The causes of terrorism
...I have never bought into the creating terrorist meme. I think they self generate because of their religious bigotry and not because of what we do in reaction to their excesses. At the heart of all Muslim terrorism is not a settlement of the so called Israeli Palistinian dispute, but the virulent religious bigotry of many Muslims who are intolerent of those who reject Islam. There is also an element of real estae worship in their psyche too. For a religion that has banned idol worship, they have made idols of certain pieces of real estate. Those two factors make it impossible for them to settle this dispute.
The last time Israel invaded Lebanon, it left scars that fed extremism in the region. Why does this not appear to be a consideration in the present offensive?I’m not sure it's Israeli action that fuels extremism in the Arab world. It is primarily the failure of the Arab states to gradually make the transition to modernity, which creates social and political problems that lead to extremism. Islamic extremism is home grown.
The Israeli occupation of South Lebanon helped to establish Hezbollah, but in my view it was a secondary factor because there was already a certain measure of radicalisation within the Shia community before Israel arrived.
Hezbollah is now a much greater threat than before and we have to deal with the immediate threat rather than future concerns.
Would Israel consider attacking Iran or Syria?
The government that can make a difference is not the Lebanese government; it is the regime in Damascus that can cut off support for Hezbollah.
I advocate attacking Syria – to some extent we are wasting ammunition in Lebanon. But I'm not sure the Israeli government thinks in those terms. It has been making statements that it does not want to escalate the situation by attacking Syria.
Iran is too distant and so I think w'’re more likely to leave the Iranians to the Americans – for now.
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