that creates hatred toward the US."

"When the US President says he won't honor their missile treaty with Russia, he is preaching arrogance."

"When the President refuses to condemn what is happening to Palestinians he is only preaching tyranny."

"One way to try and stop terrorism is if the US begins to give as much weight to the interests of Muslims as it does to Israelis. Another way is if the US considers our lives to be as precious as their own."

"Stopping terrorism requires initially the rethinking of US policies that breed anti-American sentiment."

"To combat Islamic fundamentalism we need value consensus between the West and Islam on the issues of democracy and the meaning and understanding of what constitutes human rights."

"Unless we are willing to face the flaws of our own past policy errors and try to comprehend how they have inflamed hatred, we will be unable to remove that hatred."

"Retaliation against terrorism does not discourage the terrorists, it only strengthens their resolve."

Now, five years later, is the world any closer to resolving these issues?