Interesting
The Economist has an interesting article about the changing view of violence on the Arab "Street." For example, in Jordan in 2003, 43% of survey respndents thought violence against civilians was sometimes of often justified. Now, after the Amman hotel bombings, over 60% of respondents say that their opinion of al Qaeda have changed for the worse. The Economist concludes:

The jihadists who have made Iraq their playground may have lost their wider appeal, but they are not going to disappear. Yet there appears to be a growing consensus, within Iraq and outside, that the time has come to settle down and get on with life. A columnist in a Saudi daily, al-Sharq al-Awsat, Mashari Zaydi, suggests that Arabs have been torn by a struggle between two world-views, one hard, absolutist and aspirational, the other realist, compromising and practical. While the realist approach, he says, may not win all you want, the absolutist one risks losing everything you have.

Via RCP.
- posted by Base10 @ 9:53 AM