The culture in the middle east, be it Arab, Persian, Afghan, understands and respects overt power. They start “negotiations” with a show of force and follow on with imposing the details of the “agreement”. It isn’t about religion. The mind set extends beyond the birth of Islam.
Many of the western “hawks” are simply people who understand this critical difference between our cultures. What we in the west view as a rational system of negotiating prior to conflict, they view as weak and foolish.
I strongly recommend Culture and Conflict in the Middle East by Philip Carl Salzman. He explores the overwhelming influence of tribal and clan relationships on governments and leadership in the region. It won’t likely cause you to change your opinions how we should behave but it will give you greater insight into how people in that region behave, and why.
Many, perhaps most of the motivations and principals we project onto people in the region are incorrect. We expect them to think like us, react like us and to have the same baseline belief system at their core. Our cultures are so very different that such thinking is absolutely counterproductive.
The culture in the middle east, be it Arab, Persian, Afghan, understands and respects overt power. They start “negotiations” with a show of force and follow on with imposing the details of the “agreement”. It isn’t about religion. The mind set extends beyond the birth of Islam.
Many of the western “hawks” are simply people who understand this critical difference between our cultures. What we in the west view as a rational system of negotiating prior to conflict, they view as weak and foolish.
I strongly recommend Culture and Conflict in the Middle East by Philip Carl Salzman. He explores the overwhelming influence of tribal and clan relationships on governments and leadership in the region. It won’t likely cause you to change your opinions how we should behave but it will give you greater insight into how people in that region behave, and why.
Many, perhaps most of the motivations and principals we project onto people in the region are incorrect. We expect them to think like us, react like us and to have the same baseline belief system at their core. Our cultures are so very different that such thinking is absolutely counterproductive.