> I'm afraid it's hopeless in that part of the world. The people there are descended from poor, nothing-to-lose, desert tribes who have been fighting and killing each other for centuries. In the 20th century, it was found that they were sitting on unlimited wealth in the form of petroleum. But nothing changed, except that they could afford better weapons. Money does not create civilation.


Howard, you're joking, right? Surely a former teacher and well-read person like you is aware of the staggering amount of contributions made to science, medicine, literature, mathematics, art and just about every other form of human endeavor by those Middle Eastern desert tribes you're talking about.

They were far more civilised than Europe was, for centuries.