Oh, now you speak for the "Arab masses"? And I'm having the fantasy?
(My wife and I are having dinner tonight with an ex-Muslim Indian co-worker of hers. You should hear what he says about the Muslims of Central Asia -- not flattering, I assure you.)
Perhaps you missed the Oxfam report in January that showed that with the overthrow of the Taliban, a major famine had been averted (though there are still low-nutrition rates and hunger in isolated areas). That didn't improve life for the Afghans?
I believe in a single standard across the line, and yes this stretches to Israel and Palestine, to Sharon and Hamas. I insist that a real "left" that took the same stand would be in a better position than it is right now, not to mention in better moral shape. Instead, it ignores reality and recycles clichés from an earlier era. But hey, it swings on campus I'm sure, where the "Arab masses" are no doubt teeming . . .
DP