Wednesday, September 12, 2012

US consulate attack in Libya underlines threat of fundamentalists


Radicals who were kept at bay or in prison under dictators such as Gaddafi and Mubarak are now free to pursue their agendas

Ian Black, Middle East editor
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 12 September 2012

".....Islam is by definition wider than any issue of national politics, and these incidents highlight the uncomfortable truth that the US remains deeply unpopular across the Muslim world, as shown again by a recent YouGov poll. Iraq, Afghanistan, and above all the enduring Israeli-Palestinian conflict remain open sores.

But religion and politics make for a toxic combination. "The US has killed hundreds of thousands of unnamed Muslims in 9/11 revenge wars," commented the Palestinian rights advocate Ali Abunimah. "Media dehumanisation helps make this possible.".....

Arab governments generally want to get on well with Washington, but given the background it is a relationship that will always be vulnerable to provocations by extremists on both sides. For too many across the region, Pastor Terry Jones looks more influential than Barack Obama."

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