‘On the one hand your ilk would be happy reminding the conservatives that the muslims still hate us for the Crusades, yet now you say I spend too much time on their religion as an important factor in their political stance with us. ”
Yes, considering that you only talked about religion and not any other identity. I mean, it’s not like they have any history of, say, conflicts despite shared religion, do they? Were they a unified front showing no concerns for anything but religion, I could agree - it’s just that it’s not so.
“Nevermind the fact that I attempted to detail how they are able to develop Western sensibilities (such as they are) even in the midst of such religious fundamentalism.”
Not quite. Buying and selling from America does not automatically make you pro-American, it just means you are willing to trade with them; some limited exchange and treaties happened even between the two camps in the Cold War, especially when intermediaries were involved. I wouldn’t call that “developing Western sensibiliies,” though - more like tolerating. Of course, it might be that the exact Muslims in charge aren’t the most radical fanatics either.
Oh, LOL at your “they respect only force” saber-rattling BS. Ironically, the US never applied as much open force in the Near East as it did in the 90s and the 00s. Was there a Desert Storm in the 70s? Was Iraq, or any other Arab country, bombed as often in the 80s as it did in the 90s? What happened after the bombings in Beirut? Had your theory been correct, 9/11 should have happened much earlier.
And yeah, we saw just what “respect” the US and the West in general has gained with the war in Iraq, or the Soviets showed in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Then again, maybe they respect authority and force used wisely, it’s hard to tell - not like someone has tried it recently…
‘On the one hand your ilk would be happy reminding the conservatives that the muslims still hate us for the Crusades, yet now you say I spend too much time on their religion as an important factor in their political stance with us. ”
Yes, considering that you only talked about religion and not any other identity. I mean, it’s not like they have any history of, say, conflicts despite shared religion, do they? Were they a unified front showing no concerns for anything but religion, I could agree - it’s just that it’s not so.
“Nevermind the fact that I attempted to detail how they are able to develop Western sensibilities (such as they are) even in the midst of such religious fundamentalism.”
Not quite. Buying and selling from America does not automatically make you pro-American, it just means you are willing to trade with them; some limited exchange and treaties happened even between the two camps in the Cold War, especially when intermediaries were involved. I wouldn’t call that “developing Western sensibiliies,” though - more like tolerating. Of course, it might be that the exact Muslims in charge aren’t the most radical fanatics either.
Oh, LOL at your “they respect only force” saber-rattling BS. Ironically, the US never applied as much open force in the Near East as it did in the 90s and the 00s. Was there a Desert Storm in the 70s? Was Iraq, or any other Arab country, bombed as often in the 80s as it did in the 90s? What happened after the bombings in Beirut? Had your theory been correct, 9/11 should have happened much earlier.
And yeah, we saw just what “respect” the US and the West in general has gained with the war in Iraq, or the Soviets showed in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Then again, maybe they respect authority and force used wisely, it’s hard to tell - not like someone has tried it recently…