quote:

Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger warned that Europe and the United States must unite to head off a "war of civilizations" arising from a nuclear-armed Middle East. In an opinion column in the Washington Post, the renowned foreign policy expert said the potential for a "global catastrophe" dwarfed lingering transatlantic mistrust left over from the Iraq war. "A common Atlantic policy backed by moderate Arab states must become a top priority, no matter how pessimistic previous experience with such projects leaves one," Kissinger wrote. "The debate sparked by the Iraq war over American rashness vs. European escapism is dwarfed by what the world now faces. "Both sides of the Atlantic should put their best minds together on how to deal with the common danger of a wider war merging into a war of civilizations against the background of a nuclear-armed Middle East." Kissinger wrote that the big threat lay in the erosion of nation states and the emergence of transnational groups. Iran was at the centre of the challenge, he said, with its support for Hezbollah, radical Shiite groups in Iraq and its nuclear program. Washington must accept that many European nations were more optimistic about talks designed to convince Iran to halt uranium enrichment -- a process Tehran denies is aimed at making weapons, he wrote. But in return, he said, Europe should accept the process must include a "bottom line" beyond which diplomatic flexibility must not go and a time limit to ensure talks did not become a shield for "developing new assaults." In the article, Kissinger, national security adviser for former president Richard Nixon, and secretary of state for Nixon and his successor Gerald Ford, warned the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah was still dangerous, after its month-long conflict with Israel. "Hezbollah's next move is likely to be an attempt to dominate the Beirut government by intimidation and, using the prestige gained in the war, manipulating democratic procedures," he said. He concluded by noting that observers wondered whether, after the Cold War, trans-Atlantic ties could survive the loss of a common enemy. "We now know that we face the imperative of building a new world order or potential global catastrophe. It cannot be done alone by either side of the Atlantic. Is that realization sufficient to regenerate a common purpose?"

I feel that he has hit it on the head. No matter what or views of each other are, the worse is yet to come.



SOURCE

Nothing new here really.
The only thing that has really changed is who America and Europe are dancing around.

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"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

He's just worried about israel.

More like a Clash of Civilizations... Samuel P. Huntington pwns you.

He has a point. There's great problems in the Middle East. But "War of civilizations" I don't know if that's the way to put it.
Kyss mig i röven Kissinger

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Gør dig umage

This is not a "war of civilizations".

I would love to know, from Henry (or anyone else who agrees with him), what exactly "the terrorists" could do that would result in the collapse of Western Civilization. "The West" - and its values - have survived two world wars, communism, constant terrorist attacks (IRA, Basque Separatists etc.) and a combined 19 years of leadership from Thatcher and Reagan (oh yeah, I went there). We survived through all this and yet, somehow, a small contingent of Islamist separatists are likely to bring the entirity of Western civilization to its knees? Get fucked.

We descend from men who wouldn't baulk at the threat of men who owned an empire - why are we cowering from the threat of men who don't even own houses? Call me drunk (I am, but don't call me that) but people who champion the war on terrorism (or "of civilizations") are cowards. The only threat to Western civilization comes from those who run it: to grant them more power, under the feaful guise of the "war on terrorism", is to acquiesce to everything that is antithetical to Western society.

So there is, absolutely, a battle occurring right now to preserve the tennets of Western civilization. It is, however, a war waged not between us and the terrorists but rather between us and our governments.

I need another vodka.

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http://eschatonnow.blogspot.com/

quote:

Originally posted by Renegade I need another vodka.

Sold!

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http://eschatonnow.blogspot.com/

Its not a completely incorrect idea.

Samuel P. Huntington pwns you.
http://www.amazon.com/Clash-Civiliz...ie=UTF8&s=books

You can read the inital article here
http://www.alamut.com/subj/economics/misc/clash.html

quote:

Originally posted by Renegade This is not a "war of civilizations". I would love to know, from Henry (or anyone else who agrees with him), what exactly "the terrorists" could do that would result in the collapse of Western Civilization. "The West" - and its values - have survived two world wars, communism, constant terrorist attacks (IRA, Basque Separatists etc.) and a combined 19 years of leadership from Thatcher and Reagan (oh yeah, I went there). We survived through all this and yet, somehow, a small contingent of Islamist separatists are likely to bring the entirity of Western civilization to its knees? Get fucked. We descend from men who wouldn't baulk at the threat of men who owned an empire - why are we cowering from the threat of men who don't even own houses? Call me drunk (I am, but don't call me that) but people who champion the war on terrorism (or "of civilizations") are cowards. The only threat to Western civilization comes from those who run it: to grant them more power, under the feaful guise of the "war on terrorism", is to acquiesce to everything that is antithetical to Western society. So there is, absolutely, a battle occurring right now to preserve the tennets of Western civilization. It is, however, a war waged not between us and the terrorists but rather between us and our governments. I need another vodka.

Excellent response Renegade. +1

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z Excellent response Renegade. +1

And another +1 he did it while drunk and stupid like Aussies are on a regular basis.