posted on May, 22 2009 @ 05:53 AM
I was browsing the internet and came across an interesting article I wish to share with fellow ATS members. This article examines the way the
Israeli/Palestinian issue has taken centre stage as the most popular and significant political issue in recent years, and especially the last few
months. While I do admit it is one of the most important conflicts the world should be examining, it seems certain individuals intend to focus
exclusively and continually on this Middle Eastern (ME) conflict. At the expense of the hundreds of thousands of other victims of other conflicts,
this seems somewhat cruel and unfair.
Before determining what my agenda might be in presenting this, I ask you to look at my past posts on this issue. You will see that in pretty much
every post I have made I have tried my best to be balanced and considered the argument from a number of angles. While you may not agree with my posts,
I think it is fair to say that I have at most times been respectful and welcomed the input from others on this issue. While my tone may have been
stern and bitter at times, it was never my intention to ridicule or denigrate any other poster.
At the end of the day, I assure you that all I really wish for is peace in the ME. I have had enough of seeing extremists from both sides ruin the
lives for the majority of others. If you do some serious research on this whole conflict, you will notice that it is far from one-sided. BOTH sides
have taken actions that have had vastly negative consequences. And both sides continue to argue and blame the other, while peace is never achieved.
This article appeared in the
Irish Examiner on May 13 2009. I only came across this website recently, but it seems
relatively balanced and fair. Although I could spend paragraph upon paragraph explaining the important issues it raises, I feel the article is best
experienced when one approaches it without having been told by somebody else what its contents contain.
Keeping this in mind, I urge all readers to read the article in its entirety. More importantly, try your best to read the article with an open mind
and appreciate its unique presentation.
There are 70
conflicts worldwide, so why do we focus on just one?
A quick scan of the world’s trouble spots makes my point. The well-respected International Crisis Group is currently tracking 70 conflicts
around the world, from Afghanistan and Algeria to Yemen and Zimbabwe. Yes, 70: we live in a dangerous world.
Some of these are very familiar to us: Northern Ireland, Iraq, the Basque country, North Korea and, of course, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Others are not nightly news: Kashmir, Burma, Eritrea and so on. And then there are the conflicts we have forgotten about, or never really heard about
too much because they are far away or poor, or both: Armenia versus Azerbaijan, Mindanao in the Philippines, Morocco/western Sahara and Aceh.
Some of the 70 hotspots are especially deadly. Millions of black Africans have died in Congo in the past decade, well below most people’s
radar.
Edit: Figured it was appropriate to include a small section of the story without giving too much away.
[edit on 22/5/2009 by Dark Ghost]