De Westerse Terreur 68

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Ter attentie: Maxime de clown

Citaten uit Maxime Verhagen's speech voor de Oud-Poelgeest conferentie (over terrorismebestrijding)

Let me add that I am encouraged by your recommendation that a country that feels compelled to resort to the use of force should be prepared to publicly justify its reasoning,thus allowing others to check the legal basis and to weigh the necessity and proportionality of its actions.

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Ter verduidelijking: Nederland/hij
- vond de aanval op Gaza meteen "niet buitenproportioneel" - zonder onderzoek
- stemde in de VN tegen een fact finding onderzoek (olv Goldstone, resolutie)
- stemde in de VN tegen behandeling van het Goldstone rapport in de veiligheidsraad (resolutie)

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Interview met ElBaradei in The Guardian (3 artikelen op 31 maart):

Cautious reports on Tehran nuclear programme 'were framed to avoid war'

Mohamed ElBaradei hits out at west's support for repressive regimes

Mohamed ElBaradei: unlikely champion of democracy in Arab world

"I see increasing radicalisation in this area of the world, and I understand the reason. People feel depressed by their own governments, they feel unfairly treated by the outside world, they wake up in the morning and who do they see – they see people being shot and killed, all Muslims from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Darfur," he said.

He rejected the idea of a "clash of civilisations", but warned that dialogue between Muslims and the west would be difficult without a just settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. "Unless you find a fair and equitable resolution to this issue the people here will always feel humiliated and also, it will continue to be used by Arab rulers as a pretext for their failure to deliver," he added.

Employing the type of language not usually associated with the mild-mannered diplomat, Elbaradei described western policy in Iraq and Afghanistan as "a total failure". He said: "It has not been based on dialogue, understanding, supporting civil society and empowering people, but rather it's been based on supporting authoritarian systems as long as the oil keeps pumping."

"If you bet on individuals, instead of people, you are going to fail – and the western policy so far has been to bet on individuals who are not supported by their people and who are being discredited every day. When you see that the most popular people in the Middle East are [Iranian president Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad and Hassan Nasrallah [of Hezbollah], that should send you a message: that your policy is not reaching out to the people.