[Vision2020] Open Debate vs Boycott

[bear at moscow.com]

Visionaries,

The first United Nations conference in eight years to address the issue of racism opened
today 
with a diatribe by speech by the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who criticized
the 
formation of a “racist government” in the Middle East in a clear reference to Israel.

Rather than stand their ground and rebut this nonsense, Israel and the US boycotted the 
conference, and the EU delegations walked out during the opening speech. Boycotts and
walking 
out won't work. The perception by middle eastern countries, is that Israeli racism will go

unchecked but racism everywhere else must be stopped, while not true, is real and unless
the US,
Israel and the western nations address the issue NOTHING will be accomplished except to 
entrench these ideas in the mind of middle easterners and reinforce the perceptions.

What is wrong with open debate even if we have to hear things that are openly false and
able to 
be rebutted point by point? The signal that would send is that free and open debate is
preferable 
to armed conflict, or for the sake of this forum, is it?



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