Walter Russell Mead Quotes
The Arab states don't seem to do a good job of providing for their own people, so I am not sure why they would suddenly develop an ability to help the Palestinians.
Mead, Walter Russell. "Mead: 'Anti-Americanism' in Middle East Rooted in U.S. Support for Israel, Backing for Authoritarian Regimes." Interview by Bernard Gwertzman. Council on Foreign Relations, 19 May 2004.
The Arab Countries are notoriously corrupt and undemocratic. Huge amounts of national resources are looted by the politicians in power and their supporters. Before Israel existed, the Jews and Arabs of Palestine both had a standard of living that was considerably less than that of Egypt. The Palestinians under the Palestine authority after 50 years have a standard of living that is still less than that of Egypt. But the Israeli citizens have a standard of living that is now far greater then the other Palestinians, but many times greater than Egypt. And that goes for the Israeli Arabs living in a free democracy also; they too are far better off than their non democratic co-religionists. See {588744}.
The Defense Secretary opposed U. S. support for the founding of the state of Israel. See Clemenceau for an earlier expression of oil being a critical factor in foreign policy.
There are many who disagree with Stewart on two grounds. First, the failed state sill not use the aid reasonably and it will wind up in the pockets of war lords of terrorist groups. Second, the failed state often becomes a safe haven for terrorist groups to operate and train from.
This statement hardened the Israeli population away from anything that would bring Hamas more power. The PLO leader had, for ALL the Palestinian people, recognized the right of Israel to exist {633062}. The Israelis observe that this is a de facto declaration of war, and hence treat Gaza and Hamas as an enemy force to be reckoned with. See {635341} for another alarming reneging of the recognition of Israel.
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. There was even extensive Arab hostility to the Jews in Palestine before WWII and the Holocaust. Apologists for the Arab violence to the Jews have pointed to the creation of the state of Israel, the Arabs defeat in the wars with Israel and the fact that many Palestinians left their homes and could not return as the anger which fed the conflict. But as this quote shows they were attacking the Jews even before the second world war and the so called “reasons” for their violence.
This is an example of a diplomatic leader losing control of herself and addressing a foreign dignitary in most undiplomatic language. The basic accusation was however quite justified. The Palestinians were preoccupied with many symbols of dignity and respect while ignoring economic development, technology, health and standard of living that could have been obtained by a compromise with Israel to create a Palestinian state.
The convoy was heading for the city of Alleppo that had been under siege by the government for weeks. 22 UN Aid Workers were killed and half the cargo was destroyed. Syria had been in a Civil War for a number of years, and the Government of Bashar al-Assad had committed one atrocity after another. A cease fire had been agreed to and the UN notified all parties to the war about the humanitarian convoy’s schedule and route. It was not known whether the government had decided to attack the convoy to put more pressure on the people in Aleppo to end their rebellion or the attack was made by local commanders of government troops who did not want to see the pressure on Aleppo lifted.
Walter Russell Mead is an American academic. He is the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College and taught American foreign policy at Yale University. He was also the editor-at-large of The American Interest magazine. Mead is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a scholar at the Hudson Institute.
