For the last twenty years, at least, there have been certain guiding principles for American foreign policy across the Middle East. Here are a few of these principles which have been accepted as facts.
1. The root of the problems in the Middle East is the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. If that gets solved, it will bring peace to the region. Clearly, this is wrong. The civil war in Syria has nothing to do with Israel and the Palestinians. The fight between the Sunni and the Shia Moslems has been going on for thirteen hundred years. The Syrian civil war is just another manifestation of that struggle. Similarly, the current unrest in Egypt has nothing to do with Israel. The army kept the peace treaty with Israel before Morsi was elected. Morsi kept that treaty after his election. The generals are once again keeping the peace with Israel. The fighting in Cairo and around Egypt has nothing at all to do with Israel. The problem, however, is that for decades Americans have been told by pundits and academic "experts" that solving the Israeli/Palestinian problem would bring peace. Indeed, the current talks between Israel and the Palestinians seem to be the result of John Kerry hearing this misinformation a few times too many.
2. Democracy will bring an end to terrorism in the Middle East. This falsehood was pushed over and over again by George W. Bush when he was president. It does not seem to work. Morsi in Egypt won an extremely close democratic election. Then he spent the next year trying to take total control of Egypt until he was ousted in a coup. Now, Egyptian democracy has that nation on the edge of civil war. In the Palestinian areas, democracy brought in terror group Hamas to govern. After armed conflict with the Fatah troops loyal to the Palestinian president Abbas, Hamas took power in Gaza. Democracy has failed in Gaza. Then there is Iraq which has an elaborate democracy created by US troop. These days, folks are dying in Iraq in all sorts of terrorist attacks. And let's not forget Afghanistan which seems to have neither peace nor democracy.
3. The bulk of the people in the region want to live in peace. That claim is hard to accept when one sees the constant massive demonstrations in Egypt and the seemingly endless battle raging across Syria. Way too many inhabitants seem prepared to fight an endless war for the so called principle to be true.
Isn't it time we stopped fooling ourselves?
1. The root of the problems in the Middle East is the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. If that gets solved, it will bring peace to the region. Clearly, this is wrong. The civil war in Syria has nothing to do with Israel and the Palestinians. The fight between the Sunni and the Shia Moslems has been going on for thirteen hundred years. The Syrian civil war is just another manifestation of that struggle. Similarly, the current unrest in Egypt has nothing to do with Israel. The army kept the peace treaty with Israel before Morsi was elected. Morsi kept that treaty after his election. The generals are once again keeping the peace with Israel. The fighting in Cairo and around Egypt has nothing at all to do with Israel. The problem, however, is that for decades Americans have been told by pundits and academic "experts" that solving the Israeli/Palestinian problem would bring peace. Indeed, the current talks between Israel and the Palestinians seem to be the result of John Kerry hearing this misinformation a few times too many.
2. Democracy will bring an end to terrorism in the Middle East. This falsehood was pushed over and over again by George W. Bush when he was president. It does not seem to work. Morsi in Egypt won an extremely close democratic election. Then he spent the next year trying to take total control of Egypt until he was ousted in a coup. Now, Egyptian democracy has that nation on the edge of civil war. In the Palestinian areas, democracy brought in terror group Hamas to govern. After armed conflict with the Fatah troops loyal to the Palestinian president Abbas, Hamas took power in Gaza. Democracy has failed in Gaza. Then there is Iraq which has an elaborate democracy created by US troop. These days, folks are dying in Iraq in all sorts of terrorist attacks. And let's not forget Afghanistan which seems to have neither peace nor democracy.
3. The bulk of the people in the region want to live in peace. That claim is hard to accept when one sees the constant massive demonstrations in Egypt and the seemingly endless battle raging across Syria. Way too many inhabitants seem prepared to fight an endless war for the so called principle to be true.
Isn't it time we stopped fooling ourselves?
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