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From: barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.flame
Subject: Re: Kidnaping Shiites
Message-ID: <2088@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Jun-85 01:15:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.2088
Posted: Fri Jun 21 01:15:40 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Jun-85 06:47:17 EDT
References: <686@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> <171@nvuxb.UUCP>
Reply-To: barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold)
Organization: System Development Corp. R+D, Santa Monica
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Xref: watmath net.politics:9528 net.flame:10704

So far the wierdest analysis of the hostage mess I have heard sounds
like the most believable one too.  The commentator explained that the
Shiites had been living peacefully in Lebanon until the Christian
Lebanese let the PLO settle there (on the grounds the PLO and Shiites
were both Arabs), startinhg an escalating conflict between Shiites and
PLO, with the Shiites now massacring the Palestinians to keep them from
resettling there so the Israelis wouldn't keep attacking their area.

All these attacks on the PLO have gotten the Shiites a bad name for being
soft on Israel/Jews.  So apparently at least one cause for the recent
seizure of hostages is for the Shiites to get themselves a good press
among their fellow Arabs as being properly anti-Israel/Jews.

This bears out my belief that the Middle East is totally insane, worse
than Northern Ireland.  The best thing to do with both places is probably
to lock all the people who want to die for their cause in an arena--and let
them kill one another.  Then maybe the people who prefer living can get on
with doing so.

--Lee Gold