Russian school children hostage ends

by Simon 43 Replies latest social current

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  Pole

  Are you not contradicitng yourself?

  Hey. Let's drop it. How come you still don't get my point? If you read my posts carefully you'll know what I mean. I'm losing faith in the honesty of your intentions. It really wasn't my point to take a pot shot at you - I just don't blame religion for everything because it takes us nowhere.

  Here is my point again and for the last time. Either you get it or forget it.

  The creation of the state of Israel was a political decision. There might have been some Zionism to it, but the Palestinian resistance would have been the same if there had been no idealogy. The sending of settlers to the west bank of the Jordan is a political step as well. It is aggravateing the Israeli-Paletinian situation.

  The religious mess is a spin-off. Religion was used as a catalyst. Palestinian suicide bombers are indoctrinated with it and so are fundamentalist Jewish settlers.

  However there had been Jews and Arabs in the region before Israel was created as a state. THe situation was much more peaceful despite the religious differences.

  What is the real reason for this mess? The religious differences or the creation of Israel? Of course as it is now whole generations have been brought up in religious hatred. But the original reasons were political ones. And the only possible solutions are ones which address the political dimension of the problem.

  Don't you know any stable multi-religious societies? I think they are much more common than religious war sistuations. WHy? Because there are no political reasons to start war.
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  stillajwexelder

  BTW - I can not see what the problem is in giving Chechnya independence - just like I would give Northern Ireland back to the Irish - -why keep a state in subjection if it does not want to belong
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  blondie

  Stilla, I was listening to BBC News today and they said that Russia is made up of 38 separate entities and they are afraid if they give it to one they will have to give it to others. Sort of letting Texas secede from the US, I guess.

  I learn a lot more about world news listening to BBC than I do listening to ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN rolled up together.

  Blondie
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  Pole

  Stilla, I was listening to BBC News today and they said that Russia is made up of 38 separate entities and they are afraid if they give it to one they will have to give it to others. Sort of letting Texas secede from the US, I guess.

  Blondie,

  That's the Russian's argument, but it's largely post-factum reasoning. We've killed hundreds of thousands of Chechnyans over the last 2 centuries, so there must be a good reason for it. But here's the point: Does Texas currently want to gain full independence?. If it had the kind of reasons for seceding that Chechnya has, it would be a home for terrorism like Chechnya is (even if it was more "moderate" ETA-style of terrorism).

  BTW, rather than full independence, what many moderate Chechnyans leaders (Including Maschadov) want now is:

  1) End of Russian Army oppression 2) Some form of autonomy (with real elections)

  I personally believe it's the right of every nation to decide if they want to be independent. Russia is not really the same as the Russian Federation. But I'm Polish, so I maybe I'm just biased by the history of my nation.