Speaker - U.S. attitude fuels ire

America's insensitivity in foreign affairs fuels Middle East terrorists like those who launched the East Coast attacks last month, a former British lawmaker said Wednesday.

Matthew Banks, a former member of Parliament who has served as a consultant to several Arab countries, told a crowd of more than 80 students at Southeast Missouri State University that the United States needs to be more sensitive to the concerns of Middle Eastern nations and other countries around the world.

The United States, he said, too often supports corporate interests, such as a major banana distributor, over the needs of other nations.

"The little guy around the world is worried about how the United States behaves," he said.

Banks said many Arabs want a Palestinian state and think the United States has hindered that goal. That unhappiness has helped nurture terrorist groups, Banks said.

"The real big problem with the Gulf has always been the creation of a Palestinian state," he said.

"If you don't pay heed to it, you end up having airliners crash into the World Trade Center," he said, referring to the Sept. 11 attack that demolished New York's twin trade towers.

"The world doesn't see things as you do," Banks told the audience.

Jewish vote

Arabs want the United States to put more pressure on Israel to bring peace to the Middle East, Banks said.

The United States provides a lot of financial aid to Israel, he said. There's a strong Jewish vote in America.

"There are an awful lot of politicians in America who rely on the Jewish vote to get elected," said Banks.

Many people in Saudi Arabia sympathize with the terrorists, he said. Saudi Arabia has helped fund charities associated with Osama bin Laden, Banks told the audience.

Banks said many Americans are uninformed about what goes on outside its borders.

"I think it is a cultural problem," he said. The American news media do a poor job of covering international affairs.

Banks' criticism of American foreign policy didn't please some students in the crowd, but others welcomed the talk.

"I think part of the whole college education is being more worldly," said Chad Schaffer, a Southeast senior.

Schaffer said there's nothing wrong with hearing a different point of view.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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