Who the enemies are
Reader comment on item: Going to Israel? Go to Jail
in response to reader comment: unbelievable

Submitted by Rebecca Moulds (United States), Jan 11, 2009 at 19:01

I think most people have forgotten that the majority of the people who piloted the planes on September 11th, 2001 were Saudis and Egyptians. Saudi Arabia has much to answer for in this present struggle against radical Islam, but so many have conveniently put aside this fact and continue to believe that there is a common bond between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Iraq, according to some US officials and military chiefs, is far "better" than it was before the fall of Saddam Hussein, but that is a matter of opinion. Iran is developing a nuclear bomb and it seems that no one cares except Israel.

I agree with you, Israel is not the problem; there are real villains surrounding it that wish to destroy what little democracy the Middle East has. Egypt is in a very precarious position, being an Arab country but not supporting terrorist regimes of some other Arab and Middle Eastern countries, therefore, it will have trouble winning a popularity contest in the Middle East.

Having lived in Egypt for ten years, I have ambivalent feelings towards it, knowing that although the government does not support terrorism, it also tends to straddle the middle for its own benefits. So in all the region, Israel seems to want peace more than any other, but it is an elusive peace as long as the enemies surrounding refuse to allow it to exist, and refuse to allow travellers the freedom to visit it at their pleasure without penalties.

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