The Lonely Goatherd Blog And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats - Matthew 25:32
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October 25, 2002
Dubya as Solomon? Is the US "de-stabilizing" the Middle East? Oh, hell yeah we are. Here's a thoughtful analysis from a British paper by a former Bush speechwriter. He details some of the subtle ways in which the Bush administration strokes the puppy, so to speak, while simultaneously gradually making it more and more difficult for the Arab governments to continue playing both sides of the fence.
America does not want to destabilise the Middle East. But Islamic extremism, anti-American incitement, and willing and unwilling support for terrorist organisations have fastened themselves deep into the societies and cultures of the Middle East. Osama bin Laden's terrorism is not the work only of a few sociopathic killers: it is the product of a wide and deep complicity throughout the Arab world. Finding, uprooting, discrediting and destroying terror will have equally wide and deep - and unpredictable - consequences.
And that is why so many Europeans with an interest in the Arab world and its oil have urged America to learn to live with terror: to be realistic, to adjust, to accommodate - as they have had to do. And it is America's refusal to be realistic in this way that, more than anything else, has puzzled, vexed and even enraged so many in Europe and in Britain.
Good. This article makes me feel maybe just slightly better. The Middle East must be "de-stabilized" to some extent. A new and better day cannot emerge until the old order has been broken down. Certainly this entails risk, but "stability" that involves accepting terrorism as an unfortunate by unavoidable norm is simply unacceptable. For the French, maybe, but not for Americans.
It's a hell of a job knowing what to do when dealing with so many disparate, horribly dysfunctional, violent and irrational forces -some with WMDs- as we face in that part of the world. It requires the wisdom of Solomon. Does George W Bush have the wisdom of Solomon? Ayn Rand help us.
And praise Her name that at least it's plain old Dubya we're relying on now rather than some European appeasers or some double and triple talking emotional basket case like Al Gore.
