Chris Bertram worries that there is a lack of balance in the Blogoverse’s coverage of the Middle East:

The blogosphere is very US-based and almost uncritically pro-Israeli and even bloggers who I link to and respect like Armed Liberal and Dave Trowbridge have a perspective that I see as unbalanced. (“Balance!, this guy wants balance! How can you talk of balance when anti-semitism is on the march and suicide bombers target civilians!” I hear you say. Quite right too, those acts are disgusting and morally repellent.)

This represents a pretty good opportunity for me to give a basic explanation about my stance on the Middle East, and the basis for a lot of what I believe about the appropriate US role there.

Let me start by explaining what I’m afraid of. Because, in a sense, Mike Golby is right – one of the roots of my political stance is fear. Here’s what I’m afraid of – you know you all got these jokes in your email last year:

The Saudi Ambassador to the U.N. has just finished giving a speech and walks out into the lobby where he meets his American counterpart. They shake hands and as they walk the Saudi asks, “You know, I have just one question about what I have seen in America.”

The American replies, “Well your Excellency, anything I can do to help you I will do.”

The Saudi whispers, “My son watches this show ‘Star Trek’ and in it there are Russians and Blacks and Asians, but never any Arabs. He is very upset. He doesn’t understand why there are never any Arabs in Star Trek.”

The American laughs, leans over and says, “That’s because it takes place in the future.”

*******
A father is walking with his son around the year 2032 in lower Manhattan. As they explore the area the father explains to his son about the grandeur of the buildings and take on the sites. Suddenly they come to a beautiful park and plaza.

The son is so excited at the beautiful park and monuments and asks his Dad: “What are these monuments for?”

The father replies: “This park is dedicated to honour the Twin Towers and the memory of the people of New York.”

“What are the Twin Towers?” asks the son.

Dad replies: “They were two very large 110 story buildings which stood here nearly 30 years until Arab Terrorists destroyed them.”

The son look puzzled, and says: “Dad, what is an arab?”

*******

Admit it, you all got them, and most of you laughed.

And here’s my fear. I don’t want to be a part of a society that eradicated another culture; I don’t want to commit genocide.

I don’t want to be put in a position where genocide is either a reasonable option, or where my fellow citizens are so enraged that they are willing to commit it, and my opposition will be washed away in a tide of rage.

I want a calm, prosperous Middle East, and believe that the Palestinian Arabs who have been royally screwed by everyone – by the Europeans and Americans who established Israel without planning or compensation; by their leaders who have led them into several suicidal wars; by the leaders of the other Arab states who use them as cheap labor, exploit them economically, and exploit them politically – deserve decent lives.

They won’t get them following the path they are on.

They won’t get it by practicing terrorism, as opposed to guerrilla warfare. There is a difference between warfare, even guerrilla warfare, and terrorism. Guerrilla warfare targets the military and strategic targets of the opponent, using deceptive techniques. The Viet Cong were very effective at this, as my countrymen learned to their dismay. Terrorism simply acts out blind rage by striking your opponent at their most vulnerable points – schools, restaurants, houses of worship.

They won’t get it by duplicitously saying one reasonable thing in English and another inflammatory one in Arabic. I spend too much time reading Arab News and MEMRI to have comfort that the Arab world gets it, and that the path they say they are headed down leads anywhere but annihilation.

Part of this is a clash of cultural models, a clash of languages, as Deborah Tannen explains in other contexts.

But words and images are one thing. Semtex, car bombs, and WMD warfare are another.

And to the extent that the Arab extremists are successful both in exporting their political rhetoric couched in blood to the U.S. and Europe, and to the extent they are able to silence or murder the moderate voices – the voices that counsel negotiation, economic warfare, peaceful confrontation – then they are speaking a language that my fellow citizens will demand a reply to, and the reply will be so horrific that I want to cry.