The silent majority

The silent majority

Pakistan's dirty laundering

Jeff Jacoby discusses Pakistans unwillingness to receive aid from Israel openly and concludes,

But that loathing of Israel and Jews is not just a quirk of Pakistani politics. It is a hallmark of the radical Islamists whose terrorism worldwide has shed so much blood -- and who hold sway over more than 70 percent of Pakistan, according to Tashbih Sayyed, editor of the weekly newspaper Pakistan Today. An outspoken Muslim moderate, Sayyed sees Musharraf's recent overtures toward Israel as a feint -- an insincere tactic intended to impress Washington.

"That is why he has done nothing to challenge the way Jews and Israel are portrayed by the Islamists -- as demons, as an evil force," he argues. Many Pakistanis would welcome a genuine effort from the top to combat the radicals' hatred and lies but are not brave enough to fight them on their own. And so the Islamists go on spreading their lethal ideology.

And that, writ large, is the problem at the core of the war on terrorism. "The Muslim world is plunged into an abyss of darkness, antimodernity, anti-Americanism, and anti-Semitism," Sayyed says. Only a minority of Muslims are personally hateful or fanatic. But a minority can wreak enormous damage when the majority is unwilling to act.

Posted by Ted Belman at October 21, 2005 09:04 AM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.israpundit.com/mt-tb.cgi/10935


Comments

1. BobW said:

The other question is what does Israel hope to derive from sending supplies to Pakistan.

Pakistan's government officials do not fully represent the body politic. Pakistan does not believe in land for peace. Witness Kashmir. Recall why East Pakistan became Bangladesh. Dealing with Pakistan is like dealing with the PLO. Again, what does Israel seek in this operation?

I recall that the US provided Lend-Lease to the USSR during WWII. After WWII, Lend-Lease did not mitigate the Cold War.


Post Script: My Pakistan-PLO analogy might not be a good example. Then again, I'm in desperate need for examples of what Israel is trying to accomplish.

Kol tuv,
BobW

Posted by: BobW on October 21, 2005 12:50 PM

2. Chen said:

BobW. Perhaps this is just what Jews do. Israel even offered aid to Iran when they had their earthquake. On the other hand it could possibly more to do with the American agenda of promoting so-called democracies in the ME. If Israel reaches out Bush can point to this as a positive accomplishment. Of course on the humorous side you can't point to something no one dare talk about!!


For me, I find it difficult to trust Pakistan. I don't see them as an ally to anyone. I also question exactly what they have done for America. And I have sore feelings on the Daniel Pearl killing. What came of it?

Last thought. Anyone who needs aid as badly as they do yet asks for it to be in a third party manner is sick. How can people turn from their hate and in the end who suffers but the innocent. Jacoby is right on in his assesment and I give him applause for writing about it.

Posted by: Chen on October 21, 2005 04:38 PM

Post a comment




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)