[speaker002:] well this is a good subject isn't it it it's something that you can really talk about um I don't know what we're going to do about it but it's certainly something that has a lot of things to talk about
[speaker001:] yeah it is yeah um-hum
[speaker002:] um you know when they say the Middle East it's such a big area and there's so many different problems there
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] um what do you want to concentrate on
[speaker001:] it doesn't matter to me
[speaker002:] well um I'll tell you something um I I have a sister-in-law from Israel
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and and they're really quite um arrogant about it all they they believe that they they belong there and they've belonged there forever and the Palestinians and the Arabs are um more or less they they they consider them second class
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] so they're really quite arrogant about it I don't uh I don't know if that contributes to the problem
[speaker001:] well how did they feel about the uh the United States intervening intervening with Patriot missiles did did they
[speaker002:] oh uh I'm sure I'm sure it this is the one time that the Israelis are really happy to have their big brothers the Americans
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] but I didn't really talk about that with her she um um my sister-in-law now lives in um Switzerland
[speaker001:] oh
[speaker002:] but um when they were living in Israel it was it was the the Palestinians they they come in and they're they're nothing but really servants for them and and they really treat them like second class citizens they they don't really want them around but they like them around because they do all the menial labor and such but they they really do they look down on them and
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] I don't know being I I live in uh Vermont and being up here we pretty much treat everybody
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you know as someone that has merit even if they are poor or if they're Hispanic or if they're Black we give everybody pretty much the benefit of the doubt because we don't see all the crime and all the hurt in the big cities you know if
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] uh if I lived in Washington DC I think I'd have a different attitude about Black people because I've heard that it it the they're terrible you know it's just like it's a dog eat dog world and here you know all my all my Black friends are professionals and they're they don't you know they don't go out and abuse drugs and they they send their kids to school and they they just they uh you know really encourage them to go to college and stuff so it's just a different world
[speaker001:] um-hum well I live in San Antonio and fifty percent of the population is minority
[speaker002:] oh um I talked to someone about San Antonio
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and um they said that they they have you have quite the problem with uh the ghettos I don't know they call it the barrio down there
[speaker001:] that's the barrios but it's it's it's I don't think it's any different of a problem than any other major city it's just Hispanics here instead of Blacks
[speaker002:] yeah well I heard that that San Antonio unlike like like a city like San Diego it seems it just has it a really bad problem I I I
[speaker001:] I grew up outside of Houston and I don't think uh as far as gang violence and things I don't think it's any worse here than in Houston
[speaker002:] yeah like say Houston now I would now me not even knowing anything about Houston I would think that it's a pretty calm city
[speaker001:] Houston is not at all
[speaker002:] no huh there's a lot of crime
[speaker001:] yes there's quite a bit of crime
[speaker002:] oh my um yeah like I uh we're we're so protected up here it's it's really strange I mean our red light district I mean uh you could go walking around down there and pretty much not fear for your life you know and we're just so protected
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] but it's it's it's over in the Mid East especially Israel it's just like Israelis have a like a totalitarian system when it comes to the Palestinians you know the Israelis can do anything they want but when it comes to Palestinians if they're out in the street at night it's it's really looked on as odd um usually they're they're bussed in to the the um Jewish neighborhoods and Jewish cities and then at night they're bussed out to the occupied territories
[speaker001:] hum
[speaker002:] so they don't have that but um what what do you think about the mess that's we've created in Iraq
[speaker001:] I think it's unfortunate uh as far as the Kurds are concerned it
[speaker002:] it's just what do you do for them you want to do something for them but you don't want to get so directly involved that you're occupying the the country
[speaker001:] I you can't yeah yeah we can't get involved in their civil war um unfortunately but we've kind of driven these people out
[speaker002:] to do it yeah but you see President Bush is telling them rebel you know um uprise uprise and that's what they did and now they're like asking him for help and he's like no we can't get involved what what my husband had very strong feelings he he he he uh agreed with um the General Schwartzkopf he said um that he should have let that Bush should have let him finish his job
[speaker001:] sure
[speaker002:] he should've let he should've let them um corner the Republican Guards
[speaker001:] well I think the war ended too soon
[speaker002:] yeah exactly that's what everyone says
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] everyone everyone I talk to they say you know it's real easy to say that
[speaker001:] we we didn't damage enough of their arsenal we damaged most of it but we we should have gotten made sure we got everything
[speaker002:] yeah I don't think the higher ups were thinking about what what this guy's going to do with the rest of his war machine they're going oh well it's not going to hurt us so we're just going to let them go but really we didn't think about the people that he was gonna try and I mean he he's just
[speaker001:] unfortunately though the the original goal of the mission was to drive them out of Kuwait and once that was accomplished
[speaker002:] they yeah they they did they stuck right to their goals and right what they were going to say and the American people when this first started they were even reluctant to let them do that so they were they were playing it very safe but
[speaker001:] it yeah yeah
[speaker002:] you know it an ounce what do they say an ounce of hind sight is worth you know whatever whatever they they
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] I don't know they it Schwartzkopf Schwartzkopf knew what had to be done and it's too bad that he just didn't have the ability just to do it to you know the uh the go ahead to do it
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] because he had the few he knew what was going to happen more than any of us because I didn't realize that um it was going to make such a mess I mean I feel really sorry for these people these people are middle class people just like us can you imagine if someone started bombing your neighborhood and
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] and you knew this these people are going to come and if you were in your house they were going to take you and beat you of course you're gonna just gonna pick everything up that you can carry and you're going to run
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and it it's just too bad that we couldn't see that
[speaker001:] I just have a feeling that the military involvement isn't over yet that I I still feel like there's more to come I don't think this whole issue is settled as far as we're concerned
[speaker002:] well you know what I was hoping I was hoping Iran was going to take a very um dramatic stand and invade you know and and like Iran's the big bad guy you know but really if if they were going to save people's lives
[speaker001:] they've got sixty or so of Iraq's planes
[speaker002:] yeah I know it's like they were using them as friends when we were having the conflict but I I you know it's almost where I'm kind of disappointed with the Iranians why they didn't go save save I mean I don't know if the Kurdish I know the Shiite's are their people but I don't know I think they have a bond with the the Kurds
[speaker001:] um-hum there are some Kurds living in Iran
[speaker002:] yeah I I think they should have just done more uh and maybe if the world could have given them some type of aid it's it's just so complicated
[speaker001:] I'm just real surprised that Israel stayed out of it as as much as they did
[speaker002:] oh yeah well you knowing them they're very um oh I don't know almost compare them to a very egotistical man well damn right I'm going to protect my family you know so
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] I I I was amazed too I was really I was really um proud of them though that they stayed out of it but
[speaker001:] yeah it from from what I can tell if they had gotten into it it would have started a whole new war
[speaker002:] oh it would have messed yeah I was I that really that part scared me that that um the Egyptians would pull out and I just saw atomic bomb