NP Nov 30th -

Double Stabdards

When Iranian students attack the British embassy , it is assumed that Iran is responsible.

When American soldiers mistakenly kill Pakistani soldiers it is assumed that America

is responsible. Why is it not assumed that Lebanon-Syria is responsible for rockets fired

at Israel by their citizens and why is it not assumed that rockets fired

from Gaza are not ultimately the responsibility of Hamas? The double standard of

total responsibility for Israel, America and other strong countries versus no responsibility

for weak Middle-Eastern governments is the same double standard that we use in the West

for excusing immigrants for some abhorrent cultural practises by saying that it is their culture

and therefore "understandable". It's time to do away with all double standards.

Kuttab, Hamas, rockets

Mr. Kuttab's article in the Globe about the Arab street's opinion of the U.S., democracy, and the U.S.'s obligations towards the Palestinians is strange in that it seems so out of touch with reality. The U.S. under Obama is patently not pro-Israel. It has no obligation to right all the world's wrongs. Furthermore it seemshighly unlikely that the Arab street or leadership is pro democracy as Kuttab suggests. Yesterday's article in the Globe about an informal ceasefire between Israel and Hamas also seems unreal as it ignores the hundreds of rockets with which Hamas attacked Israel over the last year as if this is a "normal" situation and doesn't at all relate to Israel's military reaction to Hamas' attempt to murder Israeli schoolchildren.