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Check out Salman Rushdie's article on Bush and anti-Americanism:
Ironic if Bush Causes Jihad
From the article:
"On September 5 and 6 the United States State Department held a high-powered conference on anti-Americanism, an unusual step indicating the depth of US concern about this increasingly globalised phenomenon.
Anti-Americanism can be mere shallow name-calling. A recent article in Britain's Guardian newspaper described Americans as having "a bug up their collective arse the size of Manhatten", and suggested that "American" is a type of personality which is intense, humourless, partial to psychobabble and utterly convinced of its own importance".
Also from the article:
"In the heat of the dispute over Iraq strategy, South Asia has now become a sideshow. And it is in Iraq that George Bush may be about to make his biggest mistake and to unleash a generation-long plague of anti-Americanism that may make the present epidemic look like a time of rude good health.
Inevitably, the reasons lie in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Like it or not, much of the world thinks of Israel as the 51st state, America's client and surrogate, and Bush's obvious rapport with Ariel Sharon does nothing to change the world's mind.
Of course the suicide bombings are vile but, until the US persuades Israel to make a lasting settlement with the Palestinians, anti-US feeling will continue to rise; and if, in today's highly charged atmosphere, the US embarks on the huge, risky military operation suggested by the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, then the result may well be the creation of that united Islamic force which was bin Laden's dream."
So...what are your thoughts on this? Is Rushdie correct in assuming that a war with Iraq will unleash the wrath of the Arab world and destablize the entire region? Will Saudi Arabia turn against the US? Will Iran side with its old enemy, Iraq? What about Pakistan and Kashmir? How will a war with Iraq affect that region? |
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