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Source: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099413/
Understanding Arab Anti-Americanism
(Slate/MSN) Lee Smith - Over the last several decades, U.S. officials have believed that both Israelis and Palestinians were equally deserving of peace, and Americans have spent a great deal of time and prestige trying to broker a fair and just agreement between the two parties. Those Americans have operated under the (correct) belief that peace is in the interests of the Palestinian people. The problem is that peace is perhaps not in the interests of the Palestinian leadership. The difference between Arab leadership and the Arab people is the key to understanding Arab anti-Americanism. When Arabs say that they like Americans but not American policies, they are saying they do not understand the basic principle of representative government. Anti-Americanism is how Arab leaders play the Arab people and the U.S. against each other to preserve their own hides. There is no incentive to be anything but anti-American, and it is very dangerous not to follow the pack.