Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84 exptools; site ihuxb.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!ihnp4!ihuxb!reza From: reza@ihuxb.UUCP (Reza Taheri) Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: Re: Understanding the Shiites Message-ID: <1083@ihuxb.UUCP> Date: Tue, 2-Jul-85 15:47:20 EDT Article-I.D.: ihuxb.1083 Posted: Tue Jul 2 15:47:20 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 3-Jul-85 20:25:43 EDT References: <675@cadovax.UUCP> <681@rlgvax.UUCP> <727@ihlpg.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 58 > > The U.S. literally supports the economy and the armed forces of > > Israel with it's generous aid. I am not surprised that the Middle > > East nations have nothing but hatred for the U.S. They see Isreal > > [I have edited out the rest of his article. HRT] > > - Raghu. > > For your information, the United States has friendly relations with > Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, North Yemen, Saudi Arabia, > United Arab Emirates, Bahrein, Sudan, Somalia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, > and Mauretania. Even relations with Syria aren't all that bad. What > Middle Eastern nations are you referring to? Only Libya's > Kaddafi (a lunatic) and Soviet satellite South Yemen, of all Arab countries, > hate the U. S. Most of the hatred of the U. S. in the Mid-East comes from > Iran, a non-Arab country which under the Shah had full and friendly > diplomatic relations with Israel. Khomeini's anti-Americanism has virtually > nothing to do with the existence of Israel, but rather with U. S. support > of the Shah and a general reaction against Western "decadence". > -- > Bill Tanenbaum - AT&T Bell Labs - Naperville IL ihnp4!ihlpg!tan Raghu is absolutely right, so is Bill. Well, OK, so are you. All of the countries Bill recounts ARE close friends of the US. But most of them (officially) consider Israel their greatest enemy. This contradiction might have come to being because what a country has to give in return to US military aid is less than that in return to the Soviet military aid. So it may pay off to befriend you enemy's benefactor if that's the least committing way to get weapons to fight that enemy. It is also beneficial for the US to be friends to, and supply arms to, both, say, Israel and Iraq as it keeps both countries in check and lets the US keep a handle on the situation. Furthermore, even though the governments of these countries are friends with the US, their people feel contempt for any country that supports Israel. Bill's problem is that he falls for a government's official line. How could you believe a friendship between Iraq and the US when only two years ago ... Now really! Or take Iran. Of course Khomeini does not admit that his hatred of the US has personal origins. Unlike Bill's interpretation, he (officially) is an enemy of the US because the US is a friend of Iran's enemy, Israel. But then, Israel is one of Iran's major trading partners, supplying them with weapons in a war against Iraq! You never know if two governments are really friends or foes if you simply read their official policies. So let's not fall for the official lines and try and go underneath the surface and look for the people's feelings. Muslim Middle Easterns hate Israel. It is plain and simple as that. Now, whether that's because of the anti-Israeli propaganda in their countries in the past 40 years, or because Muslims and Jews were born to hate each other, or any other reason, it's irrelevant to "this" discussion. Muslim Middle Easterns hate (OK, "dislike"?) Israel and therefore they hate the US even though their governments may have been friendly with the US for less than a decade. H. Reza Taheri ...!ihnp4!ihuxb!reza (312)-979-7473