nhboy
08-01-2012, 04:54 PM
Link to original article. (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/opinion/romney-abroad-creating-a-stir.html?ref=opinion)
To the Editor:
" Mitt Romney’s comment that the reason the Israelis are so much more economically successful than the Palestinians is that “culture makes all the difference,” and his vast understatement of the income disparities between the two groups, are quite revealing of the candidate’s approach to problem-solving.
Like many financially successful people, Mr. Romney seems to assume that if he reads a book or two and has “the facts” about a situation, he can fully understand a problem and then solve it. Conflict and foreign policy in the Middle East are terribly complicated and fraught with risk.
For a presidential candidate to reduce the region’s complexity to the simplistic assertion that “culture makes all the difference” and not even get his numbers right shows very limited understanding of a complex issue, a lack of intellectual curiosity and knowledge of history as well as dangerously showing his bias toward a people with whom he may be negotiating if elected.
The reaction of the Palestinian Authority was swift and accurate: “This man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people.” "
To the Editor:
" Mitt Romney’s comment that the reason the Israelis are so much more economically successful than the Palestinians is that “culture makes all the difference,” and his vast understatement of the income disparities between the two groups, are quite revealing of the candidate’s approach to problem-solving.
Like many financially successful people, Mr. Romney seems to assume that if he reads a book or two and has “the facts” about a situation, he can fully understand a problem and then solve it. Conflict and foreign policy in the Middle East are terribly complicated and fraught with risk.
For a presidential candidate to reduce the region’s complexity to the simplistic assertion that “culture makes all the difference” and not even get his numbers right shows very limited understanding of a complex issue, a lack of intellectual curiosity and knowledge of history as well as dangerously showing his bias toward a people with whom he may be negotiating if elected.
The reaction of the Palestinian Authority was swift and accurate: “This man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people.” "