RtS,

Regarding police checking hotel registrations and passports. They certainly used to in France during the OAS days, in Spain during the fifties and early sixties (Franco), in Italy and in Switzerland.

Doktor Doktor,

Some comments with regard to kendall's post:

Taking the three reasons for the Arabs hating us (the West)

1. They used to be the most powerful society in the world. We in the west have taken that away.

So they are envious of the West and they long for the by-gone days of past glory (the Moorish Empire). Suggestions/Solutions offered to alleviate this condition - None. Does anyone, for one bloody minute, propose that the West restore them to what they perceive as being their rightful position in the world.

There are numerous parallels in history as to why their Empire, society and influence declined, in the case of the Arabs their religion and conservatism played a major role in that decline.

The West did not take it away. With the fall of Holy Roman Empire, the knowledge and learning that was brought to Europe sparked off the Rennaissance, encouraged investigation and taught people in the West to question and challenge established doctrines and dogma. The power of the Catholic Church was broken and men from the countries of western Europe went out to explore. Not having any religious authority to restrict activity led to invention and innovation. The merchant and latterly the middle-classes became increasingly upwardly-mobile. Neither the agrarian, nor industrial, revolution could have been possible in an Arabic society - without either we would have starved. The classic example of this relates to ancient China compared to the West - they invented gun-powder centuries ago and created a colourful amusement for an Emperor. The West took that invention and landed a man on the moon.

2. They have been ruled by despots for centuries (with our help)

Their religion and their belief in the will of Allah predisposes them to rule by despots. Kendall's "(with our help)" is a bit of a joke considering his previous use of "centuries". "With our help" may possibly be applied in very few cases covering the last forty years.

3. The big one, they hate our support of their enemy, Israel.

The UN recognised the sovereignty of the state of Israel in 1948. The Arabs and the nations in which they reside are member states and should therefore be bound by that. They never have and some state that they never will. The thing the Arabs seem to fail to grasp is that once they have renounced the aim of the destruction of Israel and officially recognise Israel as a sovereign state, US backing of Israel is no longer required. The original dispute in the Palestine Mandate between Arab and Jew was founded on deliberate lies told by Yassir Arafat's Uncle with the express intention of fomenting unrest.

Talking of crap: Lets look at what kendall identifies as the root of our problem -

"Seems to me that it would be a lot cheaper, and safer for us to start treating the Arabs like we treat the Israelis."

Does that mean that the West, and the USA in particular, pays out billions in aid for absolutely no return and arm them to the teeth? If memory serves me correctly the old Soviet Union certainly did the latter but it did not seem to have done them any good.

"Bush says they hate us because we are free. Does anyone believe that crap?"

I do believe that with education and the advent of the internet the religious fanatics feel threatened that they may well lose their grip and power to control what up to now has been a fairly biddable population (Iran is the best example of this currently in the region). Those same fanatical clerics look to the West and see the same freedoms of thought, expression and attainment that the younger members of their followers can also see, and they fear, and hate, it. Why because it destroys their power base and they will lose their influence.

I don't believe anyone has ever defeated terrorism by military means alone, but that is not to say that there is not a military element in defeating terrorism.

If the three root causes are as described by kendall then the Arabs have to do the following:

1. Grow up and forget about turning back the clock - That is not going to happen, never has, never will.

2. Join the rest of the world in the 21st Century

3. Address the immediate needs to improve the lot of their own citizens.