Let's play in their backyard!

As a child, when my friends would come over to play there was often disagreement on the rules for play. My friends would want to play one game and I another. My mother would overhear us and encourage us to come to an understanding, or… my friends would need to go home and play in their own backyard! In effect, go home and play in your own sand box. It did not take very long to know who your friends really were and those you knew would always cause problems. Does any of this sound familiar?

The Middle East could be considered a very large sand box with a lot of players with different interests. It is often hard to understand who’s who. Who is your friend and who is your foe? Remember, it’s not your sandbox! If a neighbor is being a bully, should you help protect the owner? If the owner is a bully, should you push the bully out of his sand box? It is a very complex situation indeed.

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