Sunday, July 29, 2007
Setting off on a fool's errand
McClatchy has posted a good overview of the situation facing Gates and Rice as they embark on their Middle East tour. Thanks to six years of consistent application and failure of neocon policy, the outlook is pretty poor.
But America's credibility in the region has plummeted. The U.S. has failed to stabilize Iraq, destroy al Qaida, pacify Lebanon, isolate Syria or bolster moderate Palestinians. Instead, its policies have fueled Sunni Muslim extremism and emboldened Shiite Iran, which America's moderate Arab allies consider the two greatest threats to their rule.Add to that the usual hesitancy in dealing with short timers and things get even bleaker. One point does stick out in explaining the reluctance of the Middle East states to join in with US "efforts".
So far, its support for Israel's ill-fated war in Lebanon and its efforts to undermine popular radical groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon have borne little fruit. Along with its support for autocrats such as Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, such actions have undercut American claims that it's championing Muslim democracy.
More than what Rice and Gates say on the trip, “people are monitoring the debate in Washington. Everybody is watching that very closely and then will draw their own conclusions,” an Arab official in Washington said.The Arab world is watching to see if, while Gates and Rice are on the road, Dickwahd will whisper some poison in the Boy King's ear and cut them off at the knees. No one is willing to commit to something that could disappear tomorrow. But still they have to go on their quixotic journey because their work has to be done on the road and Dickwahd does his "best' work at home.
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