'Israel Has a Habit of Closing its Eyes to Hard Facts' -- BOUTROS-GHALI

SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI

'Israel Has a Habit of Closing its Eyes to Hard Facts'

The Israeli military strike in Gaza will have "unforeseeable consequences" for the region, warns former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, he discusses the short-sightedness of Israeli politicians, Egypt's role and his muted hopes for peace.

For the foreseeable future, I don't see an era promising happiness. It's true that the curse of the colonial era disappeared half a century ago, and the Cold War is behind us. Millions of people expected a world that was better, more socially just and marked by technological progress. However, the unfortunate result has been that the age-old ills of mankind -- growing social disparity, inflammatory national and religious ideologies, cultures closing themselves off to outsiders -- have once again foiled these hopes. It is a shame that I will surely not live to see the dawning of a truly better world.

A Blind War

Is tit-for-tat an optimal strategy in the continuous game?

There is no justice and humanity but parochialism and blindness in a war. That's the dark side of the human nature that we have no recipe to cure.

Hovering Like a Kite

On the first day of the new year, I went hiking with friends. At the entrance of San Antonio Reserve, I watched a kite -- it's not a paper toy tied with a thread in your hands but a real live kite -- a white tailed kite (Elanus leucurus). I took it as a falcon at the first sight according to its shape and size in the poor light, but I found it was a mistake soon after it began to hover! It was the first time that I saw a mid-size bird hovering like a humming bird, and it just moved up and down in the air like a helicopter. When I saw another kite joined the dance, I speculated it was the court dance in the breeding season though it seems a little earlier. However, I found it was the second mistake I made after I checked my field book: They were hunting rodents in a special social way. Now I got why we call the paper toy "kite" in English and "纸鸢" in Chinese.

See a photo of a hovering white tailed kite here.