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<DIV>Astounding, isn't it? I know it's dangerous to "rank" the victims of white
supremacy, but there clearly seems to be no group that one can bash more
consistently without impunity than Arabs.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Subject: [lbo-talk] Sauce for goose & gander<BR>Reply-To: <A
href="mailto:lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org">lbo-talk@lbo-talk.org</A><BR><BR>The ever
ruminative William Safire ponders the question of Arab maturity in <BR>his NY
Times column today thus: "Even in the flush of triumph [in Iraq],
<BR>doubts will be raised. ... The most insulting question is this: considering
<BR>their Islamist religious schisms and tribal hatreds, their tradition of
<BR>monarchy and obedience to dictatorial regimes, their turbulent 'street,'
<BR>easily inflamed by demagogues — how can any population of Arabs be entrusted
<BR>with democracy? The answer to that is the experiment on which the
Iraqis <BR>are now embarked. Most start with the advantages of being literate,
not <BR>fundamentalist and extravagantly oil-rich." <BR><<A
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/10/opinion/10SAFI.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/10/opinion/10SAFI.html</A>></DIV></BODY></HTML>