Little Green Footballs

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Don't get Aaronovitch started

You may not agree with everything journalist David Aaronovitch says in this program _ we don't. You may not like some of the things he says about Islam and the war in Iraq, and there are definitely a few flaws in his argument. But you can't deny that this film has a number of powerful arguments and poses some serious and unavoidable questions for liberals. Watch all of it here.

2 comments:

The Sublibrarian said...

Two things give me reservations about this: 1) suicide bombing is presented as the actions of religious nuts and 2) the narrative omits any mention of Israeli actions post-intifada.

I'm not convinced that the suicide bombing doesn't have a political dimension. And the omission of #2 makes the support of Hamas among Palestinians inexplicable. It isn't.

So, yes, "bombing, bad", "peace, good". And so what?

X said...

I think the key message for liberals to take from this film is the danger of giving support to the likes of Hezbollah. There are people you can get into bed with, and there are people you can't, and definitely Hezbollah belong in the latter category.

There is no shame - or in fact problem - with saying: I oppose the bombing of Lebanon, but I don't support Hezbollah. Why do so few people do that? Likewise, what is the point of inviting people to visit your city who openly oppose everything your city stands for? Livingstone's association with Qaradawi is shameful, and the more liberals denounce that kind of nonsense the stronger their position will be.